Ryan Michael Jeffers (born June 3, 1997) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

and

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. Unlike other players in a team's lineup, they generally only play as an offensive player and usually do not play defense as ...

for the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2020.

Amateur career

Jeffers attended Sanderson High School in

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...

. In 2015, his senior year, he hit .398 with two

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s. Undrafted in the

2016 Major League Baseball draft The 2016 Major League Baseball draft began on June 9, 2016, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2015 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks were distributed for players who ...

, he enrolled at the

University of North Carolina at Wilmington The University of North Carolina Wilmington, or University of North Carolina at Wilmington, (UNC Wilmington or UNCW) is a public research university in Wilmington, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina system and enrol ...

where he walked-on to the

UNC Wilmington Seahawks baseball : ''For information on all University of North Carolina Wilmington sports, see UNC Wilmington Seahawks'' The UNC Wilmington Seahawks baseball team is a varsity intercollegiate athletic team of the University of North Carolina Wilmington in Wilmi ...

team. In 2017, Jeffers' freshman year at UNC Wilmington, he appeared in only 13 games, but hit .348 with one home run and five RBIs. That summer, he played in the

Coastal Plain League The Coastal Plain League (CPL) is a wood-bat collegiate summer baseball league, featuring college players recruited from throughout the nation. The league takes its name from the Class D level Coastal Plain League which operated in the area f ...

for the

Wilmington Sharks The Wilmington Sharks are an American baseball team in the East Division of the Coastal Plain League (CPL), a collegiate summer baseball league. The Sharks play their home games at Buck Hardee Field at Legion Stadium in Wilmington, North Car ...

. As a sophomore in 2018, he started 52 of 53 games and batted .328 with ten home runs and 32 RBIs, earning First-Team All- CAA honors. After the season, he played for the Upper Valley Nighthawks of the

New England Collegiate Baseball League The New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) is a 13-team collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league founded in 1993 and sanctioned by the NCAA and Major League Baseball. Each NECBL team plays an eight-week, 44-game schedule during June ...

where he earned All-Star honors. In 2018, Jeffers' junior season at UNCW, he

slashed Ash are a Northern Irish rock band formed in Downpatrick, County Down in 1992 by vocalist and guitarist Tim Wheeler, bassist Mark Hamilton and drummer Rick McMurray. As a three-piece, they released mini-album '' Trailer'' in 1994 and full-lengt ...

.315/.460/.635 with 16 home runs and 59 RBIs over 62 starts, earning a First-Team All-CAA selection for the second consecutive year.

Professional career

After his junior year, Jeffers was selected by the

in the second round with the 59th overall selection of the

2018 Major League Baseball draft The 2018 Major League Baseball draft began on June 4, 2018. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was determined based on the reverse order of the 2017 MLB season final standings. In addition, compensation pi ...

. He signed with the Twins and made his professional debut with the

Elizabethton Twins The Elizabethton Twins were a Minor League Baseball team of the Appalachian League and a Rookie-level affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They were located in Elizabethton, Tennessee, and were named for their Major League Baseball, major league aff ...

before he was promoted to the

Cedar Rapids Kernels The Cedar Rapids Kernels are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and play their home games at Veterans Memorial Stadium (Cedar Rapids), Veter ...

in July. Over 64 games between the two clubs, he slashed .344/.444/.502 with seven home runs and 33 RBIs. In 2019, he began the year with the

Fort Myers Miracle The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Fort Myers, Florida, and play their home games at the Lee County Sports Complex at ...

, with whom he was named a

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

All-Star, before being promoted to the

Pensacola Blue Wahoos The Pensacola Blue Wahoos are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League (1964–present), Southern League and the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are based in Pensacola, Florida, and play their home ga ...

in July, with whom he finished the season. Playing in 103 total games with both teams, Jeffers batted .264/.341/.421 with 14 home runs and 49 RBIs. On August 20, 2020, Jeffers’ contract was selected by the Twins to the active roster. He made his major league debut that same day against the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

, recording two hits including one RBI over three at-bats in a 7–1 win. He finished the season batting .273/.355/.436 with three home runs and seven RBIs over 26 games. In 2021 for the Twins, Jeffers slashed .199/.270/.401 with 14 home runs and 35 RBIs over 85 games. On July 16, 2022, Jeffers was placed on the injured list with a right thumb contusion. On September 27, he was activated off of the injured list. In 67 games for the Twins in 2022, Jeffers hit .208/.285/.363 with 7 home runs and 27 RBI.

Personal life

Jeffers and his wife, Lexi, married in 2019.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jeffers, Ryan 1997 births Living people Baseball players from Raleigh, North Carolina Major League Baseball catchers Jesse O. Sanderson High School alumni Minnesota Twins players UNC Wilmington Seahawks baseball players Elizabethton Twins players Cedar Rapids Kernels players Fort Myers Miracle players Pensacola Blue Wahoos players