Sean Anthony Hjelle ( ; born May 7, 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 ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

for the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

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 played college baseball for the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

. The Giants selected Hjelle in the second round 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 is listed at tall. Hjelle is tied with former pitcher

Jon Rauch Jon Erich Rauch (born September 27, 1978) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. At , he is tied with Sean Hjelle as the tallest player in Major League Baseball (MLB) history. He is also an Olympic Gold Medalist in baseball. Ea ...

as the tallest players in MLB history.

Amateur career

Hjelle attended

Mahtomedi High School Mahtomedi Senior High School is a four-year public high school located in Mahtomedi, Minnesota, United States. The school houses grades 912 with a total population of approximately 1,146 students. About 22% of this population are from surrounding ...

Mahtomedi, Minnesota Mahtomedi ( ) is a city in Washington County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 8,138 at the 2020 census. Mahtomedi is a suburb of St. Paul and is located between St. Paul and Stillwater along the shores of White Bear Lake. Geogr ...

, where he played baseball and basketball. In baseball as a pitcher, he threw a

two-seam fastball A two-seam fastball is a pitch in baseball and softball. It is a variant of the straight fastball. The pitch has the speed of a fastball and can also include late-breaking action caused by varying the pressure of the index and middle fingers on t ...

, a

four-seam fastball A four-seam fastball, also called a rising fastball, a four-seamer, or a cross-seam fastball, is a pitch (baseball), pitch in baseball. It is a member of the fastball family of pitches and is usually the fastest ball thrown by a pitcher. It is s ...

, a

changeup A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball and fastpitch softball. The changeup is a staple off-speed pitch often used in a pitcher's arsenal, usually thrown to look like a fastball, but arriving much more slowly to the plate. Its reduced spee ...

, and a

cutter Cutter may refer to: Tools * Bolt cutter * Box cutter * Cigar cutter * Cookie cutter * Cutter (hydraulic rescue tool) * Glass cutter * Meat cutter * Milling cutter * Paper cutter * Pizza cutter * Side cutter People * Cutter (surname) * Cutt ...

. Hjelle was not drafted out of high school, and enrolled at the

to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

for the

Kentucky Wildcats The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky (UK), a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky Wildcats is the student body of the University of Kentucky. 30, ...

. In

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

, as a sophomore at Kentucky, Hjelle was named the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

's Pitcher of the Year after going 9–2 with a 3.17

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) in the regular season, including a 7–1 record and a 1.90 ERA in SEC games. As a junior in

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, he appeared in 15 games (14 starts), compiling a 7–5 record with a 3.44 ERA.

Professional career

The

selected Hjelle in the second round, with the 45th overall selection, of the

2018 MLB 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 for a $1.5 million

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

and made his professional debut with the

Salem-Keizer Volcanoes The Salem-Keizer Volcanoes are a baseball team located in Keizer, Oregon, who are charter members of the Mavericks Independent Baseball League, a four-team league entirely based in the Salem Metropolitan Statistical Area and playing all their ...

. Hjelle spent the whole season with Salem-Keizer, compiling a 5.06 ERA in 12 starts. Hjelle began the 2019 season with the

Augusta GreenJackets The Augusta GreenJackets are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They play their home games at SRP Park in North Augusta, South Carolina. History Augusta was a member of the S ...

of the Single–A

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its h ...

, and was their Opening Day starter. He was promoted to the High–A

San Jose Giants The San Jose Giants are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Located in San Jose, California, the Giants play their home games at Excite Ballpark. Games San Jose Giants g ...

in May. In August, the Giants promoted Hjelle to the

Richmond Flying Squirrels The Richmond Flying Squirrels are a Minor League Baseball team based in Richmond, Virginia. The team, which is a part of the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants major league club, and plays at The Diamond. Th ...

of the Double–A Eastern League, with whom he finished the year. Over 28 starts between the three clubs, Hjelle went 7–9 with a 3.32 ERA. He did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. In 2021, Hjelle pitched for the

Sacramento River Cats The Sacramento River Cats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Prior to 2015, the River Cats were the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland ...

of the Triple–A

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

. After the season, the Giants added Hjelle to their

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

. He started the 2022 season with Sacramento and made his MLB debut on May 6. On September 28, Hjelle earned his first career win after pitching four innings of one–run ball against the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

in a 6–3 victory. In 2022 with Sacramento, Hjelle was 6–8 with a 4.92 ERA in 22 starts, in which he pitched 97 innings. With the Giants in 2022 he was 1–2 with a 5.76 ERA in eight relief appearances, covering 25 innings in which he struck out 28 batters. The Giants optioned Hjelle to Sacramento for the start of the 2023 season. He made 15 appearances out of the

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if ...

for San Francisco on the year, registering a 2-1 record and 6.52 ERA with 31 strikeouts over 29 innings of work. Hjelle made 58 appearances for the Giants during the 2024 season, compiling a 3-4 record and 3.90 ERA with 75 strikeouts across innings pitched. Hjelle was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento to begin the 2025 season.

Personal life

Hjelle and his wife Caroline have two children.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hjelle, Sean 1997 births Living people Augusta GreenJackets players Baseball players from Minnesota Kentucky Wildcats baseball players Major League Baseball pitchers Mat-Su Miners players People from Mahtomedi, Minnesota Richmond Flying Squirrels players Sacramento River Cats players Salem-Keizer Volcanoes players San Francisco Giants players San Jose Giants players Sportspeople from Washington County, Minnesota