Thomas Darwin Eshelman (born June 20, 1994) is an American former 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, ...

and current pitching coach in the

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

organization. He made his

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) debut with the Baltimore Orioles in 2019. He played

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

Titans In Greek mythology, the Titans ( ; ) were the pre-Twelve Olympians, Olympian gods. According to the ''Theogony'' of Hesiod, they were the twelve children of the primordial parents Uranus (mythology), Uranus (Sky) and Gaia (Earth). The six male ...

California State University, Fullerton California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public research university in Fullerton, California, United States. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the California State ...

. The

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

selected Eshelman in the

2015 MLB draft The 2015 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 8 through June 10, 2015, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2014 MLB season standings. As the Diamondbacks finished the 2014 season ...

, and traded him to the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

after the 2015 season. He was traded to the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

during the 2019 season.

Amateur career

Eshelman attended Carlsbad High School in

Carlsbad, California Carlsbad is a beach city in the North County area of San Diego County, California, United States. The city is north of downtown San Diego and south of downtown Los Angeles. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of ...

. He played as a

and

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 ...

for Carlsbad's baseball team. He was named to the

California Interscholastic Federation The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) is the governing body for high school sports in the U.S. state of California. CIF membership includes both public and private high schools. Unlike most other state organizations, it does not have s ...

's first team at the end of his senior season. However, he was not selected in the

2012 Major League Baseball draft The 2012 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 4 through June 6, 2012, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Houston Astros, with the first overall pick, selected Carlos Correa from the Puerto Rico Baseball Ac ...

. Eshelman enrolled at

to play

for the

Cal State Fullerton Titans The Cal State Fullerton Titans (also known as CSUF or Fullerton Titans) are the sport, athletic teams that represent California State University, Fullerton. The Titans are a member of the NCAA Division I level. The Titans compete within the Big W ...

, exclusively as a pitcher. In 2013, his freshman year, Eshelman did not issue a

walk Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined as an "inverted pendulum" gait in which the body vaults over ...

in his first

innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...

. He ended the season with three walks allowed in innings, setting the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

single-season record for walks per nine innings pitched (0.23). He was named to the 2013 College Baseball All-America Team by ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' (BA) is a sports publication company that covers baseball at every level, including Major League Baseball (MLB), with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) college, high school, and inte ...

'' and ''

Collegiate Baseball ''Collegiate Baseball Newspaper'' (also known as ''Collegiate Baseball Magazine'' and ''Collegiate Baseball'') was an American publication based in Arizona that considered itself the "voice of amateur baseball" and was published for over 40 yea ...

''. In 2014, he was a member of the

United States national collegiate baseball team The United States national baseball team, also known as Team USA, represents the United States in international level baseball competitions. The team is currently ranked 5th in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation. The United S ...

. He finished his collegiate career with 17 walks in innings.

Professional career

Houston Astros

MLB.com MLB.com is the official site of Major League Baseball and is overseen by Major League Baseball Advanced Media, L.P. (a subsidiary of MLB). MLB.com is a source of baseball-related information, including baseball news, statistics, and sports colum ...

ranked Eshelman as the 99th best available

prospect Prospect may refer to: General * Prospect (marketing), a marketing term describing a potential customer * Prospect (sports), any player whose rights are owned by a professional team, but who has yet to play a game for the team * Prospect (minin ...

in the

2015 Major League Baseball draft The 2015 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 8 through June 10, 2015, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2014 MLB season standings. As the Diamondbacks finished the 2014 season ...

, while ''Baseball America'' rated him 126th. The

selected Eshelman in the second round, with the 46th overall pick, in the draft. Eshelman signed with the Astros, who assigned him to the

Gulf Coast Astros The Florida Complex League Astros are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Houston Astros, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to the 2021 season, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Astros. The team plays it ...

of the

Rookie-level Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National L ...

Gulf Coast League The Florida Complex League (FCL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in Florida, United States. Before 2021, it was known as the Gulf Coast League (GCL). Together with the Arizona Complex League (ACL), it forms the low ...

to limit his workload for the remainder of the year, following the 130 innings Eshelman pitched for Cal State Fullerton in 2015. In August, the Astros promoted Eshelman to the

Quad Cities River Bandits The Quad Cities River Bandits are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. Their home games are played at Modern Woodmen Park (formerly John O'Donnell Stadium) in Davenport, Iowa, on ...

of the

Single-A Single-A, formerly known as Class A and sometimes as Low-A, is the fourth-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States, below Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A, Double-A (baseball), Double-A, and High-A. There are 30 teams cl ...

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

. He pitched in only four games as a professional in 2015. Eshelman went a combined 0–1 with a 4.35 ERA between both clubs.

Philadelphia Phillies

The Astros traded Eshelman, Mark Appel,

Vince Velasquez Vincent John Velasquez ( ; born June 7, 1992) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Cleveland Guardians organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, San Diego ...

, Brett Oberholtzer, and Harold Arauz to the

in exchange for

Ken Giles Kenneth Robert Giles (born September 20, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Leones de Yucatán of the Mexican League. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, Houston Astros ...

and

Jonathan Araúz Jonathan Aldair Araúz (; born August 3, 1998) is a Panamanian professional baseball shortstop and second baseman for the Saraperos de Saltillo of the Mexican League. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox, ...

on December 12, 2015. He spent the 2016 season with the

Clearwater Threshers The Clearwater Threshers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Clearwater, Florida, and have played their home games at BayCare Ballpark since 20 ...

of the

High-A High-A, officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing, is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A and D ...

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 ...

and the

Reading Fightin Phils The Reading Fightin Phils (also called the Reading Fightins) are a Minor League Baseball team based in Reading, Pennsylvania, playing in the Northeast Division of the Eastern League. The team plays their home games at FirstEnergy Stadium. The R ...

of the Double-A Eastern League, where he posted a 9–7 record with a 4.25 ERA, along with a 0.97 WHIP, between both clubs. Eshelman began the 2017 season with Reading, and earned a promotion to the

Lehigh Valley IronPigs The Lehigh Valley IronPigs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and they are named in reference to pig iron, used ...

of the Triple-A

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

in May. He posted a combined 13–3 record with a 2.40 ERA between both teams. The 2018 season found him once again on the IronPigs’ roster. The season was mostly a disappointment, with Eshelman going 2–13, with a 5.84 ERA in 27 games (26 of them as a starter). Eshelman began the 2019 season in with Reading but was promoted back to Lehigh Valley after six starts with the team, going 0–3 with a 6.28 ERA.

Baltimore Orioles

The Phillies traded Eshelman to the

in exchange for international bonus allocations on June 10, 2019. Eshelman had posted a 1–1 record with a 2.77 ERA, 23 strikeouts, and a complete game for Lehigh Valley at the time of the trade. After making three starts for the

Norfolk Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's loc ...

of the International League, the Orioles promoted Eshelman to the major leagues to start against the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

on July 1. In his debut, he allowed two runs over five innings pitched. On September 2, Eshelman was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must, within seven days, return the pla ...

. On July 31, 2020, Eshelman was selected to Baltimore's active roster. In 2020 for the Orioles, Eshelman pitched in innings over 12 games, notching a 3–1 record, 3.89 ERA and 16 strikeouts. On November 25, Eshelman was designated for assignment. He elected free agency on December 3. On January 16, 2021, Eshelman re-signed with the Orioles organization on a minor league contract. The Orioles added Eshelman to their active roster on June 18, and designated him for assignment on August 1. On August 3, Eshelman cleared waivers and was assigned outright to Triple-A Norfolk. On September 19, the Orioles once more selected Eshelman's contract. Eshelman made 9 appearances for the Orioles in 2021, going 0–3 with a 7.16 ERA and 11 strikeouts. On October 25, Eshelman elected free agency.

San Diego Padres

On March 21, 2022, Eshelman signed a minor league contract with the

. He made 27 appearances split between the Double-A

San Antonio Missions The San Antonio Missions are a Minor League Baseball team based in San Antonio, Texas. The Missions compete in the Texas League as the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The team plays its home games at Nelson W. W ...

and Triple-A

El Paso Chihuahuas The El Paso Chihuahuas are a Minor League Baseball team based in El Paso, Texas. The Chihuahuas compete in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) as the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The team plays its home games at Sou ...

, struggling to a 4-7 record and 5.76 ERA with 68 strikeouts across 114 innings pitched. Eshelman was released by the Padres organization on October 16.

Post playing career

Eshelman announced his retirement from professional baseball on December 5, 2022, and that he will be joining the

organization as a pitching coach. On January 11, 2023, Eshelman was named the pitching coach of the

Lake Elsinore Storm The Lake Elsinore Storm are a Minor League Baseball team based in Lake Elsinore, California. The Storm compete in the California League as the Single-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The team plays its home games at Lake Elsinore Diamond, w ...

. He was named pitching coach of the

Fort Wayne TinCaps The Fort Wayne TinCaps are a Minor League Baseball team based in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The TinCaps compete in the Midwest League as the High-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The team plays its home games at Parkview Field. The TinCaps won the ...

for the 2024 season.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Eshelman, Thomas 1994 births Living people Sportspeople from Carlsbad, California Baseball players from San Diego County, California Major League Baseball pitchers Baltimore Orioles players Cal State Fullerton Titans baseball players Gulf Coast Astros players Quad Cities River Bandits players Clearwater Threshers players Reading Fightin Phils players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players 21st-century American sportsmen Norfolk Tides players San Antonio Missions players El Paso Chihuahuas players