Desmond Jennings #8

His career fielding percentage of .9949 is third-highest among active Major League outfielders with at least 1,000 total chances (Jacoby Ellsbury .9954, Jon Jay .9951)...among American League stolen base leaders ranked 22nd in 2011, sixth in 2012 and 19th in 2013...was American League Player of the Week for 4/29-5/5, 2014...was selected to play in both the 2009 and 2010 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Games...in 2010 and 2011 was an MiLB.com Rays Organization All-Star...in 2011 was a mid-season International League All-Star and TOPPS Major League All-Star...was International League Player of the Week for 6/8-6/14, 2010...in 2007 was a Baseball America Low Class A All-Star...attended Itawamba Community College in Fulton, MS...in high school was heavily recruited as a receiver and in 2004 was Alabama's Mr. Football Award runnerup...cousin Andre Smith, a right offensive tackle at the University of Alabama, was selected by the Bengals with the sixth overall pick of the 2009 NFL draft.

2016

Made his fifth consecutive Opening Day start...in an injury-plagued season made just 65 apps for the Rays but still produced 7 HR and 15 extra-base hits...was disabled twice, in July with a strained left hamstring and in August with a bruised left knee...made his last appearance of the season on 8/2 vs KC...the next day went on the disabled list with the left knee injury and didn't play again the rest of the season...on 8/26 was released by the Rays...on 2/9/17 was signed by the Reds to a minor league contract with an invitation to Major League spring training camp.

2015

Limited to just 28 games, 27 starts (19-LF, 7-CF, 1-DH) due to left knee injuries requiring two trips to the disabled list...spent a total of 133 games on the DL…Handled 53 chances without an error...has gone 393 chances since his last error, Sep 6, 2013 at SEA...his career .99619 fielding pct. is the best of any active outfielder with at least 1,000 total chances, just ahead of NYY Jacoby Ellsbury (.99618)…Was the Opening Day left fielder, his fourth straight Opening Day start and first in LF...it was his first start in LF since Oct 2, 2012 vs. BAL…Batted .222 (14-for-63) in 18 games until he was placed on the 15-day DL on May 3, retroactive to April 26, due to left knee bursitis...underwent arthroscopic surgery on June 10 to clean up a plica (inflammation of tissue)...Dr. Steven Singleton performed the surgery in Vail, Colo… At the time he was placed on the DL, he led the team with 5 SB including 3 steals of 3B-as many as he had all of 2014...swiped 3B twice on April 13 at TOR, the fifth time in club history that occurred (last Melvin Upton Jr., Aug 2, 2010 vs. MIN)…Reinstated from the DL on Aug 14 and had a season-high 3 hits that night in his first game back (at TEX)...on Aug 21 at OAK, hit his only homer of the season, a 9th-inning solo homer off Evan Scribner that was the deciding run in a 2-1 victory…Batted .353 (12-for-34) with 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR and 5 RBI over 10 games after his activation from the DL...on Aug 27, he was placed on the DL again (retroactive to Aug 26) with a bruised left knee, which ended his season.

2014

In his fifth season and third full year with the Rays, appeared in 123 games, including 118 starts (115-CF, 3-DH)...started a team-high 70 games at leadoff, including each of his last 65 starts...missed the final month of the season due to a bruised left knee...Led the team with 15 SB and recorded his fourth straight season of double-digit SB and home runs (10)-one of seven players in the majors to do this each of the last four seasons...Handled 309 chances without an error, more than any other outfielder in the majors without an error...the only other qualifying outfielders with a perfect fielding pct. were BAL Nick Markakis (306 chances) and SD Will Venable (257)...there have been three qualifying seasons by a Rays outfielder without an error, and Jennings has two of them (also 2012, 224 chances)...Ben Zobrist is the other (210 chances in 2010)...Eight of his 10 HR came on the road...batted .262/.339/.441 (67-for-256) on the road with 8 HR and 18 2B, compared to .224/.296/.305 (50-for-223) at home with 2 HR and 12 2B...Has 7 career leadoff homers, tied with Carl Crawford for 2nd in club history, one shy of B.J. Upton...had one in 2014, on June 28 at BAL off Wei-Yin Chen...Recorded 9 sacrifice bunts, tied for 4th in the AL and a career high...Made his third straight Opening Day start in CF...went 2-for-4 that day vs. TOR and is 6-for-12 with a .571 OBP lifetime on Opening Day...made a diving catch in center field to rob Jose Reyes of a base hit on the third pitch of the game...recorded 5 doubles in the Rays first 5 games...Named AL Player of the Week for April 28-May 4 after hitting safely in all 7 games, batting .355 (11-for-31) with 6 extra-base hits (3-2B, 3-HR), 3 RBI, 2 BB and 8 R...led the majors in total bases (23), extra-base hits and HR (tied)...led the AL in runs and hits (tied)...from April 29-May 4, had an extra-base hit in 6 straight games...from May 1-3, homered in 3 consecutive games for the first time in his career...Scored from 2B on Matt Joyce's sac fly April 28 at CWS, the first player to do so since LAA Erick Aybar on Aug 10, 2012 vs. SEA...it was the third occurrence in club history, joining Carl Crawford (Sep 20, 2005 vs. BOS) and Ben Zobrist (May 19, 2010 at NYY)...James Loney later did it on Sep 16 vs. NYY...Scratched from the starting lineup Aug 29 vs. BOS with left knee soreness, later diagnosed as a contusion...did not play the remainder of the season, missing the final 28 games.

2013

Made a career-high 132 starts, all in center field as he shifted from left field…established career highs in several offensive categories including hits (133), extra-base hits (51), home runs (14), RBI (54) and walks (64)... Owned 20 of the Rays 73 stolen bases, his third consecutive season of 20-plus steals…only two other Rays have done that: Carl Crawford (8) and B.J. Upton (6)…was caught stealing a career-high 8 times, but his career success rate of 80.2 is 3rd best in club history among players
with 50 or more attempts behind Jason Tyner (83.6, 46-for-55) and Crawford (82.0,
409-for-499).
Ê The Rays were 63-31 when he hit safely, but his
average was above .270 only one day all season
(July 20).
Ê Batted everywhere in the lineup except third
and fourth, including 90 starts at leadoff.
Ê After batting .149 in August, he had his best
month hitting .288 in September…missed 5 of
the final 8 games of the season (with only 1
start) after suffering a left hamstring strain on
Sep 22 vs. BAL.
Ê In the 3 games immediately prior to the hamstring
injury he led the Rays to wins as they
went on to sweep a critical 4-game series
from the Orioles, Sep 20-23…in the 3 games
he went 6-for-10 with 2 doubles, 1 triple, 1 HR
and 5 RBI…in the first game of that series, an
18-inning, 5-4 win, he entered in the 9th inning
(didn't start due to neck stiffness), recorded
2 hits and scored the game-winning run after
doubling to lead off the 18th…the following
day, he hit a 3-run homer in the 5th off Miguel
Gonzalez to break a scoreless tie and added a
run-scoring triple to lead the Rays to a 5-1 win…
the 4 RBI tied his career high…the next day, he
doubled and his bunt single in the 6th started a
2-run rally in the Rays 3-1 win.
Ê Recorded 2 walk-off hits: an RBI single on
May 28 vs. MIA (Chad Qualls) for a 7-6 win,
and an RBI single on Sep 18 vs. TEX (Joe Ortiz)
for a 4-3, 12-inning victory…Jennings and Jose
Lobaton were the only Rays with 2 walk-off hits
in 2013, when they tied a club record with 13
walk-off victories. Missed 12 games, Aug 6-19, while on the disabled
list with a fractured left middle finger…hit
.153 in his first 18 games back.
Ê Led the Rays in interleague play with a .375
avg. (15-for-40).
Ê Committed a fielding error on June 29 vs. DET,
snapping a streak of 262 errorless games…
went 533 total chances in between.
Ê Was one of only two major league center fielders
(min. 108 games) with more errors (3) than
assists (2)…ATL B.J. Upton was the other.
Ê On April 20 vs. OAK turned an unassisted double
play-catching a Coco Crisp fly ball and
stepping on first base on his way to the dugout
to retire base runner Eric Sogard…was the
first unassisted double play ever turned by a
Rays outfielder…according to the Elias Sports
Bureau, the last time a center fielder completed
an unassisted double play by catching a fly
ball and physically recording the putout at 1B
was PIT Andy Van Slyke on July 7, 1992 vs. HOU
(Ken Caminiti was the runner).
Ê POSTSEASON: Had a two-out, 2-run double in
the 4th inning, giving the Rays a 3-0 lead in
their 4-0 win at Cleveland in the AL Wild Card
Game…started all 5 of the postseason games,
batting .313 (5-for-16), 3rd best on the team…
his .303 career mark in the postseason is 2nd
best in club history (min. 25 PA) behind Willy
Aybar's .325 mark.

2012

Played in 132 games including 124 starts (105-LF, 18-CF, 1-RF)...107 of those starts were at the leadoff spot in the batting order...missed 21 games (May 12-June 4) with a left knee sprain...Stole a career-high 31 bases, tied with B.J. Upton for the team lead and tied for sixth in the AL...his 93.9 stolen base pct. (31-for-33) ranked third in the majors and led all major leaguers with at least 30 attempts...it also set a club record (min. 20 attempts), breaking Ben Zobrist's mark of 88.9 pct. (24-for-27) in 2010...Since he was recalled from Triple-A Durham on July 23, 2011, he has 51 steals...only five other major leaguers have as many during that span: Michael Bourn (66), Coco Crisp (61), Ben Revere (61), Mike Trout (52) and Rajai Davis (51)...Named a finalist for the AL Rawlings Gold Glove Award for left field, but lost out to KC Alex Gordon...led major league leftfielders with a 1.000 fielding pct. ...had 224 total chances in the outfield without an error...only four other qualifying outfielders did not commit an error in 2012: NYY Curtis Granderson, TEX Craig Gentry, STL Jon Jay and MIN Ben Revere...has only one error in 364 career total chances, coming on his first play in his 2011 season debut, July 23 at KC...since then has gone 346 consecutive chances and 188 games without an error...Since his major league debut (Sep 1, 2010), leads all major league outfielders with a .997 fielding pct. (min. 150 games)...After Evan Longoria was activated from the DL on Aug. 7, he scored 40 runs in his final 47 games, tying TEX Josh Hamilton for second in the AL during this span, trailing only LAA Mike Trout (43)...On July 3 vs. NYY, stole home on the back end of a double steal in the seventh inning, with B.J. Upton stealing 2B...became the eighth player in Rays history to steal home (10th time)...In a 4-2 win on June 29 vs. DET became only the fourth player to hit two HR in a game off RH Justin Verlander...joined CLE Shelley Duncan (Sep 7, 2011), CWS Carlos Quentin (April 22, 2011) and OAK Nick Swisher (April 18, 2006)...SF Pablo Sandoval joined this group in Game 1 of the 2012 World Series...Tied his career high with four RBI on June 15 vs. MIA (also July 28, 2011 at OAK while batting leadoff)...only two others in Rays history had two games with four RBI from the leadoff spot: Quinton McCracken (both in 1998) and Gerald Williams (both in 2000)...Placed on the 15-day DL on May 14, retroactive to May 12, with a left knee sprain...removed from the game May 6 vs. OAK after he injured the knee on a slide into home on a sacrifice fly...pinch-hit twice over the next four games before being placed on the DL...reinstated June 5 at NYY after rehab assignments with Class-A Charlotte (one game) and Triple-A Durham (three)...Had a career-high 11-game hitting streak from April 18-29, longest by a Rays leadoff hitter since Aki Iwamura had a 12-game streak from July 25-Aug 6, 2007...Has eight HR in 25 career games vs. Toronto, four coming off Brandon Morrow, and hit three HR in 2012...has 15 HR in 187 games against all other teams...On Opening Day (April 6) vs. NYY led off the ninth inning with a single off Mariano Rivera and scored the tying run on Ben Zobrist's triple... the Rays later scored on Carlos Peña's walk-off RBI single...Made his first Opening Day roster and started the first 13 games in center field in place of B.J. Upton (lower back soreness) who was injured as the result of an outfield collision with Jennings in spring training, March 14 vs. MIA...the collision also sidelined Jennings for 10 daysin spring training...On April 1 at BAL, became the first in Rays history with three HR in a spring game and his six RBI tied a Rays spring record (Jon Weber, March 7, 2009 vs. BOS)...was the first player with three HR in a spring game since PIT Craig Monroe on March 12, 2009 vs. MIN.

2011

From the date of his call-up through the end of the season, he led the Rays in runs (44), hits (64), steals (20) and was 2nd in home runs (10)...his 20 steals over that span were surpassed by only two AL players: OAK Coco Crisp (22) and MIN Ben Revere (21)...he was also the only major leaguer to hit 10 home runs and steal 20 bases after July 23...added 2 more home runs in the postseason, both in Game 3 of the ALDS vs. Texas (see "Postseason")...Named to the Topps Major League Rookie AllStar Team along with Jeremy Hellickson...Despite not joining the Rays until their 99th game, became the first AL rookie with at least 10 HR and 20 SB in a full season since TB Rocco Baldelli and KC Angel Berroa in 2003... last rookie in either league was PIT Andrew McCutchen in 2009...The Rays were 52-46 (.530) and averaged 4.15 runs per game before his arrival...with him in the lineup they went 38-23 (.623) and averaged 4.76 runs per game...All 61 of his starts were from the leadoff spot... his .356 OBP was considerably higher than Rays leadoff hitters before his arrival (.323)...His final .259 batting avg. was the lowest it had been all season...in his first 5 weeks with the Rays he had 15 multi-hit games in his first 34 starts and was batting .354 (46-for-130)... reached base 66 times during that span, tops in the AL...batted .333 (47-for-141) over July and August (37 games) but hit .160 (17-for-106) in September in 26 games...Hit his first career homer on July 28 at OAK off Rich Harden...on Aug 4 vs. TOR hit a game-tying solo home run to lead off the 10th inning off Jon Rauch in a game the Rays came from behind 3 times to win, 7-6 in 12 innings...hit a walkoff homer on Sep 7 vs. TEX off Mark Lowe-his first career walk-off hit-to give the Rays their 1,000th win in franchise history...Five of his 10 home runs came vs. Toronto... went 4-for-5 with 2 HR off Brandon Morrow on Aug 28 at TOR...it was the 7th multi-homer game all-time by a Rays rookie...it was the 5th multi-homer game by a Rays leadoff hitter, and first since Rocco Baldelli on Sep 14, 2006 at NYY...In his season debut (July 23 at KC) went 2-for-3 with a double, triple, 2 walks, 2 runs and a stolen base...reached base 4 times the next day... became the 2nd rookie in club history to reach base 4 times in consecutive games (also Brent Abernathy, Aug 4-5, 2001 at CWS)...Stole a career-high and Rays rookie record-tying 3 bases on Aug 20 vs. SEA in an 8-0 win...Received one third-place vote in the 2011 BBWAA AL Rookie of the Year balloting...Was named an International League midseason All-Star...IL managers voted him the Most Exciting Player in the league for a second straight season...In 89 games at Durham (84 at leadoff), hit .275 (93-for-338) with 12 HR, 17 SB and 45 BB... spent most of his time in center field but also appeared in right field and left field...at the time of his recall led the IL with 68 runs scored and had already set a career high with 12 HR...POSTSEASON: Batted leadoff in all 4 of the Rays ALDS games vs. Texas and joined Ben Zobrist as one of two Rays to hit safely in all 4 games...In the Rays 4-3 loss in Game 3, hit solo homers off Colby Lewis and Mike Adams to become the 7th rookie in major league history to hit 2 HR in a postseason game (see chart) and the first to do it from the leadoff spot...became the 4th Ray to hit multiple HR in a postseason game, following Evan Longoria (ALDS Game 1 on Oct 2, 2008 vs. CWS), B.J. Upton (ALDS Game 4 on Oct 6, 2008 at CWS) and Kelly Shoppach (ALDS Game 1 on Sep 30, 2011 at TEX).

2010

Saw his first action in the majors with a Sep 1 recall and appeared in 17 games down the stretch, including 5 starts (2-RF, 2-LF, 1-CF). ... Made his major league debut the day he was recalled, Sep 1 vs. TOR, starting in right field and batting second ... went 0-for-3...first major league hit came Sep 11 at TOR, a pinch-hit double off Rommie Lewis during a 4-run 8th inning ... on Sep 12 at TOR went 2-for-4 (his first multi-hit game) and stole his first base... hit his first triple Sep 26 vs. SEA off Luke French. ... Was used eight times as a pinch-runner. ... Hit .273 (3-for-11) against left-handed pitching, but was 1-for-10 (.100) vs. righthanders...3 of his 5 starts came against southpaws. ... Played in 109 games for Triple-A Durham, batting .278 (111-for-399) ... at the time of his recall, led the International League with 37 SB and ranked 3rd with 82 runs scored...finished the year 2nd in the IL in steals. ... Made 82 starts in CF for Durham, 8 in RF and 6 in LF...primarily hit leadoff ... was named an IL postseason All-Star despite opening the season on the DL with a left wrist sprain suffered during big league camp...was activated on April 18. ... Was caught stealing just 4 times in 41 attempts for Durham, a 90.2 percent success rate...is 171-for-204 (83.8 percent) in his minor league career. ... Started in left field and hit leadoff for the U.S. Team in the All-Star Futures Game on July 11 at Angel Stadium, his second straight selection to the team ... stole a base, after swiping three in the 2009 game at Busch Stadium. ... Hit his first professional grand slam on Aug 1 at Pawtucket (Red Sox), helping the Bulls win their 11th straight game. ... Was named the Best Defensive Outfielder in the Rays minor league system by club personnel. ... Following the season, Baseball America rated him the No. 3 prospect in the Rays org. and top position player in the system ... also recongnized as the organization's Best Strike-Zone Discipline, Fastest Baserunner, Best Athlete and Best Defensive Outfielder ... in BA's Best Tools survey, IL managers rated him the Best Base Runner, Best Defensive Outfielder and Most Exciting Player in the league. ... BA rated him the No. 3 prospect in the game in its midseason rankings ... trailed only PHI Dominic Brown and LAA Mike Trout.

2009

Primarily played center `` field at both stops but also appeared in left and right field. ``Remained with Durham through their postseason run as they won the Governor's Cup and the Triple-A championship game. ``Was added to the Rays 40-man roster Nov 19.

2008

Was sidelined the first two months of 2008 with a back injury, and lasted only 24 games with Class-A Vero Beach before his left shoulder required season-ending surgery...despite this, BA named him the best athlete and the No. 5 prospect in the Rays org...Returned to action with Peoria of the Arizona Fall League, playing in 12 games as a member of their taxi squad.