Jacob Waguespack #25

Selected by the Pirates in the 37th round of the 2012 First-Year Player Draft out of Dutchtown (La.) High School, but did not sign and honored his commitment to the University of Mississippi…signed as a free agent with the Phillies on June 22, 2015...In Game 7 of the 2022 Japan Series, Jacob closed out a 5-4 victory for the Orix Buffaloes over the Tokyo Yakult Swallows…it marked the franchise’s first championship since Ichiro Suzuki led the club, then known as the BlueWave, to the title in 1996…the Game 7 save was one of three earned by Jacob during the championship series...After two seasons with Orix, he temporarily moved to Charlotte, N.C. before signing with the Rays to live near the Tread Athletics facility… Jacob worked under former Rays Minor Leaguer Tyler Zombro, ironing out his mechanics while continuing to push the intensity level of his training…his hard work was rewarded when the Rays signed him in mid-January and invited him to Spring Training...Jacob goes by the nickname “Wags” in the Rays clubhouse...During Spring Training, Jacob hosted a crawfish boil on the boardwalk at Charlotte Sports Park for Rays players, staff and coaches…a Louisiana native, he flew in 200 pounds of crawfish from his home state…the event also included a cornhole tournament that saw Kameron Misner and Logan Driscoll defeat Brandon Lowe and Ryan Pepiot in the championship round...Jacob and his wife, Leslie, were married in early 2023 and celebrated the birth of their son, Charles Jacob, last June.

2024

Made four relief appearances for the Rays from March 31–April 12, posting a 5.40 ERA (10IP, 6ER) with 11 SO…added to the 40-man roster on March 15…made his second career Opening Day roster (2020 with TOR)…became the first non-roster invite to make the Rays Opening Day roster since Chris Mazza in 2022...On March 31 vs. TOR made his first MLB appearance since Sept. 16, 2020 at NYY as a member of the Blue Jays...On April 12 vs. SF, threw 71 pitches across four innings of work, his most in a Major League outing since Sept. 25, 2019 vs. BAL (78)…Optioned to Triple-A Durham on April 13 and made three starts with the Bulls…recalled on May 6 and placed on the 15-day IL the same day (right rotator cuff inflammation)…moved to the 60-day IL on May 18...Made one rehab start with the FCL Rays on June 25, but was shut down shortly thereafter …started his second rehab assignment on Sept. 6 with Durham and made six appearances (1GS) with the Bulls to close the season, pitching to a 2.25 ERA (8.0IP, 2ER).

2023

Went 4-7 with a 5.77 ERA (43.2IP, 28ER) in 31 appearances for the Orix Buffaloes in the Nippon Professional Baseball Organization…made five appearances with their minor league club, surrendering two runs over 13.0 innings.

2022

In his first season with Orix, went 2-6 with a 2.97 ERA (72.2IP, 24ER) and five saves in 32 appearances…in three appearances with the minor league club, tossed 12.0 innings and allowed one earned run.

2021

Went 7-2 with a 2.86 ERA (69.1IP, 22ER) over 24 appearances (10GS) with Triple-A Buffalo.

2020

Pitched in 11 games exclusively as a reliever... Recalled from the alternate training site on five occasions... Did not allow a run in his first four outings but allowed at least one in each of his last seven games... Landed on the injured list with a left back strain from Sept. 17 until the end of the season.

2019

Held left-handed hitters to a .208 AVG (27-for-130), 9th best among AL pitchers to face at least 140 such batters... Made his MLB debut with 4.0 innings of relief on May 27 at TB...Gave up 3R/2ER on three hits and a walk...Struck out seven batters to set a franchise record for a reliever in his 1st MLB game, ahead of Kelvim Escobar's five K's on June 29, 1997 at BAL...Marked the 5th time in team history that a pitcher debuted with 4.0+ innings of relief (last: Lee Gronkiewicz- 4.0 IP on June 19, 2007 vs. LAD)...Only twice in MLB history had a pitcher debuted with more than seven strikeouts in relief: Pittsburgh's Barry Jones picked up eight K's on April 20, 1986 at CHC (4.0 IP), and Houston's Joe Musgrove also fanned eight batters on Aug. 2, 2016 vs. TOR (4.1 IP)...Waguespack also became the 4th pitcher of any kind in Blue Jays history to record 7+ strikeouts in his MLB debut (last: Trent Thornton - 8 on March 31, 2019 vs. DET)... Placed on the injured list from May 28-July 2 with a right shoulder strain...Made three rehab appearances for Triple-A Buffalo, combining for three earned runs allowed over 9.2 innings (2.79 ERA)... Earned his 1st career win on July 3 vs. BOS as he tossed 5.0+ innings of relief, allowing six hits and three runs (0BB, 4K)…Of all the MLB pitchers to make their first two career appearances as a reliever, only Pete Richert (12 in 1962) and Sonny Siebert (12 in 1964) had more than 10 strikeouts, before Waguespack's 11 in 2019... Made his 1st MLB start on July 16 at BOS and took a no-decision with four runs allowed over 4.2 IP in a Blue Jays' 10-4 win (6H, 3BB, 2K)... Took his 1st career loss on July 26 vs. TB as he gave up three runs over 5.0 frames (6H, 3BB, 2K)... Recorded his 1st career quality start on July 31 at KC with 6.0 innings of one-run ball (3H, 2BB, 2K)... Improved to 3-1 with his second straight win and quality start on Aug. 5 at TB...Marked his 1st scoreless game (6.0 IP, 4H, 1BB, 4K)... Won his 3rd consecutive decision on Aug. 16 vs. SEA as he gave up two runs over 5.1 IP while throwing a career-high 102 pitches (75 strikes)... On Aug. 22 at LAD, limited MLB's best team at the time to one hit and one walk over 7.0 scoreless innings (5K) in what was his 1st interleague game...Kept left-handed hitters to 0-for-11 on the night (2K)... Faced the Braves for the 2nd straight outing on Sept. 2 at ATL...Allowed 4R/2ER over 4.0 IP and issued a career-high five walks (1H, 4K)... Was tagged with a career-high six runs on Sept. 8 at TB (7H, 1HR, 2BB, 2K)... Made his 13th and final start on Sept. 25 vs. BAL...Tossed 6.0 shutout frames for his 3rd scoreless start (4H, 2BB, 5K)...Tied a team record (6th time) with three starts of 6+ IP and no runs allowed within his first 16 MLB contests...Earned the win to wrap up his rookie campaign at 5-5... Went 2-6 with a 5.30 ERA in 12 total games (11 starts) for the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons (1.56 WHIP).

2018

Split the first 21 games of his season between Double-A Reading and Triple-A Lehigh Valley ... Combined for a 4-6 record while making 15 starts between the two clubs ... Was traded to the Blue Jays in exchange for LHP Aaron Loup on July 31 ... Joined Triple-A Buffalo after the trade and set a Bisons debut record as he struck out 12 batters on Aug. 2 vs. Lehigh Valley (6.1 IP, 8H, 4ER, 1BB), just two days after changing clubhouses at Coca-Cola Field ... Finished with a 2-4 record and a 5.03 ERA across seven games (six starts) for Buffalo ... Was added to Toronto's 40-man roster after the season to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft.

2017

Started 2017 with Advanced-A Clearwater and with 6-5 with a 3.29 ERA across 24 games (10 starts), including 73 strikeouts in 68.1 innings of work ... Finished his season with seven games (six starts) for Double-A Reading where he posted a 3.65 ERA and punched out 35 batters over 37.0 frames ... Was assigned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Sept. 6 for the IronPigs' playoff run ... Made one postseason start, allowing just one run over 7.0 innings on Sept. 10 at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (3H, 2BB, 7K).

2016

Spent his entire 2016 campaign with Class-A Lakewood ... Made 43 relief appearances struck out 72 batters over 71.2 innings... His 43 games played tied for 3rd most among South Atlantic League pitchers.

2015

Split his first pro season with the Rookie-level GCL Phillies (4G) and Class-A (short) Williamsport (15G) ... Recorded 25 strikeouts, a .132 opponents' batting average and a 0.42 ERA over 21.1 innings while with Williamsport.