Nick Wittgren
Nicholas James Wittgren (born May 29, 1991) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Miami Marlins.
Nick Wittgren | |||
---|---|---|---|
Wittgren with the Indians in February 2020 | |||
Cleveland Indians – No. 62 | |||
Pitcher | |||
Born: Torrance, California | May 29, 1991|||
| |||
MLB debut | |||
April 19, 2016, for the Miami Marlins | |||
MLB statistics (through 2020 season) | |||
Win–loss record | 16–6 | ||
Earned run average | 3.36 | ||
Strikeouts | 204 | ||
Teams | |||
|
Career
Amateur
Wittgren was born in Torrance, California, but grew up in Lafayette, Indiana where he attended McCutcheon High School and played for the school's baseball, basketball, and tennis teams. Wittgren played college baseball at Parkland College for a year before transferring to Purdue University where he played from 2011 to 2012.[1] He served as the closer for Purdue during his two years, finishing with a 2.54 earned run average (ERA), 22 saves and 94 strikeouts over 92 innings pitched. In 2011, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Hyannis Harbor Hawks of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[2]
Miami Marlins
Wittgren was drafted by the Miami Marlins in the ninth round of the 2012 Major League Baseball draft.[3] During his first professional season he had a 1.17 ERA, 13 saves and 47 strikeouts over 30 2⁄3 innings while playing for the Jamestown Jammers and Greensboro Grasshoppers. He started the 2013 season with the Jupiter Hammerheads and was promoted to the Double-A Jacksonville Suns.[4][5] For the season he posted a 0.77 ERA with 26 saves and 63 strikeouts over 58 1⁄3. At the end of the season he was named the Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year by the staff of MiLB.com.[6][7][8] Wittgren returned to Jacksonville in 2014. He appeared in 52 games and had a 3.55 ERA, 20 saves and 56 strikeouts over 66 innings.[9] He again returned to Jacksonville to start 2015, but was promoted to the Triple-A New Orleans Zephyrs after two games.
The Marlins promoted Wittgren to the major leagues on April 19, 2016.[10] In his first Major League appearance, he walked the only batter he faced, Anthony Rendon. Rendon later scored on Bryce Harper's grand slam. He spent most of the season in the Marlins bullpen, appearing in 48 games. He had a 3.14 ERA in 51 2⁄3 innings. The next season he spent time between the AAA level and the Marlins bullpen, appearing in 38 games with a 4.68 ERA in 42 1⁄3 innings. Wittgren was designated for assignment on January 29, 2019 following the signing of Neil Walker.
Cleveland Indians
On February 4, 2019, Wittgren was traded to the Cleveland Indians in exchange for Jordan Milbrath.[11] On March 24, 2019, Wittgren was optioned to the AAA Columbus Clippers.[12] On April 9, 2019, he was called up to the Indians after Mike Clevinger went to the 10-day IL.
With the 2020 Cleveland Indians, Wittgren appeared in 25 games, compiling a 2-0 record with 3.42 ERA and 28 strikeouts in 23.2 innings pitched.[13]
References
- Editor, Travis Baugh Assistant Sports. "Wittgren uses community college as stepping stone".CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
- "#9 Nick Wittgren - Profile". pointstreak.com. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
- "Wittgren Selected in Ninth Round by Miami Marlins in MLB Draft". Purduesports.com. June 5, 2012. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
- "Nick Wittgren promoted to Double-A". Php.jconline.com. September 1, 2013. Archived from the original on September 5, 2013. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
- "Hammerheads' Closer breezing through Florida State League".
- Parker, John (October 25, 2013). "Closing time: Wittgren is top reliever". Milb.com. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
- "Nick Wittgren (McCutcheon/Purdue) earns minor league Relief Pitcher of the Year honor". Jconline.com. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
- "Purdue's Nick Wittgren earns minor league Relief Pitcher of the Year honor".
- "Former Purdue baseball star Wittgren still winning".
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-04-19. Retrieved 2016-04-19.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/25925457/indians-acquire-right-hander-nick-wittgren-trade-marlins
- Ryan Lewis (March 24, 2019). "Indians option Nick Wittgren to Triple-A; Opening Day bullpen is set". www.ohio.com. GateHouse Media, LLC. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
- https://www.mlb.com/player/nick-wittgren-621295
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
- Purdue Boilermakers bio
- Nick Wittgren on Twitter