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A. J. Reed

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Andrew Joseph Reed (born May 10, 1993) is an American former professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros and Chicago White Sox. He played college baseball at Kentucky and was drafted by the Astros in the second round of the 2014 MLB draft.

A. J. Reed
Reed with the Houston Astros in 2016
First baseman
Born: (1993-05-10) May 10, 1993 (age 31)
Terre Haute, Indiana, U.S.
Batted: Left
Threw: Left
MLB debut
June 25, 2016, for the Houston Astros
Last MLB appearance
August 1, 2019, for the Chicago White Sox
Career statistics
Batting average.149
Home runs4
Runs batted in12
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Early years

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Reed attended Terre Haute South Vigo High School in Terre Haute, Indiana.[1] During his career he hit .425 with 41 home runs and 150 runs batted in (RBI) as a batter and was 26–10 record with a 1.88 earned run average (ERA), and 390 strikeouts in 260 innings as a pitcher. Reed was drafted by the New York Mets in the 25th round of the 2011 Major League Baseball Draft, but did not sign and attended the University of Kentucky.[2]

College career

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While at Kentucky he was considered one of the best two-way players in college baseball.[3][4][5] As a freshman in 2012 at the Kentucky he became the first consensus first-team freshman All-American in Kentucky's baseball history. He played in 55 games with 51 starts, hitting .300 with four home runs and 43 runs batted in as a batter. As a pitcher he went 5–3 with a 2.52 ERA and 51 strikeouts over 16 games (five starts). As a sophomore in 2013 he started all 55 games and started 14 games as a pitcher. As a batter he hit .280 with 13 home runs and 52 runs batted in. As a pitcher he was 2–8 with a 4.04 ERA and 52 strikeouts. In 2012 and 2013, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[6][7][8]

As a junior in 2014, Reed hit .336/.476/.735 and led the nation in home runs with 23. As a pitcher he was 12–2 with a 2.09 ERA and 71 strikeouts. He was the winner of the Golden Spikes Award and the Dick Howser Trophy.[9][10] He also won numerous other awards, including the John Olerud Award, SEC Player of the Year, National Player of the Year from Collegiate Baseball and American Baseball Coaches Association, as well as Baseball America College Player Of The Year.[11][12][13][14][15] He was also the SEC Male Athlete of the Year for all sports.[16]

Professional career

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Houston Astros

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Reed was drafted by the Houston Astros in the second round of the 2014 Major League Baseball Draft.[17] He signed on June 11.[18] Reed hit 34 home runs for the Lancaster JetHawks of the Class A-Advanced California League and Corpus Christi Hooks of the Class AA Texas League in the 2015 season, winning the Joe Bauman Home Run Award.[19]

Reed began the 2016 season with the Fresno Grizzlies of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League. He was called up and made his major league debut on June 25, 2016.[20] On July 1, 2016 he recorded his first Major League hit with a single against Chicago White Sox.[21] Next day he hit his first Major League home run off Chicago White Sox pitcher David Robertson.[22]

On March 21, 2017, he was optioned back to the Fresno Grizzlies of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League.[23] Reed appeared in only 2 games for the Astros in 2017 without recording a stat in 6 at-bats.[24] Reed earned his first World Series Championship ring.

On June 28, 2018, Reed was recalled to the Astros when Yuli Gurriel was on a 3-day paternity leave. He was optioned back to the Grizzlies on July 3. During Reed's cup of coffee, he appeared in one game, with three at bats and no hits.[25]

On July 2, 2019, Reed was designated for assignment by the Astros.[26]

Chicago White Sox

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On July 8, 2019, the Chicago White Sox claimed Reed off waivers.[27][28] On August 16, Reed was outrighted off the 40-man roster. In 2019, he had the slowest sprint speed of all major league designated hitters, at 23.2 feet/second.[29] On March 4, 2020, Reed announced his retirement at the age of 26.[30]

Personal life

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Reed is married to Shelbie Scamihorn, his high school sweetheart. Scamihorn played college softball at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana.[31] They have two pet cockatoos.[32]

References

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  1. ^ "Immense power: A leaner A.J. Reed making play as elite prospect". Terre Haute Tribune Star. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
  2. ^ "New York Mets draft South's A.J. Reed". Terre Haute Tribune Star. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
  3. ^ "Kentucky's A.J. Reed among nation's elite as hitter and pitcher". NCAA.com. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
  4. ^ "- Sports - The New Orleans Advocate — New Orleans, Louisiana". theneworleansadvocate.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
  5. ^ "Kentucky's Reed is nation's top slugger — and mound ace". The Courier-Journal. April 24, 2014. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
  6. ^ "#18 AJ Reed". pointstreak.com. Retrieved August 12, 2021.
  7. ^ "#36 AJ Reed". pointstreak.com. Retrieved August 12, 2021.
  8. ^ "Ex-Harwich pitcher named minors' top player of 2015". capecodbaseball.org. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  9. ^ "A.J. Reed of Kentucky Wildcats winner of Golden Spikes Award". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
  10. ^ Astros draftee Reed wins Howser Trophy
  11. ^ "AJ Reed Wins John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award". ukathletics.com. Archived from the original on July 29, 2014. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
  12. ^ "SEC Announces 2014 Baseball Awards" (Press release). Southeastern Conference. May 27, 2014. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  13. ^ "A.J. Reed Named National Player of the Year". May 29, 2014 (Press release). University of Kentucky Athletics. Archived from the original on May 29, 2014. Retrieved May 29, 2014.
  14. ^ "College Player Of The Year: Kentucky's Reed Starred At Plate, On Mound". June 11, 2014 (Press release). Baseball America. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
  15. ^ "AJ Reed Named ABCA National Player of the Year". University of Kentucky. June 18, 2014. Archived from the original on June 22, 2014. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  16. ^ Kyle Tucker, @KyleTucker_CJ (July 1, 2014). "Kentucky's A.J. Reed named SEC Male Athlete of the Year". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
  17. ^ "Astros go for power with Kentucky's Reed in Round 2". Houston Astros. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
  18. ^ "Astros ink power-hitting 42nd overall pick Reed". Houston Astros. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
  19. ^ "Reed wins 2015 Bauman Home Run Award: Second-year Astros pro hit 34 homers to lead Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com. September 11, 2015. Retrieved September 11, 2015.
  20. ^ "Astros to call up top prospect AJ Reed". SI.com. June 24, 2016. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
  21. ^ "Gomez hits 2-run homer to help Astros over White Sox 5-0". ESPN. July 2, 2016. Retrieved July 28, 2016.
  22. ^ "White Sox's comeback victory over Astros gives Chris Sale MLB-best 14th win". ESPN. July 3, 2016. Archived from the original on July 7, 2016. Retrieved July 28, 2016.
  23. ^ "Transactions". Houston Astros. Archived from the original on April 4, 2017. Retrieved April 3, 2017.
  24. ^ McTaggart, Brian; Gurnick, Ken. "Houston Astros win 2017 World Series". MLB. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  25. ^ "AJ Reed". milb.com. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
  26. ^ Rome, Chandler (July 2, 2019). "Astros designate A.J. Reed for assignment to make room for Jose Urquidy". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  27. ^ RotoWire Staff (July 8, 2019). "White Sox's AJ Reed: Claimed by White Sox". Retrieved July 8, 2019.
  28. ^ Van Schouwen, Daryl (July 12, 2019). "Waiver claim AJ Reed embraces fresh start, opportunity with White Sox". Chicago Sun Times. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
  29. ^ "Statcast Sprint Speed Leaderboard | baseballsavant.com". Baseballsavant.mlb.com. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
  30. ^ "A.J. Reed retiring from baseball". WTHITV Sports 10. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  31. ^ "After tying the knot, Astros prospect A.J. Reed back to work". Houston Chronicle. December 4, 2015. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
  32. ^ Pearson, Craig. "After another monster RBI season, Reed remains hopeful about big-league opportunity". Terre Haute Tribune-Star. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
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