Adam Joseph Ladwig (born December 24, 1992) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. He pitched in one game in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

in 2022.

Amateur career

Ladwig played high school at

Millard West High School Millard West High School is a public high school located in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. It first opened its doors on August 17, 1995. Currently, Millard West High School is the third largest school within the Millard Public Schools district. I ...

and

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

for the

Wichita State Shockers The Wichita State Shockers are the athletic teams that represent Wichita State University, located in Wichita, Kansas, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division I ranks, primarily competing in the American Athletic Conference ( ...

Professional career

Ladwig was first drafted by the

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

in the 45th round of the

2011 Major League Baseball Draft The 2011 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2011, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Gerrit Cole out of the University of California, Los Angeles, with the first ...

out of high school, but he did not sign with Philadelphia.

Detroit Tigers

Three years later, he was drafted by the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

in the 11th round, with the 340th overall selection, of the

2014 Major League Baseball Draft The 2014 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 5 through June 7, 2014, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first two rounds were conducted on June 5, followed by rounds three through ten on June ...

and signed. He spent his first professional season split between the Low-A

Connecticut Tigers The Norwich Sea Unicorns are a baseball team located in Norwich, Connecticut. From 2010 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's New York–Penn League (NYPL) as the Class A Short Season affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They play th ...

and rookie-level

Gulf Coast Tigers The Florida Complex League Tigers are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Tigers. The team plays its home ga ...

, recording an 0-7 record and 5.14 ERA across 13 contests. In 2015, Ladwig spent the year with the Single-A

West Michigan Whitecaps The West Michigan Whitecaps are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Comstock Park, Michigan, a suburb of Grand Rapids, and play their home games at LMCU Ballpark. ...

, making 22 starts and logging a 12-9 record and 3.59 ERA with 85 strikeouts in 138.0 innings pitched. He spent the 2016 season with the High-A

Lakeland Flying Tigers The Lakeland Flying Tigers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Lakeland, Florida, and play their home games at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium. ...

, registering a 12-9 record and 3.69 ERA with 101 strikeouts in 153.2 innings of work. In 2017, Ladwig split the year between Lakeland, the Double-A

Erie SeaWolves The Erie SeaWolves are an United States, American professional baseball team based in Erie, Pennsylvania. They compete in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) as a member of the Eastern League (1938–present), Eastern League's Southwest Division, serving ...

, and the Triple-A

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...

. In 28 games (27 starts) between the three affiliates, he pitched to a 10-9 record and 5.01 ERA with 101 strikeouts in 142.0 innings of work. Ladwig spent the 2018 season back with Toledo and Erie, making 25 appearances (23 starts) and posting a 10-6 record and 4.78 ERA with 98 strikeouts in 133.2 innings pitched. Ladwig underwent

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's bo ...

prior to the 2019 season and missed the entire year as a result. He did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. He returned to action in 2021, making 24 appearances (21 starts) split between Erie and Toledo, and registering a 6-7 record and 4.49 ERA with 87 strikeouts in 108.1 innings pitched. He began the 2022 season appearing in 4 games for Erie and 1 for Toledo. On May 17, 2022, Ladwig was released by the Tigers organization.

Miami Marlins

On May 25, 2022, Ladwig signed a minor league contract with the

organization. He was assigned to the Triple-A

Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in Jacksonville, Florida, and are named for shrimp caught in the area. The team pla ...

, where he pitched to an 8-5 record and 4.13 ERA with 63 strikeouts in 16 games (15 starts). On August 13, 2022, Ladwig was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time to serve as the Marlins' 27th man in the team's doubleheader. He made his MLB debut that day, allowing six runs in innings against the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

. He was designated for assignment the following day. He cleared waivers and was sent outright to the Double-A

Pensacola Blue Wahoos The Pensacola Blue Wahoos are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are based in Pensacola, Florida, and play their home games at Admiral Fetterman Field. In 2012, the team rel ...

on August 16. He elected free agency following the season on November 10. On March 31, 2023, Ladwig announced his retirement from professional baseball via Instagram.https://www.instagram.com/p/CqdlApYuOaS/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

References

External links

Wichita State Shockers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ladwig, A. J. 1992 births Living people Connecticut Tigers players Erie SeaWolves players Gulf Coast Tigers players Lakeland Flying Tigers players Major League Baseball pitchers Miami Marlins players Pensacola Blue Wahoos players Baseball players from Omaha, Nebraska Toledo Mud Hens players West Michigan Whitecaps players Wichita State Shockers baseball players