Aaron Eugene Fletcher (born February 25, 1996) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

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 ...

who is a free agent. He played college baseball for the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...

. Fletcher was drafted by the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

in the 14th round of the

2018 MLB draft The 2018 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 4, 2018. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was determined based on the reverse order of the 2017 MLB season final standings. In a ...

. He previously played 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

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

and

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

Early years

Fletcher attended

Langham Creek High School Langham Creek High School is a high school located in an unincorporated area in Harris County, Texas, United States, near Houston. Langham Creek, which was established in 1984, is part of the Cypress Fairbanks Independent School District. Severa ...

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

. He attended the

and played

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

Cougars The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large cat native to the Americas. Its range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere. I ...

. Fletcher 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 ...

on March 11, 2016. in 2018 after going 7-3 with a 2.19 ERA in 94.1 innings, Fletcher was named the

AAC AAC may refer to: Aviation * Advanced Aircraft, a company from Carlsbad, California * Alaskan Air Command, a radar network * American Aeronautical Corporation, a company from Port Washington, New York * American Aviation, a company from Cleveland, ...

2018 Pitcher of the Year.

Career

Washington Nationals

Fletcher was drafted by the

in the 14th round, with the 431st overall selection, of the

. In 2018, he played for the

Gulf Coast Nationals The Florida Complex League Nationals are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Washington Nationals, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to the 2021 season, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Nationals. The ...

and the

Auburn Doubledays The Auburn Doubledays are a collegiate summer baseball team of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL) that is located in Auburn, New York. From 1958 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's New York–Penn League (NYPL) ...

, going 2–1 with a 2.90 ERA in 31 innings. He pitched for the

Hagerstown Suns The Hagerstown Suns were a Minor League Baseball team based in Hagerstown, Maryland. They were a member of the South Atlantic League and, from 2007 through 2020, were the Class A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They played their home g ...

Potomac Nationals The Potomac Nationals were a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League. They were located in Woodbridge, Virginia, and played their home games at Northwest Federal Field at Pfitzner Stadium. After the 2019 season, the team relocated to Fr ...

, and

Harrisburg Senators The Harrisburg Senators are a Minor League Baseball team of the Eastern League, and the Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, who play their home games at FNB Field on City Island, which opened in 1987 a ...

in the Washington organization in 2019, going a combined 5–4 with a 1.79 ERA in 60 innings.

Seattle Mariners

On July 31, 2019, the Nationals traded Fletcher,

Taylor Guilbeau Taylor Michael Guilbeau (born May 12, 1993) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners. Career Guilbeau was drafted out of Zachary High School in the 39th round by ...

, and Elvis Alvarado to the

in exchange for

Roenis Elías Roenis Leliebre Elías (; ; born August 1, 1988) is a Cuban left-handed professional baseball pitcher in the Chicago Cubs organization. He made his MLB debut in 2014. He previously played in MLB for the Boston Red Sox, Washington Nationals and Se ...

and

Hunter Strickland Hunter Drew Strickland (born September 24, 1988) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, Washington Nationals, New York Mets, Ta ...

. He was assigned to the

Arkansas Travelers The Arkansas Travelers, also known informally as The Travs, are a Minor League Baseball team based in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The Travelers are affiliated with the Seattle Mariners as members of the Texas League. History The team succeeded ...

, compiling a 3.46 ERA over 13 innings. Fletcher played for the

Peoria Javelinas The Peoria Javelinas are a baseball team that plays in the West Division of the Arizona Fall League. The Javelinas play their home games in the Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria, Arizona. The ballpark is also the spring training facility for the Sa ...

of the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season sports league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during the autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are fill ...

following the 2019 season, and was named a Fall League All-Star. Fletcher had his contract selected to the active roster on August 21, 2020. He made his major league debut the next day, throwing a scoreless inning in relief against the Texas Rangers. In 2020, he pitched 4.1 innings for the Mariners. In 2021, Fletcher made 4 appearances for Seattle, struggling to a 12.27 ERA with 2 strikeouts. He spent the majority of the year with Triple-A

Tacoma Rainiers The Tacoma Rainiers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They are located in Tacoma, Washington, and play their home games at Cheney Stadium, which opened in 1960. ...

, making 39 appearances and registering 4-0 record and 3.47 ERA with 45 strikeouts in 49.1 innings pitched.

Pittsburgh Pirates

On March 13, 2022, Fletcher was claimed off waivers by the

. He split time between the Triple-A

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory Field, which open ...

and the Pirates. In 9 appearances for Pittsburgh, he struggled to an 0-1 record and 6.94 ERA with 6 strikeouts in 11.2 innings pitched. Concurrently, his Indianapolis numbers were far better, with a 1.45 ERA with 9 strikeouts in 18.2 innings of work. On July 8, 2022, Fletcher was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must within seven days, return the pla ...

San Francisco Giants

On July 14, 2022, Fletcher was claimed off waivers by the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

. Following the waiver claim of Alex Young on July 18, Fletcher was removed from the

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, and ...

and sent outright to the Triple-A

Sacramento River Cats The Sacramento River Cats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Prior to 2015, the River Cats were the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics for 15 yea ...

. He made 15 appearances for Triple-A Sacramento, struggling immensely to the tune of a 15.15 ERA with 12 strikeouts in 13.2 innings pitched. Fletcher began the 2023 season with Sacramento, but was again hit hard, allowing 8 earned runs on 8 hits, 7 walks, and 2 strikeouts in 3.0 innings pitched. He was released by the Giants organization on April 20, 2023.https://www.milb.com/transactions/2023-04-20

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fletcher, Aaron 1996 births Living people People from Geneseo, Illinois Baseball players from Illinois Major League Baseball pitchers Seattle Mariners players Pittsburgh Pirates players Houston Cougars baseball players Gulf Coast Nationals players Auburn Doubledays players Hagerstown Suns players Potomac Nationals players Harrisburg Senators players Arkansas Travelers players Peoria Javelinas players Sacramento River Cats players Tacoma Rainiers players