Andrew Jacob Yerzy (born July 5, 1998) is a Canadian

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 ...

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

and

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

in the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

organization. He was drafted by the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...

in the second round of the

2016 Major League Baseball draft The 2016 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 9, 2016, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2015 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks will be d ...

Early life

Yerzy, a native of

North York North York is one of the six administrative districts of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located directly north of York, Old Toronto and East York, between Etobicoke to the west and Scarborough to the east. As of the 2016 Census, it had a popu ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, was born to David and Patricia (née Wong) Yerzy, has two older brothers, and is Jewish. His paternal grandparents were Eric Yerzy (whose parents and siblings were murdered in

the Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

) and Sonia Yerzy. His maternal grandparents were Cheuck Yu Wong and Shun Kiu Susan Wong. He attended

York Mills Collegiate Institute York Mills Collegiate Institute (York Mills C.I., YMCI or York Mills) is a public high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is part of the Toronto District School Board, offering grades 9–12. It is located in North York along York Mills Road ...

in Toronto.

Career

Amateur career

Yerzy was selected for the Junior Canadian National Baseball Team at the age of 15. Yerzy was co-champion of Major League Baseball's Junior Home Run Derby at the

2015 Major League Baseball All-Star Game The 2015 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 86th edition of the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. The game was played at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, Ohio on Tuesday, July 14. It was televised nationally on Fox. The Americ ...

Arizona Diamondbacks

Yerzy was drafted by the

in the second round of the

, 52nd overall. He was the third-highest

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), ...

draft pick ever from the

Greater Toronto Area The Greater Toronto Area, commonly referred to as the GTA, includes the City of Toronto and the regional municipalities of Durham, Halton, Peel, and York. In total, the region contains 25 urban, suburban, and rural municipalities. The Greater T ...

, behind

Josh Naylor Joshua-Douglas James Naylor (born June 22, 1997) is a Canadian professional baseball first baseman and outfielder for the Cleveland Guardians of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the San Diego Padres. Naylor was the 12th overa ...

(12th overall in 2015 by the Miami Marlins) and

Joey Votto Joseph Daniel Votto (born September 10, 1983) is a Canadian-American professional baseball first baseman for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut with the Reds in 2007. He is the first Canadian MLB player ...

(44th overall in 2002 by the Cincinnati Reds). He had signed a

letter of intent A letter of intent (LOI or LoI, or Letter of Intent) is a document outlining the understanding between two or more parties which they intend to formalize in a contract, legally binding agreement. The concept is similar to a Heads of agreement ( ...

to attend the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

, but instead signed for a

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

of $1.214 million. It was the 11th-highest bonus ever given a Canadian baseball player. Arizona scouting director Deric Ladnier said: "He has massive power." After being drafted, at the age of 17, Yerzy played for both the AZL Diamondbacks and the

Missoula Osprey The Missoula PaddleHeads are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. They are located in Missoula, Montana, and play their home games at Ogren Park ...

in 2016. He posted a combined .216 batting average with one home run and 16 RBIs in 45 total games between both teams. After the 2016 season, ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

'' ranked him Arizona's #14 prospect. He spent 2017 with Missoula. Yerzy greatly improved over his debut, batting .298/.365/.524 with 13 home runs (tied for 6th in the Pioneer League), 45 RBIs and an .890 OPS in 54 games. Yerzy played all of 2018 with the

Hillsboro Hops The Hillsboro Hops are a Minor League Baseball team in the Pacific Northwest, northwest United States, located in Hillsboro, Oregon, a city in the Portland metropolitan area. The Hops are members of the Northwest League as an affiliate of the Ariz ...

, slashing .297/.382/.452 with eight home runs (tied for 8th in the

Northwest League The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Pacific Northwest, Northwestern United States and Western Canada. A Class A Short Season league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Maj ...

), 34 RBIs (9th), and 34 walks (8th) in 63 games. He was both a Northwest League Mid-Season All Star and a Northwest League Post-Season All Star for Hillsboro. Yerzy split 2019 between the Hillsboro Hops and the

Kane County Cougars The Kane County Cougars are an independent professional baseball team located in Geneva, Illinois and are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball (MLB). They play their ho ...

in the Class A

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

, batting a combined .179/.279/.275 with 46 walks, six home runs, and 39 RBIs in 357 at bats. His 34 RBIs and 37 walks with Hillsboro were both 6th in the league. Yerzy 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 ...

. As of June 2021, he held every single Hops offensive record. In 2021 Yerzy played with the Class A

Visalia Rawhide The Visalia Rawhide are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are located in Visalia, California, and have played their home games at Valley Strong Ballpark since their ...

(12 games), the Class A+ Hillsboro Hops (61 games), and the Class AA

Amarillo Sod Poodles The Amarillo Sod Poodles, nicknamed the Soddies, are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are located in Amarillo, Texas, and play their home games at Hodgetown in downtown ...

(21 games).
/ref> On May 21, 2021, Yerzy was named Canadian Baseball Network Player of the Week. On August 27, he was named Canadian Baseball Network Player of the Week. He batted a combined .220/.354/.459 in 318 at bats, with 21 home runs, 61 RBIs, 53 walks, 14 hit by pitch, and 7 stolen bases in 8 attempts. In the field, he played catcher (45 games) and first base (24 games). In 2022, he played the entire season with Amarillo. He batted .220/.338/.402 in 291 at bats, with 45 runs, 12 home runs, 38 RBIs, and 50 walks. In the field, he played first base (48 games) and catcher (31 games), and pitched one scoreless inning in one game. He elected free agency after the 2022 season.

Cincinnati Reds

On March 10, 2023, Yerzy signed a minor league contract with the

organization.

International career

Yerzy was selected

Canada national baseball team The Canada national baseball team represents Canada in international baseball. They are overseen by Baseball Canada, the governing body of baseball in Canada. Their manager is Ernie Whitt, a former Major League Baseball catcher for the Toronto ...

at the 2015 U-18 Baseball World Cup and 2019 Pan American Games Qualifier and

2019 WBSC Premier12 The 2019 WBSC Premier12 was an international baseball championship featuring the 12 highest-ranked national teams in the world, held by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC). It was the second WBSC Premier12 event. The championship ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yerzy, Andy 1998 births Living people Amarillo Sod Poodles players Arizona League Diamondbacks players Baseball catchers Baseball players from Toronto Canada national baseball team players Canadian expatriate baseball players in the United States Canadian people of Jewish descent Canadian sportspeople of Chinese descent Hillsboro Hops players Jewish baseball players Kane County Cougars players Missoula Osprey players Sportspeople from North York Visalia Rawhide players 2019 WBSC Premier12 players