Blake Rutherford (born May 2, 1997) 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 ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

in 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 ...

organization. He was drafted by the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

in the 1st 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 ...

Amateur career

Rutherford attended the Chaminade College Preparatory School in

West Hills, California West Hills is a suburban / residential community in the western San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles, California. The percentage of residents aged 35 and older is among the highest in Los Angeles County. The neighborhood was f ...

. As a freshman, Rutherford committed to play

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 ...

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

(UCLA). As a junior, he hit .435 with four

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

. In August 2015, he played in the Under Armour All-America Game at

Wrigley Field Wrigley Field is a Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago Wh ...

. As a senior, he batted .577. Rutherford was considered one of the top prospects for the

2016 MLB 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 ...

Professional career

New York Yankees

Rutherford was selected by the

with the 18th overall pick in the

, and signed a contract with the team on June 29, 2016, with 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 $3,282,000. Rutherford began his professional career with the

Gulf Coast Yankees The Florida Complex League Yankees are a Rookie-level affiliate of the New York Yankees, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team is composed mainly of players who are in their first year of professional baseball e ...

of the Rookie-level

Gulf Coast League The Florida Complex League (FCL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in Florida, United States. Before 2021, it was known as the Gulf Coast League (GCL). Together with the Arizona Complex League (ACL), it forms the lo ...

, and was promoted to the

Pulaski Yankees The Pulaski Yankees were a minor league baseball team based in Pulaski, Virginia, United States. They were an Advanced Rookie League team in the Appalachian League. The team played its home games at Calfee Park. They were affiliated with several ...

of the Rookie-level

Appalachian League The Appalachian League is a collegiate summer baseball league that operates in the Appalachian regions of Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. Designed for rising freshmen and sophomores using wood bats, its season runs from ...

after a few weeks. He finished his first professional season batting .351 with three home runs and 12 RBIs in 33 games between both clubs. Rutherford began the 2017 season with the

Charleston RiverDogs The Charleston RiverDogs are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League. They are located in Charleston, South Carolina, and are the Single-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. The RiverDogs' home stadium is Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park. Hi ...

of the Class A

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

Chicago White Sox

On July 18, 2017, the Yankees traded Rutherford,

Tyler Clippard Tyler Lee Clippard (born February 14, 1985) is an American professional baseball free agent pitcher. He has previously played in MLB for the New York Yankees, Nationals, Oakland Athletics, New York Mets, Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago White Sox, ...

Ian Clarkin Ian Richard Clarkin (born February 14, 1995) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He was drafted by the New York Yankees with the 33rd overall pick in the 2013 Major League Baseball draft. Career New York Yankees Clar ...

, and

Tito Polo Tito Luis Polo Gonzalez (born August 23, 1994) is a Colombian professional baseball outfielder who is a free agent. Career Pittsburgh Pirates Polo signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates as an international free agent in March 2012. He made his de ...

to the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

for David Robertson,

Todd Frazier Todd Brian Frazier (born February 12, 1986), nicknamed "The Toddfather", is an American former professional baseball third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees, Texas Rang ...

, and

Tommy Kahnle Thomas Robert Kahnle (born August 7, 1989) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Colorado Rockies, Chicago White Sox, and Los Angeles Dodgers ...

. Rutherford then joined the Class A

Kannapolis Intimidators Kannapolis () is a city in Cabarrus and Rowan counties, in the U.S. state of North Carolina, northwest of Concord and northeast of Charlotte and is a suburb in the Charlotte metropolitan area. The city of Kannapolis was incorporated in 1984. The ...

. He finished 2017 with a combined .260 batting average with two home runs and 35 RBIs in 101 games between both teams. In 2018, he played for the

Winston-Salem Dash The Winston-Salem Dash are a Minor League Baseball team in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. They are a High-A team in the South Atlantic League and have been a farm team of the Chicago White Sox since 1997. The Dash began playing their home games at ...

, slashing .293/.345/.436 with seven home runs, 78 RBIs, and 15 stolen bases in 115 games. He spent 2019 with the

Birmingham Barons The Birmingham Barons are a Minor League Baseball team based in Birmingham, Alabama. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox and plays at Regions Field in downtown Birmingham. The current ...

, batting .265 with seven home runs and 49 RBIs over 118 games. He was selected to play in 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 ...

for the

Glendale Desert Dogs The Glendale Desert Dogs are a baseball team that plays in the West Division of the Arizona Fall League. They play their home games at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona. The ballpark is also the spring training facility of the Chicago White ...

following the season. Rutherford was added to the White Sox 40–man roster following the 2019 season. He did not play a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season. Rutherford spent the 2021 season with the

Charlotte Knights The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field, which opened in 20 ...

where he slashed .250/.286/.404 with 11 home runs and 54 RBIs over 115 games. On March 29, 2022, the White Sox designated Rutherford for assignment when they acquired

Adam Haseley Adam Donald Haseley ( ; born April 12, 1996) is an American professional baseball outfielder in the Chicago White Sox organization. He has previously played in MLB for the Philadelphia Phillies, who selected him with the eighth overall selection ...

. He cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A on April 1, 2022. Spending the year with Triple-A Charlotte, Rutherford played in 116 games, posting a slash of .271/.311/.428 with 13 home runs, 58 RBI, and 8 stolen bases. He elected free agency on November 10, 2022.

Washington Nationals

On February 3, 2023, Rutherford signed a minor league contract with the

organization.

Personal life

Rutherford's older brother, Cole, was a prospect for the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rutherford, Blake 1997 births Living people People from Simi Valley, California Baseball players from California Baseball outfielders Gulf Coast Yankees players Pulaski Yankees players Charleston RiverDogs players Winston-Salem Dash players Birmingham Barons players Glendale Desert Dogs players Chaminade College Preparatory School (California) alumni Sportspeople from Ventura County, California