Conner Scott Menez (born May 29, 1995) 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 ...
for the
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters
The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaidō. They compete in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball, playing the majority of their home games at ES CON Field Hokkaido. The Fighters also host a ...
of
Nippon Professional Baseball
or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''.
Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...
(NPB). He 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 ...
at
The Master's University
The Master's University is a private non-denominational Christian university in Santa Clarita, California.
History
The college was founded in 1927. It was originally named Los Angeles Baptist College and Seminary. In 1961, it moved to Newhal ...
. He was drafted 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 ...
in the 14th 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 ...
and made his MLB debut with them in 2019.
Amateur career
Menez attended
San Benito High School in
Hollister, California
Hollister is a city in and the county seat of San Benito County, located in the Central Coast region of California. With a 2020 United States census population of 41,678, Hollister is one of the largest cities in the Monterey Bay Area and a me ...
. He then 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 ...
at
The Master's University
The Master's University is a private non-denominational Christian university in Santa Clarita, California.
History
The college was founded in 1927. It was originally named Los Angeles Baptist College and Seminary. In 1961, it moved to Newhal ...
from 2014 to 2016, where he had a 20–5
win–loss record
In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...
and a 2.26 career
earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...
(ERA), the lowest in school history.
Professional career
San Francisco Giants
He was drafted 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 ...
in the 14th 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 ...
. He signed for a $75,000
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 ...
.
Menez spent his first professional season with the
Arizona League Giants
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Four C ...
,
Salem-Keizer Volcanoes
The Salem-Keizer Volcanoes are a baseball team located in Keizer, Oregon, who are charter members of the Mavericks Independent Baseball League, a four-team league entirely based in the Salem Metropolitan Statistical Area and playing all their home ...
and
San Jose Giants
The San Jose Giants are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Located in San Jose, California, the Giants play their home games at Excite Ballpark.
Games
San Jose Giants ga ...
, pitching to a combined 4–1 record and 4.22 ERA in 53.1 innings pitched between the three teams. He pitched in 2017 with San Jose, going 7–7 with a 4.41 ERA in 23 games (22 starts), and in 2018 with San Jose, the
Richmond Flying Squirrels
The Richmond Flying Squirrels are a Minor League Baseball team based in Richmond, Virginia. The team, which is a part of the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants major league club, and plays at The Diamond. Th ...
and the
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 ...
, compiling a combined 9–10 record with a 4.46 ERA in 28 total starts with 171 strikeouts in 135.1 innings (averaging 11.4 strikeouts per nine innings).
He started 2019 with Richmond and was promoted to Sacramento during the season. Between the two teams, in 2019 he was 6–4 with a 3.79 ERA in 23 games (22 starts) in which he pitched 121 innings and struck out 154 batters (averaging 11.5 strikeouts per nine innings).
On July 21, 2019, the Giants selected Menez's contract and promoted him to the major leagues. In his major league debut that day, he pitched five innings while allowing 2 runs and recording six strikeouts. In 2019 for the Giants he was 0–1 with a 5.29 ERA in eight games (three starts) covering 17 innings in which he struck out 22 batters.
In 2020 for the Giants, Menez pitched to a 2.38 ERA with 8 strikeouts in 11.1 innings of work.
On August 4, 2021, Menez was designated for assignment by the Giants. Menez was outrighted to Triple-A Sacramento on August 7.
Chicago Cubs
On December 8, 2021, the
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...
selected Menez in the minor league phase of the
Rule 5 draft. After pitching a scoreless inning in a loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks, he was optioned back to Triple-A Iowa, then after clearing some waivers, returned to the Iowa Cubs.
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters
On June 24, 2022, Menez announced on his Instagram that he would be signing with the
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters
The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaidō. They compete in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball, playing the majority of their home games at ES CON Field Hokkaido. The Fighters also host a ...
of the
NPB
or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''.
Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...
. Fighters manager
Tsuyoshi Shinjo
, also known as , is a former Japanese professional baseball outfielder and current manager for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Born on January 28, 1972, Shinjo is the second Japanese-born position player ...
said regarding Menez's acquisition that he may come to the NPB "in a week".
Personal life
Menez's grandfather is
Bill Plummer
William Francis Plummer (born March 21, 1947) is an American former professional baseball player and manager, and current hitting coach for the Redding Colt 45s. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher in 1968 and then from 1970 to 1978, ...
, a former major league catcher, coach, and manager.
See also
*
Rule 5 draft results
Below are lists of Rule 5 draft results since 1997. Players selected in the Major League Baseball (MLB) phase of the Rule 5 draft must be kept on their new team's active roster for the entire following MLB season, or they are placed on waivers ...
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Menez, Conner
1995 births
Living people
People from Hollister, California
Baseball players from California
Major League Baseball pitchers
San Francisco Giants players
Chicago Cubs players
The Master's Mustangs baseball players
Arizona League Giants players
Salem-Keizer Volcanoes players
San Jose Giants players
Richmond Flying Squirrels players
Sacramento River Cats players
category:Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters players