Daulton Compton Jefferies (born August 2, 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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

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 ...

in the Oakland Athletics organization. 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 p ...

for the California Golden Bears. He was selected by the Athletics with the 37th overall pick 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 di ...

and he made his major league debut in 2020.

Career

Jefferies attended

Buhach Colony High School Buhach Colony High School is a public high school in Atwater, California, United States. Opened in 2001, the school is part of the Merced Union High School District. The school colors are black and gold, and the mascot is Thor. The name refer ...

Atwater, California Atwater is a city on State Route 99 in Merced County, California, United States. Atwater is west-northwest of Merced, at an elevation of . The population as of the 2020 census was 31,970, up from 28,168 in 2010. Geography Atwater is in northe ...

, where he both pitched and played shortstop. As a junior in high school, Jefferies was named the Most Valuable Player award in the

Central California Conference The Central California Conference is a high school sports league in Central California. It comprises six schools in the Stanislaus and Merced County area. The league is administered by the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Sac-Joaquin ...

after pitching to a 8–0

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 matc ...

with a 1.26

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 ...

and putting up a .366/.480/.505 slash line. In Jefferies's senior season, he went 10-2 with a 0.92 earned run averge and a school-record 142 strikeouts, again taking home the conference's Most Valuable Player award. Jefferies had initially verbally committed to play baseball for Stanford University during the summer of his junior year of high school, but the offer fell through and Jefferies was forced to find another school, eventually deciding on the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

. As a freshman for the California Golden Bears in 2014, Jefferies started 15 games, finishing the year 2–8 with a 3.45 earned run average and 58 strikeouts in a team-high innings. Jefferies' sophomore season saw both his record and earned run average improve, as he appeared in 14 games, starting 13, and went 6–5 with a 2.92 earned run average, enough to warrant a First Team All-Pac-12 selection. The summer after his sophomore season, Jefferies was a member of the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team, and played collegiate summer baseball with the

Wareham Gatemen The Wareham Gatemen are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Wareham, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Gatemen play their home games at Clem Spillane Fie ...

of the Cape Cod Baseball League. Jefferies was drafted by the Oakland Athletics with the 37th overall pick of the

. He spent his first professional season with the AZL Athletics where he posted a 2.38 earned run average with 17 strikeouts in 11.1 innings pitched. He pitched in only two games for the Stockton Ports in 2017 before undergoing Tommy John surgery, thus ending his season. He appeared in one game in the AZL in 2018 as he continued to rehab his way back to full health. Jefferies split the 2019 season between Stockton and the

Midland RockHounds The Midland RockHounds are a Minor League Baseball team based in Midland, Texas. The team, which plays in the Texas League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics major league club. The RockHounds play in Momentum Bank Ballpark, w ...

, going a combined 2–2 with a 3.41 earned run average over 79 innings. Jefferies was added to the Athletics 40–man roster following the 2019 season. Jefferies was called up as the extra man for a doubleheader on September 12, 2020 against the Texas Rangers. It was his major league debut but it did not go well as Jefferies only lasted two innings, giving up five runs on two home runs and taking the loss. On May 20, 2022, Jefferies was diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome, and was sidelined indefinitely. He was outrighted off the roster on November 14, 2022.

Pitching style

Jefferies has a four pitch repertoire. His fastball has a bit of sink and sits in the low-to-mid 90s, but can top out around 96 mph. His primary off-speed pitch is his changeup which he throws in the mid-80s with good sink and fade. He also has a decent slider and a good three-quarters curveball.

Personal life

Jefferies is the nephew of former major league pitcher

Blas Minor Blas Minor Jr. (born March 20, 1966), is a former professional baseball pitcher who played from 1992 to 1997. He would play for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1992-1994), New York Mets (1995-1996), Seattle Mariners (1996), and Houston Astros (1997). A ...

, and his older brother Jake was a catcher in the minor leagues for both the Miami Marlins' and

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home v ...

' organizations.

References

External links

Cal Golden Bears bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jefferies, Daulton 1995 births Living people People from Merced, California Baseball players from California Major League Baseball pitchers Oakland Athletics players California Golden Bears baseball players Wareham Gatemen players Arizona League Athletics players Stockton Ports players Midland RockHounds players Las Vegas Aviators players