Drew Mitchell Ellis (born December 1, 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 ...

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

who is a free agent. He has 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

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 ...

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

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

Early life and amateur career

Ellis is from

Jeffersonville, Indiana Jeffersonville is a city and the county seat of Clark County, Indiana, Clark County, Indiana, United States, situated along the Ohio River. Locally, the city is often referred to by the abbreviated name Jeff. It lies directly across the Ohio River ...

. Ellis’ father, Derek 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 ...

Indiana State University Indiana State University (ISU) is a public university in Terre Haute, Indiana. It was founded in 1865 and offers over 100 undergraduate majors and more than 75 graduate and professional programs. Indiana State is classified among "D/PU: Doctor ...

. Ellis played in the 2008 Little League World Series. He attended

Jeffersonville High School Jeffersonville High School is a public high school located in Jeffersonville, Indiana. The school serves students in grades 9 through 12 from Jeffersonville, Utica, and sections of Clarksville not covered by that town's own high school. The sc ...

, where he played baseball and basketball and the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of ...

, where he played college baseball for the

Louisville Cardinals The Louisville Cardinals (also known as the Cards) are the NCAA athletic teams representing the University of Louisville. The Cardinals teams play in the Atlantic Coast Conference, beginning in the 2014 season. While playing in the Big East Co ...

. With Louisville, he was the backup

behind Blake Tiberi, but was moved into left field to get into the lineup. As a sophomore, Ellis returned to playing as a third baseman.

Professional career

Arizona Diamondbacks

The

selected Ellis in the second round, with the 44th overall selection, of the

2017 MLB draft The 2017 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 12, 2017. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first 36 picks, including the first round and compensatory picks, were broadcast on MLB Network on J ...

. Ellis signed with the Diamondbacks, receiving a $1,560,100

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 ...

. He made his professional debut and spent the 2017 season 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 ...

of the

Low-A Class A, also known as Single-A and sometimes as Low-A, is the fourth-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States, below Triple-A, Double-A, and High-A. There are 30 teams classified at the Single-A level, one for each ...

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 ...

where he posted a .227

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

with eight

home run 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 ...

s and 23

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

(RBIs). Ellis spent the 2018 season with the

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 ...

of the

High-A High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

California League The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major Leag ...

, slashing .246/.331/.429 with 15 home runs and 71 RBIs in 120 games. Ellis spent the 2019 season with the

Jackson Generals The Jackson Generals were a professional baseball team located in Jackson, Tennessee. From 1998 to 2020, they were a part of Minor League Baseball's Southern League (1964–2020), Southern League (SL) as the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliat ...

of the Double-A Southern League. Over 118 games, he hit .234/.344/.406 with 14 home runs and 63 RBIs. Ellis 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 ...

. He opened the 2021 season with the Triple-A

Reno Aces The Reno Aces are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are located in Reno, Nevada, and play their home games at Greater Nevada Field, which opened in 2009. ...

. On July 30, 2021, Arizona selected his contract and promoted him to the active roster. He made his MLB debut that night. He made 28 appearances for the big league club, hitting .130/.277/.203 with one home run and five RBIs. In 2022, Ellis got into six games for the Diamondbacks, going 2-for-13 with a walk in 14 plate appearances. The Diamondbacks designated Ellis for assignment on June 12, 2022.

Seattle Mariners

On June 16, 2022, the

claimed Ellis off of waivers. Ellis made one major league appearance for Seattle, going 1-for-3 with a strikeout. The bulk of his stint with the club was spent with the 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. ...

, where he played in 70 games and hit .231/.346/.488 with 15 home runs, 39 RBIs, and four stolen bases. On November 3, 2022, he was removed from the 40-man roster and sent outright to Triple-A. He was invited to spring training with Seattle in 2023, but was released prior to the start of the season on March 17, 2023.

Philadelphia Phillies

On April 16, 2023, Ellis signed a minor league contract with the

organization. Ellis played in 11 games for the Double-A

Reading Fightin Phils The Reading Fightin Phils (also called the Reading Fightins) are a Minor League Baseball team based in Reading, Pennsylvania, playing in the Northeast Division of the Eastern League. The team plays their home games at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Re ...

before being elevated to the Triple-A

Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs The Lehigh Valley IronPigs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and are named in reference to pig iron, used in the ...

. In 11 games with Lehigh, Ellis batted .279/.354/.651 with 5 home runs and 19 RBI. On June 1, Ellis' contract was selected to the major league roster. On June 4, Ellis hit his first two home runs for the Phillies in an 11–3 victory over 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 12 games for the Phillies, he went 5–for–23 (.217) with 6 walks and 4 RBI. On September 22, Ellis 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 ...

following the promotion of Orion Kerkering. He cleared waivers and was sent outright to Lehigh Valley on September 24. Ellis elected free agency on October 13.https://www.milb.com/transactions/2023-10-13

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellis, Drew 1995 births Living people People from Jeffersonville, Indiana Sportspeople from the Louisville metropolitan area Baseball players from Indiana Major League Baseball third basemen Arizona Diamondbacks players Seattle Mariners players Philadelphia Phillies players Louisville Cardinals baseball players Hillsboro Hops players Visalia Rawhide players Salt River Rafters players Jackson Generals (Southern League) players Reno Aces players Tacoma Rainiers players Rochester Honkers players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players Reading Fightin Phils players