Jacob Berry (born May 5, 2001) is an American professional baseball third baseman in the

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

organization. He previously played college baseball for Louisiana State University and the University of Arizona.

Amateur career

Berry attended Queen Creek High School in Queen Creek, Arizona. After graduating in 2020, he enrolled at the University of Arizona to play college baseball for the

Arizona Wildcats The Arizona Wildcats are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Arizona, located in Tucson, Arizona, Tucson. The Wildcats compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Divis ...

. In 2021, his freshman year, he appeared in 63 games (making 62 starts), slashing .352/.439/.676 with 17 home runs, 70 runs batted in (RBIs), 19 doubles, and 54 runs scored, earning multiple All-American honors. He spent a majority of the season as a designated hitter but also played nine games at third base. He was also named to the

Pac-12 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...

All Conference Team. He played with the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team that summer. Following the end of the 2021 season, Arizona head coach Jay Johnson announced he would be leaving the team to become the head coach for the LSU Tigers. After the announcement, Berry entered the transfer portal before announcing shortly after that he would be transferring to LSU. Berry entered the 2022 season as a top prospect for the upcoming draft. He began starting in

right field A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...

(alongside spending some time at third base) for the Tigers. He missed a brief period during the season after breaking his finger. Over 53 games, he batted .370 with 15 home runs and 48 RBIs and was named an All-American. Following the season's end, he traveled to San Diego where he participated in the Draft Combine.

Professional career

The

selected Berry in the first round with the sixth overall selection of the

2022 Major League Baseball draft The 2022 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft took place on July 17–19, 2022, in Los Angeles. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to Major League Baseball (MLB) teams. The draft order was based on the reverse order of the 2021 ...

. He signed with the team for $6 million. He made his professional debut in late July with the Rookie-level

Florida Complex League Marlins The Florida Complex League Marlins are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Miami Marlins, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to the 2021 season, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Marlins. The team plays ...

. After four games, he was promoted to the Jupiter Hammerheads of the Single-A

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

. Over 37 games between the two teams, he batted .248 with three home runs and 26 RBIs. Berry was assigned to the

Beloit Sky Carp The Beloit Sky Carp are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in Beloit, Wisconsin, and play their home games at ABC Supply Stadium. They previously played at Harry C. ...

of the High-A Midwest League to open the 2023 season. In late July, he was promoted to the Pensacola Blue Wahoos of the Double-A Southern League. Over 107 games between the two teams, he hit .233 with nine home runs and 59 RBIs. He was selected to play in the Arizona Fall League with the Peoria Javelinas.

Personal life

Berry's father, Perry, was drafted by the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

in 1990 and played in the minor leagues for four years.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berry, Jacob 2001 births Living people People from Queen Creek, Arizona Baseball players from Arizona Baseball third basemen Arizona Wildcats baseball players LSU Tigers baseball players United States national baseball team players Florida Complex League Marlins players Jupiter Hammerheads players Beloit Sky Carp players