Jakson Dale Reetz (born January 3, 1996) 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 ...

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

in the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

organization. He previously played for 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 ...

Career

Washington Nationals

In high school, Reetz played for the

United States national under-18 baseball team The United States national under-18 baseball team is the national under-18 baseball team of United States in international-level baseball competitions. The organization is currently ranked 2nd in the world by the International Baseball Federatio ...

. Reetz was selected in the third round of the

2014 Major League Baseball draft The 2014 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 5 through June 7, 2014, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first two rounds were conducted on June 5, followed by rounds three through ten on June ...

out of Norris High School in Firth, Nebraska. He chose to turn pro and signed with the Nationals, who drafted him with the 93rd overall pick. He made his professional debut with the rookie-level

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

, hitting .274 in 43 games. In 2015, Reetz played for the Low-A

Auburn Doubledays The Auburn Doubledays are a collegiate summer baseball team of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL) that is located in Auburn, New York. From 1958 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's New York–Penn League (NYPL) ...

, batting .212/.326/.248 in 36 games. The following year, Reetz played in Single-A with the

Hagerstown Suns The Hagerstown Suns were a Minor League Baseball team based in Hagerstown, Maryland. They were a member of the South Atlantic League and, from 2007 through 2020, were the Class A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They played their home g ...

, posting a .230/.346/.357 slash line with 4 home runs and 38 RBI. For the 2017 season, Reetz split the year between Hagerstown and the High-A

Potomac Nationals The Potomac Nationals were a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League. They were located in Woodbridge, Virginia, and played their home games at Northwest Federal Field at Pfitzner Stadium. After the 2019 season, the team relocated to Fr ...

, accumulating a .237/.337/.355 batting line with 4 home runs and 22 RBI. He returned to Potomac in 2018, slashing .224/.342/.323 with 5 home runs and 27 RBI in 69 games. Reetz played for Potomac for a third straight season in 2019, and batted .252/.370/.441 with career-highs in home runs (13) and RBI (55). After parts of six seasons in the Nationals organization, Reetz was invited to

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

in 2020 with the major league team. Reetz was also part of the team's 60-man player pool during the shortened season that year, but did not play in a game 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 was subsequently invited to major league spring training in 2021, although he did not make the team. Reetz was promoted to Triple-A minor league baseball for the first time in July 2021, advancing from the Double-A

Harrisburg Senators The Harrisburg Senators are a Minor League Baseball team of the Eastern League, and the Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, who play their home games at FNB Field on City Island, which opened in 1987 a ...

to the

Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Field ...

. Days later, on July 10, the Nationals selected his contract and promoted him to the major leagues for the first time, following an injury to primary catcher

Yan Gomes Yan Gomes (; ; born July 19, 1987) is a Brazilian-American professional baseball catcher for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Toronto Blue Jays, Cleveland Indians, Washington Nationals and Oakland Ath ...

. He made his major league debut the same day, doubling off

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 ...

reliever

John Brebbia John Fulboam Brebbia (born May 30, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball for Elon University. The New York Yankees selected Brebbia in the 30th r ...

in his first career at-bat and scoring a run. Reetz was designated for assignment by the Nationals on September 22.

Milwaukee Brewers

On December 9, 2021, Reetz signed a minor league contract with the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

. Reetz was added to the 40-man roster on August 4, 2022, and subsequently designated for assignment on August 18. He cleared waivers and declined an outright assignment, becoming a free agent.

Kansas City Royals

On August 25, 2022, Reetz signed a minor league contract with the

. After the season, he was chosen for the

Southern League Most Valuable Player Award The Southern League Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual award given to the best player in Minor League Baseball's Southern League based on their regular-season performance as voted on by league managers. League broadcasters, Minor Leag ...

for his time playing for the Brewers' AA affiliate. He elected free agency on November 10, 2022. He re-signed a minor league deal on December 13, 2022. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2022/12/royals-to-sign-jakson-reetz-to-minor-league-deal.html

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reetz, Jakson 1996 births Living people People from Lancaster County, Nebraska Baseball players from Nebraska Major League Baseball catchers Washington Nationals players Gulf Coast Nationals players Auburn Doubledays players Hagerstown Suns players Potomac Nationals players Harrisburg Senators players Rochester Red Wings players Surprise Saguaros players Nashville Sounds players Biloxi Shuckers players Omaha Storm Chasers players