James Douglas Kaprielian (; born March 2, 1994) 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

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

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). He attended the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

(UCLA), where 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 ...

for the

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pac-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). ...

, and was drafted by the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

with the 16th pick in the first round of the

2015 MLB draft Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak album ...

Amateur career

Kaprielian attended

Arnold O. Beckman High School Arnold O. Beckman High School is a public school in Irvine, California, United States, serving 3,013 students from grades 9 through 12. The original $69 million facility (equivalent to $ million in ) was opened on August 30, 2004. The Wor ...

Irvine, California Irvine () is a Planned community, master-planned city in South Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the 1960s and the city was formally incorporated on ...

. During his career he went 33–3 with a 0.96

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) and 250

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s. He was drafted by the

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 ...

in the 40th round of the

2012 MLB draft The 2012 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held from June 4 through June 6, 2012, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Houston Astros, with the first overall pick, selected Carlos Correa from the Puerto R ...

. He did not sign with the Mariners and enrolled at the

(UCLA) to play

for the

. As a freshman in 2013, Kaprielian appeared in 34 games as a relief pitcher, recording a 1.55 ERA with 53 strikeouts. In 2013, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

in the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox, and was named a league all-star. As a sophomore, he was converted into a starter. He started 15 games, going 7–6 with a 2.29 ERA and 108 strikeouts. On May 15, 2015, Kaprielian combined with

David Berg David Brandt Berg (February 18, 1919 – October 1, 1994), also known as King David, Mo, Moses David, Father David, Dad, or Grandpa to followers, was the founder and leader of the new religious movement currently known as The Family Internationa ...

for the first

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...

in UCLA history. Kaprielian pitched the first nine innings and Berg pitched the tenth inning to complete the no-hitter.

Professional career

New York Yankees

Kaprielian was considered one of the top prospects for the

, and was selected by the

in the first round, with the 16th overall selection. He signed with the Yankees, receiving a $2.65 million

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 ...

, and spent his first professional season with both the

GCL Yankees The Florida Complex League Yankees are a Rookie-level affiliate of the New York Yankees, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team is composed mainly of players who are in their first year of professional baseball ...

and

Staten Island Yankees The Staten Island Yankees were a minor league baseball team located in the New York City borough of Staten Island from 1999 to 2020. Nicknamed the "Baby Bombers", the Yankees were the Class A Short Season affiliate of the New York Yankees and pla ...

, posting a combined 0–1 record and 3.97 ERA in total innings between both teams. Kaprielian received a non-roster invitation 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 2016. He began the season with the

Tampa Yankees Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

, but only played in three games due to an elbow injury. In 2017, Kaprielian's elbow discomfort began to persist, and he began the season on the disabled list. On April 13, 2017, he underwent

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's bo ...

to repair a torn

ulnar collateral ligament Ulnar collateral ligament (or UCL), may refer to: * Ulnar carpal collateral ligament * Ulnar collateral ligament of elbow joint The ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) or internal lateral ligament is a thick triangular ligament at the medial aspec ...

, putting him away for the year.

Oakland Athletics

On July 31, 2017, the Yankees traded Kaprielian to the

, along with fellow prospects Jorge Mateo and Dustin Fowler, for

Sonny Gray Sonny Douglas Gray (born November 7, 1989) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees, and Cincinnati Reds. Gray attended ...

. The Athletics added him to their 40-man roster after the 2018 season. Kaprielian made his debut with the High-A

Stockton Ports The Stockton Ports are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. They are located in Stockton, California, and are named for the city's seaport. The team plays its home games at Ba ...

on May 19, 2019. He accumulated a 4.46 ERA in innings with a 43:8 K-to-BB ratio before the Athletics promoted him to the Double-A

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, whic ...

on July 23. On August 16, 2020, Kaprielian made his MLB debut with two innings against 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 ...

. He allowed a home run to the first batter he faced,

Brandon Crawford Brandon Michael Crawford (born January 21, 1987) is an American professional baseball shortstop for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). Crawford played college baseball for the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). H ...

, and struck out one. He spent most of the season at the Athletics' alternate training site in San Jose and only pitched in two games of mop-up duty with the Athletics, allowing three runs in innings of work. On May 12, 2021, injuries in the rotation led to Kaprielian receiving a call-up to make his first MLB start at

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and since 1953, its only Major League Base ...

against the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

. With his father and uncle in attendance, Kaprielian was rewarded with the win, allowing one run in five innings with six strikeouts in a 4–1 victory for the Athletics. On July 27, Kaprielian collected his first career base hit, notching a single against

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

pitcher

Chris Paddack Christopher Joseph Paddack (born January 8, 1996) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his debut in 2019 with the San Diego Padres. During his 2019 season, he earned the nic ...

. Kaprielian finished the 2021 season with an 8–5 record, a 4.07 ERA and 123 strikeouts in innings. Kaprielian was kept out of the start of the 2022 season with an injury. He made his season debut on May 1, 2022 against the

Cleveland Guardians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central division. Since , they have ...

Personal life

Kaprielian's mother, Barbara Kaprielian, died of breast cancer in 2014 after her 14-year battle. Kaprielian is of

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

descent.

References

External links

UCLA Bruins bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaprielian, James 1994 births Living people American people of Armenian descent Baseball players from California Gulf Coast Yankees players Las Vegas Aviators players Major League Baseball pitchers Midland RockHounds players Oakland Athletics players People from Laguna Hills, California Scottsdale Scorpions players Staten Island Yankees players Stockton Ports players Tampa Yankees players UCLA Bruins baseball players Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox players Ethnic Armenian sportspeople