Jay Thomas Flaa ( ; born June 10, 1992) is an American former

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 ...

. He 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

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

and

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

. He was drafted by the Orioles in the 6th round of the

2015 Major League Baseball draft The 2015 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 8 through June 10, 2015, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2014 MLB season standings. As the Diamondbacks f ...

Career

Baltimore Orioles

Flaa was selected by the

in the 6th round (193rd overall) of the

out of

North Dakota State University North Dakota State University (NDSU, formally North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences) is a public land-grant research university in Fargo, North Dakota. It was founded as North Dakota Agricultural College in 1890 as t ...

. He made his professional debut with the GCL Orioles, quickly moving to the Low-A

Aberdeen IronBirds The Aberdeen IronBirds are a Minor League Baseball team based in the city of Aberdeen in Harford County, Maryland. They are the High-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles and compete in the South Atlantic League. They were previously members of the ...

, where he spent the rest of the season. In 2016, Flaa spent the year in Single-A with the

Delmarva Shorebirds The Delmarva Shorebirds are a Minor League Baseball team based in Salisbury, Maryland. They are members of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. Their home games are played at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium. The Shor ...

, registering a 5–1 record and 3.50 ERA with 50 strikeouts in 28 games. The next year, he played with the High-A

Frederick Keys The Frederick Keys are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. The Keys are based in Frederick, Maryland. The franchise is named for "Star-Spangled Banner" writer Francis Scott Key, a native of Frederick County. A new team masc ...

, pitching to a 4–3 record and 3.29 ERA in 54.2 innings of work. Flaa played the 2018 season in Double-A with the Bowie Baysox, recording a 2.77 ERA with 67 strikeouts in 65.0 innings of work. In 2019, Flaa reached Triple-A for the first time with the

Norfolk Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's location on the Chesapea ...

, but struggled to a 5.24 ERA in 29 games for the club. He had a much better performance in Bowie, pitching to a 2.81 ERA with 28 strikeouts in 11 games. Flaa did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the Minor League Baseball 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 identi ...

. On April 26, 2021, Flaa was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time. He was assigned the number 77, last worn for the Orioles by catcher

Eli Whiteside Dustin Eli Whiteside (born October 22, 1979) is an American former professional baseball catcher who is currently a roving catching instructor for the San Francisco Giants. He stands tall, weighs . He batted and threw right-handed. He played in ...

in 2005. On April 27, Flaa made his MLB debut against the

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

. In the game, he also notched his first major league strikeout, punching out Yankees outfielder

Aaron Judge Aaron James Judge (born April 26, 1992) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). Judge was unanimously selected as the American League (AL) Rookie of the Year in 2017, and finishe ...

. On May 8, 2021, Flaa was designated for assignment following the waiver claim of

Brandon Waddell Brandon David Waddell (born June 3, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Doosan Bears of the KBO League. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Minnesota Twins, Baltimore Orioles, and S ...

Atlanta Braves

On May 11, 2021, Flaa was claimed off waivers by the

. Flaa allowed 4 runs in 1.1 innings of work in his sole appearance with Atlanta. On July 13, Flaa was outrighted off of the 40-man roster and assigned to the Triple-A

Gwinnett Stripers The Gwinnett Stripers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They play their home games at Coolray Field in unincorporated Gwinnett County, Georgia (with a Lawrencevil ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flaa, Jay 1992 births Living people Sportspeople from Bismarck, North Dakota Baseball players from North Dakota Major League Baseball pitchers Baltimore Orioles players Atlanta Braves players North Dakota State Bison baseball players Gulf Coast Orioles players Aberdeen IronBirds players Delmarva Shorebirds players Frederick Keys players Bowie Baysox players Norfolk Tides players Glendale Desert Dogs players