Jeffrey Alan Locke (born November 20, 1987) 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 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 ...

. He previously played for 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 ...

and

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

, where he was an All-Star in 2013.

Early life

Locke is the son of Alan and Pam Locke and the grandson of Greta Locke. In 2003, his first year, he was a New Hampshire State Second-Team All-Star. In 2004, his second year, he was a New Hampshire State First-Team All-Star. In 2005, his junior year, he was the New Hampshire player of the year and a New Hampshire State First-Team All-Star. In 2006, his senior season, he was the New Hampshire player of the year, a New Hampshire State First-Team All-Star, co-captain of the Kennett High baseball team, and he shared the

Jack Burns John Francis Burns (November 15, 1933 – January 27, 2020) was an American comedian, actor, voice actor, writer, and producer. During the 1960s, he was part of two comedy partnerships, first with George Carlin and later with Avery Schreiber. ...

Baseball Award. In June 2006, Locke graduated from A. Crosby Kennett High School. Locke is the all-time leader in wins for Kennett High School.

The Redstone Rocket

Locke is nicknamed "The Redstone Rocket". In June 2006, ''

The Conway Daily Sun ''The Conway Daily Sun'' is a five-day (Tuesday through Saturday) free daily newspaper published in North Conway, New Hampshire, United States, covering the Mount Washington Valley. It has been published since 1989 by Country News Club, and was t ...

'' sports editor Lloyd Jones established the nickname because of Locke's fastball, the name of his hometown (

Redstone, New Hampshire Redstone is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community within the New England town, town of Conway, New Hampshire, Conway in Carroll County, New Hampshire, Carroll County, New Hampshire, United States. It is located on the road from Center C ...

, a neighborhood within the town of Conway, New Hampshire), and in reference to America's first man in space, Alan Shepard of

Derry, New Hampshire Derry is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 34,317 at the 2020 census. Although it is a town and not a city, Derry is the most populous community in Rockingham County and the fourth most populous in the ...

, whose Freedom 7 flight was launched by a Redstone rocket.

Career

Atlanta Braves

Locke was the first selection in the second round in the 2006 Major League Baseball draft by the

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) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

. Locke was assigned to the Gulf Coast Braves (Rookie League) upon signing with the organization on June 18, 2006.First Inning : Jeffrey Locke
/ref> In June 2007 the

assigned Locke to the Danville Braves in the Advanced Rookie

Appalachian League The Appalachian League is a collegiate summer baseball league that operates in the Appalachian regions of Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. Designed for rising freshmen and sophomores using wood bats, its season runs from ...

. In November 2007,

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

ranked Locke No. 8 on their

Top 10 Prospects list. Locke played for the

Rome Braves The Rome Braves are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They are located in Rome, Georgia, and play their home games at AdventHealth Stadium. From 2003 to 2020, the team served ...

in 2008. In December 2008,

ranked Locke No. 7 on their

Top 10 Prospects list. Locke started the 2009 season with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans. On June 3, 2009, the Braves traded Locke to the

along with Charlie Morton and

Gorkys Hernández Gorkys Gustavo Hernández Lugo (born September 7, 1987) is a Venezuelan professional baseball outfielder who is a free agent. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Miami Marlins, San Francisco Giants, and ...

in exchange for

Nate McLouth Nathan Richard McLouth (born October 28, 1981) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Pittsburgh Pirates, Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals. He was pr ...

Pittsburgh Pirates

When Locke was acquired, the Pirates assigned him to their Class A Advanced affiliate, the Lynchburg Hillcats. In 2010, the Pirates took control of the

Sarasota Reds The Sarasota Reds were a professional minor league baseball team, located in Sarasota, Florida, as a member of the Florida State League. However team originally started play in Sarasota as the Sarasota White Sox in 1989. They remained in the city ...

and moved the team to Bradenton, where the club was renamed the Bradenton Marauders. Locke was assigned to the new team and was the starting pitcher in the team's second-ever game, against the Fort Myers Miracle on April 9, 2010. On July 14, 2010, Locke was promoted to the Pirates' Double A team, the Altoona Curve. In January 2011,

ranked Locke No. 8 on their

Top 10 Prospects list. In 2011, Locke pitched for Altoona and the

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory Field, which open ...

before being called up to the majors in September 2011. He made his MLB debut on September 10, 2011 against the Florida Marlins which resulted in a loss. He pitched a total of 4 games in 2011 for the

and went 0–3 with an ERA of 6.48 and 5 strikeouts. In November 2011,

ranked Locke No. 10 on their

Top 10 Prospects list. Locke recorded his first career win on October 1, 2012, giving up one run in six innings against the

. In 2013, he was selected as an All-Star by San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy. Locke did not pitch in the game due to back stiffness. Despite making the 2013 All-Star team, Locke was demoted to the Pirates' Double-A affiliate Altoona Curve on August 28. Locke had a 2.15 ERA in his first 18 starts, but then had an 8.10 ERA over his next eight. Locke was also left off the NLDS roster. Locke was promoted from Altoona in a spot start on June 8, 2014 after Gerrit Cole was placed on the

disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

. After being recalled for the 2nd stint of the season Locke showed success, carrying a 2.13 ERA over his last seven starts before the 2014 All-Star Break, including a very dominant performance against his mentor, A. J. Burnett, where he picked up his second win of the season. In 2015, Locke made 30 starts for the Pirates, going 8–11 with a 4.49 ERA. Locke began the season in the Pirates rotation, despite posting a record of 8–6, Locke's ERA stood at 5.54 and he was soon moved to the bullpen for the remainder of the season. On November 29, 2016, Locke was designated for assignment by the Pirates.

Miami Marlins

On December 12, 2016, Locke signed a one-year contract with the

. On the first workout day of spring training, Locke said he was feeling discomfort while tossing from 60 feet away. Locke's MRI came back clean, but on March 30, 2017 he was put on the 10-day disabled list. On June 1, 2017 Locke returned to the Marlins, and gave up 1 run over innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks. On July 3, 2017, against the St. Louis Cardinals, Locke surrendered 11 earned runs over 2.2 innings as the Cardinals beat the Marlins 14–6, bringing his ERA up to 8.16 for the season. In his career against the Cardinals, he has an 0–7 record. This also gave the Marlins a record of 0–6 in games started by Locke in the 2017 season. The next day, he was designated for assignment. Locke cleared waivers and was sent down to the

Jupiter Hammerheads The Jupiter Hammerheads are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in the town of Jupiter, Florida, Jupiter in Palm Beach County, Florida, and play their home game ...

, the Marlins' Class A-Advanced affiliate, but never pitched for the team in a game. Locke sat out the 2018 season, dealing with a partially torn labrum in his shoulder. Although he received offers from multiple Major League teams Locke chose not to sign with another team until he felt fully healthy.

Pitching style

Prior to 2009, Locke used an over-the-head pitching delivery. Upon his trade to the Pirates, pitching coach

Wally Whitehurst Walter Richard Whitehurst (born April 11, 1964) is an American former professional baseball right-handed pitcher who played from to with the New York Mets, San Diego Padres and New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). Standing 6'3" and ...

recommended that Locke change his pitching style to incorporate a turn toward first base. which would aid in deceptiveness. Locke returned to the overhead delivery during spring training in 2016, because he had gotten increasingly inconsistent results over the years by looking toward first base. Locke throws a

two-seam fastball A two-seam fastball is a pitch in baseball and softball. It is a variant of the straight fastball. The pitch has the speed of a fastball and can also include late-breaking action caused by varying the pressure of the index and middle fingers on t ...

(88–95), a

circle changeup In baseball, a circle changeup (also called the "okay changeup", related to the thumb and index finger touching) is a pitch (baseball), pitch thrown with a grip that includes a circle formation, hence the name circle changeup. The circle is fo ...

(79–82), and a

knuckle curveball In Major League history, the term knuckle curve or knuckle curveball has been used to describe three entirely different pitches. All are unrelated to the similar sounding knuckleball. The first, more modern and commonly used pitch called the kn ...

(77–84). In 2016, Locke's knuckle curve has become more of a

slurve The slurve is a baseball pitch in which the pitcher throws a curve ball as if it were a slider.

Awards

*New Hampshire State High School Baseball Second-Team All-Star (2003) *3x New Hampshire State High School Baseball First-Team All-Star (2004, 2005, 2006) *2x New Hampshire State High School Baseball Player of the Year (2005, 2006) *

Baseball Award (2006, shared with Rob Knox) *

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 ...

of the Week (July 17–23, 2007) *Appalachian League Post-Season All-Star (2007) *''

'' Rookie All-Star (2007) *

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

Pitcher of the Week (April 28 – May 4, 2009) *

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 ...

Mid-Season All-Star (2010) * Eastern League Mid-Season All-Star (2011) * MLB All-Star (2013)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Locke, Jeff 1987 births Living people People from Conway, New Hampshire People from North Conway, New Hampshire Baseball players from New Hampshire Major League Baseball pitchers National League All-Stars Pittsburgh Pirates players Miami Marlins players Altoona Curve players Bradenton Marauders players Danville Braves players Gulf Coast Braves players Indianapolis Indians players Lynchburg Hillcats players Myrtle Beach Pelicans players Rome Braves players Jupiter Hammerheads players Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp players Sportspeople from Carroll County, New Hampshire