Jerry Vasto (born February 12, 1992) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

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

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

and

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 ...

Early career

A native of

Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey Atlantic Highlands is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, in the Bayshore Region. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 4,385,Henry Hudson Regional High School Henry Hudson Regional High School is a comprehensive regional public high school and school district for students in 7th through 12th grade from both Atlantic Highlands and Highlands in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.

where he played baseball. After graduating, Vasto played collegiate baseball at

Felician University Felician University is a private Catholic university with two campuses in New Jersey, one in Lodi and one in Rutherford. It was founded as the Immaculate Conception Normal School by the Felician Sisters in 1923 and the school has changed names ...

, the only college to offer him a scholarship.

Career

Colorado Rockies

Vasto was selected by the

in the 24th 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 ...

, and he signed. He made his professional debut that same year with the

Tri-City Dust Devils The Tri-City Dust Devils are a Minor League Baseball team in the northwest United States, based in Pasco, Washington. The Dust Devils are members of the Northwest League and are affiliated with the Los Angeles Angels. Tri-City plays their home gam ...

, pitching one scoreless inning and compiling one strikeout. In 2015, he made 46 relief appearances for the

Asheville Tourists The Asheville Tourists are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. They are located in Asheville, North Carolina. Asheville teams have played under the Tourists moniker in differen ...

where he was 2-4 with a 2.93 earned run average, and held opponents to a .199 average. This season also helped him earn his first Minor League All Star Appearance. In 2016, he was called up to play with the

Modesto Nuts The Modesto Nuts are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They are located in Modesto, California, and are named for the several types of nuts grown in the region. They play the ...

and

Hartford Yard Goats The Hartford Yard Goats are a Minor League Baseball team based in Hartford, Connecticut. The Yard Goats, which play in the Eastern League, are the Double-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. The team was founded in 2016 when the New Britain R ...

. In 56 relief appearance, Jerry compiled a combined 4-4 record with 70 strikeouts and a 2.26 earned run average and earned his second Minor League All Star appearance. Jerry was invited to participate in the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season sports league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during the autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are fill ...

for the 2016 season, where he struggled and had an earned run average of 8.31 in 8 2/3 innings pitched. Vasto was called up and spent 2017 with the

Albuquerque Isotopes The Albuquerque Isotopes are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They play home games at Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at an el ...

, where at one point in the season he had major success and ranked #30 in the Rockies top prospects list. However, due to injuries and major second half struggles, his stats declined and he pitched to a 3-3 record, a 6.88 earned run average, and a 1.68 walks plus hits divided by innings pitched in 53.2 relief innings. He began 2018 with the

, where he improved tremendously and compiled a 3.16 earned run average with 44 strikeouts in 37 relief appearances.

Major league career

Vasto was called up to the majors for the first time on June 10, 2018, and he made his major league debut that same day against the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...

. Jerry recorded his first major league strikeout against the

outfielder

Jon Jay Jonathan Henry Jay (born March 15, 1985) is an American professional baseball coach and former outfielder who is the first base coach for the Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for the St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego ...

, but overall struggled in his debut as he allowed 3 hits, 3 earned runs, and a walk in only 2/3 innings pitched. He was optioned back to Albuquerque on June 14.

Kansas City Royals

On August 31, 2018, Vasto was traded to the

in exchange for catcher

Drew Butera Andrew Edward Butera (; born August 9, 1983) is an American former professional baseball catcher who is currently on the coaching staff of the Los Angeles Angels. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles Dodg ...

. Jerry made one appearance with the

Omaha Storm Chasers The Omaha Storm Chasers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. They are located in Papillion, Nebraska, a suburb southwest of Omaha, and play their home games at Wer ...

before getting called up on September 4. He made his debut that same night and recorded his first Royals strikeout against

Cleveland Indians 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) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

outfielder

Brandon Guyer Brandon Eric Guyer (born January 28, 1986) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays and Cleveland Indians. His knack for getting hit by pitches earned him the nickname, ...

. Jerry finished his 2018 Royals season with three

strikeouts 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 ...

and a 2.45

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 ...

in 3 2/3 innings pitched. Vasto finished his first major league season with four strikeouts and an 8.31 earned run average in 4 1/3 innings pitched.

Chicago Cubs

On October 31, 2018, Vasto was claimed off waivers by the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

. On November 20, Vasto removed from the 40-man roster and sent outright to the Triple-A

Iowa Cubs The Iowa Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in Des Moines, Iowa, and are named for their Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliate. The ...

. Vasto missed the entire 2019 season due to an injury, and did not play in a game in 2020 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 became a free agent following the season on November 2, 2020. On November 16, Vasto re-signed with the Cubs on a minor league contract. On March 29, 2021, Vasto was released by the Cubs.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vasto, Jerry 1992 births Living people Henry Hudson Regional High School alumni People from Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey Baseball players from Monmouth County, New Jersey Major League Baseball pitchers Colorado Rockies players Kansas City Royals players Tri-City Dust Devils players Asheville Tourists players Modesto Nuts players Hartford Yard Goats players Salt River Rafters players Albuquerque Isotopes players Omaha Storm Chasers players