Joseph Anthony Ortiz (born July 14, 1998) 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 ...

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

for 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 ...

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 made his MLB debut in 2023 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) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

Amateur career

Ortiz attended Pacifica High School in

Garden Grove, California Garden Grove is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, located just southwest of Disneyland (located in Anaheim, CA). The population was 171,949 at the 2020 census. State Route 22, also known as the Garden Grove Freeway, ...

, where he played baseball and hit .417 with six triples as a senior in 2016. He went unselected in the

2016 Major League Baseball draft The 2016 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 9, 2016, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2015 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks will be d ...

and enrolled at New Mexico State University to play

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

New Mexico State Aggies The New Mexico State University teams are called the Aggies, a nickname derived from the university's agricultural beginnings. The mascot is known as " Pistol Pete". NMSU's colors are crimson and white. Since 2005 the Aggies have competed in the ...

. As a freshman at New Mexico State in 2017, Ortiz played in 55 games and hit .306 with 14 extra-base hits and 35 RBIs. For the 2018 season, he played sixty games and batted .289 with seven home runs, 54 RBIs, and 13 stolen bases. That summer, he played for the

Willmar Stingers The Willmar Stingers are a baseball team that plays in the Northwoods League, a Collegiate summer baseball, collegiate summer baseball league. The Stingers played their inaugural season in 2010. The team plays its home games at Bill Taunton Stadium ...

of the Northwoods League. As a junior in 2019, Ortiz played in 55 games and batted .422 with eight home runs, 84 RBIs, 12 stolen bases, and 25 doubles and was one of five finalists for the

Brooks Wallace Award The Brooks Wallace Award is an award given by the College Baseball Foundation (CBF) to the best college baseball shortstop of the year. The award has been given annually since 2004. Until 2008 the award was presented to the nation's most outstandi ...

Professional career

Baltimore Orioles

The

selected Ortiz in the fourth round with the 108th overall selection in the

2019 Major League Baseball draft The 2019 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 3 to 5, 2019. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was set based on the reverse order of the 2018 MLB season standings. In additi ...

. Ortiz signed with the Orioles and made his professional debut with the Aberdeen IronBirds, batting .241 with one home run and 17 RBIs over 56 games. He did not play 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 started the 2021 season with Aberdeen and was promoted to the

Bowie Baysox The Bowie Baysox are a Minor League Baseball team located in Bowie, Maryland. They are the Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, and play in the Eastern League. Their home ballpark is Prince George's Stadium. History From 1989 to 1992, ...

during the season, but played in only 35 games between both teams due to a shoulder injury. Over those 35 games, he hit .265 with four home runs and 17 RBIs. He returned to Bowie to begin the 2022 season. In late August, he was promoted to the Norfolk Tides. Over 137 games between both teams, he

slashed ''Slashed'' is a low budget independent horror film, financed and directed by Ash and written by Jed Shepherd.

.284/.349/.477 with 19 home runs, 85 RBIs, and 35 doubles. On November 15, 2022, the Orioles selected Ortiz's contract and added him to the 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. Ortiz was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk to begin the 2023 season. He played in 16 games, hitting .359/.389/.500 with no home runs and 8 RBI. On April 27, 2023, Ortiz was promoted to the major leagues for the first time. In 15 games during his rookie campaign, Ortiz batted .212/.206/.242 with no home runs and 4 RBI. Ortiz was shuffled between the major leagues and minor leagues three times in 2023, and spent the final three months of the season with Norfolk in Triple-A.

Milwaukee Brewers

On February 1, 2024, the Orioles traded Ortiz and

DL Hall Dayton Layne Hall (born September 19, 1998) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball (MLB). Amateur career Hall attended Valdosta High School in Valdosta, Georgia as a freshman before transf ...

to the

in exchange for right-handed pitcher Corbin Burnes. Ortiz was included in multiple trade offers throughout the offseason, as the Orioles had a surplus of talent in their infield. On March 25, Ortiz was informed that he made the major league roster for the Brewers out of spring training. He started at second base on Opening Day, but quickly found himself in a timeshare at third base with fellow rookie Oliver Dunn. Ortiz was effectively handed the starting role when Dunn was optioned to the minor leagues on May 15. Ortiz was named NL Rookie of the Month in May.

References

External links

New Mexico State Aggies bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ortiz, Joey 1998 births Living people Aberdeen IronBirds players Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from Garden Grove, California Bowie Baysox players Major League Baseball infielders Milwaukee Brewers players New Mexico State Aggies baseball players Norfolk Tides players Willmar Stingers players Wisconsin Timber Rattlers players