John Michael Lamb (born July 10, 1990) 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 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

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

and

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

. Lamb is the grandson of John Ramsey, the former Public Address announcer at Dodger Stadium.

Career

Kansas City Royals

Lamb attended

Laguna Hills High School Laguna Hills High School (LHHS) is a public and high school located in Laguna Hills, California. The innovative programs include the Golden-Bell Award-Winning Two-Way Language Immersion Program, Awards and recognition *LHHS has historically ha ...

Laguna Hills, California Laguna Hills (; ''Laguna'', Spanish for "Lagoon") is a city in south Orange County, California, United States. Its name refers to its proximity to Laguna Canyon and the much older Laguna Beach. Other newer cities nearby—Laguna Niguel and Lagun ...

. The

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 ...

selected Lamb in the fifth round of the

2008 Major League Baseball Draft The 2008 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft continued Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, and was held on June 5 and 6, 2008. First round selections ;Key Supplemental first rou ...

. He signed with the Royals, receiving a $165,000

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 ...

. In 2010, Lamb won the Paul Splittorff Award as the best minor league pitcher in the Royals' system. Prior to the 2011 season, Lamb was rated the 18th best prospect in baseball by ''

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 ...

''. 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 an

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 ...

in June 2011. The Royals added him to their

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, and ...

after the 2012 season. Lamb pitched for the

Wilmington Blue Rocks The Wilmington Blue Rocks are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Wilmington, Delaware, and play their home games at Daniel S. Frawley Stadium. ...

of the

Class A-Advanced High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

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 ...

in 2013. He joined 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 ...

of the

Class AAA Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL ...

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

in 2014. The Royals promoted Lamb to the major leagues on July 17, 2015. He was

optioned In the film industry, an option is a contractual agreement pertaining to film rights between a potential film producer (such as a movie studio, a production company, or an individual) and the author of source material, such as a book, play, or s ...

back to the minor leagues without making his major league debut.

Cincinnati Reds

On July 26, 2015, the Royals traded Lamb to the

, along with

Brandon Finnegan Brandon Kyle Finnegan (born April 14, 1993) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals and the Cincinnati Reds. Prior to his professional ca ...

and

Cody Reed Cody Austin Reed (born April 15, 1993) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds and Tampa Bay Rays. Career Reed attended Horn Lake High School i ...

, for

Johnny Cueto Johnny Cueto Ortiz (; born February 15, 1986) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Royals, San Francisco Giants and Chicago White Sox ...

. After making three starts for the

Louisville Bats The Louisville Bats are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Louisville, Kentucky, and are named in dual reference to the bat, win ...

of the Class AAA

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

, the Reds promoted Lamb to make his major league debut on August 14. Lamb underwent back surgery during the 2015–16 offseason, and began of the regular season 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 ...

. The Reds activated Lamb from the disabled list to make his season debut on May 3. He was then optioned to Triple A Louisville. Then on June 25 he was recalled from Louisville to make a start later that day against the San Diego Padres. During his two seasons in Cincinnati, Lamb went 2-12 with a 6.17 ERA. He was designated for assignment on October 28. The

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...

acquired Lamb from the

on November 2, 2016, in exchange for cash considerations. On November 18, the Rays released Lamb.

Los Angeles Angels

Lamb signed a minor league contract with the

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

on December 2, 2016. He began the 2017 season recovering from back surgery. On May 9, he was suspended 50 games for a second positive test. He elected free agency on November 6, 2017. On January 23, 2018, Lamb resigned a minor league deal with the Angels. They promoted him to the major leagues on June 16. On June 30, it was announced that Lamb would undergo season ending Tommy John surgery, ending his 2018 season and possibly all of 2019. He was outrighted to the minors on November 1, 2018 and became a free agent the next day.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lamb, John 1990 births Living people Sportspeople from Orange County, California Baseball players from California Major League Baseball pitchers Cincinnati Reds players Los Angeles Angels players Idaho Falls Chukars players Burlington Royals players Burlington Bees players Wilmington Blue Rocks players Northwest Arkansas Naturals players Omaha Storm Chasers players Arizona League Royals players Louisville Bats players People from La Palma, California Salt Lake Bees players