Joshua Michael Smoker (born November 26, 1988) 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
New York Mets
The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...
,
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 ...
, and
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...
of
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).
Early life
Smoker was born in
Calhoun, Georgia
Calhoun is a city in Gordon County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 16,949. Calhoun is the county seat of Gordon County.
History
In December 1827, Georgia had already claimed the Cherokee lands that be ...
to Mike, an engineer, and Debbie Smoker.
As a child, he was an
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 ...
fan and
dirt track racer.
In 2007, Smoker was rated the eleventh best draft-eligible pitching prospect 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 ...
''. As a high school senior, he was named
Gatorade Player of the Year
The Gatorade Player of the Year awards are given annually to up and coming high school student-athletes in the United States. They are given for boys' baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine playe ...
for Georgia after finishing with a 1.24
ERA
An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth.
Compa ...
and 152 strikeouts over 73 innings pitched.
He initially committed 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
Clemson.
Professional career
Washington Nationals
Smoker was drafted by the
Washington Nationals
The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...
in the first round of the
2007 Major League Baseball draft
The 2007 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players and was held on June 7, 2007 and June 8, 2007. The first day session of the draft included the f ...
out of
Calhoun High School in
Calhoun, Georgia
Calhoun is a city in Gordon County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 16,949. Calhoun is the county seat of Gordon County.
History
In December 1827, Georgia had already claimed the Cherokee lands that be ...
. In 2008, he underwent surgery on a
bone spur in his shoulder. In 2013, Dr.
James Andrews performed surgery on Smoker to repair a torn
rotator cuff and
labrum. With his
fastball velocity declining, the Nationals organization released him without him ever having played higher than
Class A-Advanced.
Rockford Aviators
After sitting out 2013 while recovering from surgery, Smoker played for the
Rockford Aviators
The Rockford Aviators were a professional baseball team based in Rockford, Illinois that played in the independent Frontier League. Rockford previously had a team in the Frontier League called the RiverHawks (2002-2009). There was no Rockford team ...
of the
Frontier League in 2014.
New York Mets
In 2015, he signed with the
New York Mets
The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...
.
Smoker was promoted to the Major Leagues on August 19, 2016, and made his debut that day. He picked up his first Major League
win on August 29 after pitching a scoreless tenth inning against 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 ...
at
Citi Field. In 2017, Smoker was named to his first ever
Opening Day
Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent years ...
roster. He was designated for assignment on January 26, 2018.
Pittsburgh Pirates
On January 31, Smoker was traded to the
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 ...
for
Daniel Zamora
Daniel James Zamora (born April 15, 1993) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. Zamora played college baseball for the Stony Brook Seawolves and was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 40th r ...
and cash considerations. Smoker was designated for assignment on July 23, 2018.
Detroit Tigers
On July 28, 2018, Smoker was claimed off waivers by the
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...
. He was assigned to the Tigers'
Triple-A affiliate, the
Toledo Mud Hens
The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...
. On August 26, 2018, the Tigers called up Smoker and he made his Tigers debut. On September 6, 2018, the Tigers released Smoker.
Los Angeles Dodgers
On October 10, 2018, Smoker signed a minor league deal with the
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...
. He was assigned to Triple-A Oklahoma City to start the 2019 season. He was released on May 7, 2019.
York Revolution
August 9, 2019, Smoker signed with the
York Revolution of the
Atlantic League of Professional Baseball
The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's ...
. He became a free agent following the 2019 season. On April 6, 2020, he re-signed with the Revolution for the 2020 season. Smoker did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the ALPB 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 ...
and became a free agent after the year.
Personal life
Smoker married his high school sweetheart, Nicole, in December 2014.
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smoker, Josh
1988 births
Living people
People from Calhoun, Georgia
Baseball players from Georgia (U.S. state)
Major League Baseball pitchers
New York Mets players
Pittsburgh Pirates players
Detroit Tigers players
Vermont Lake Monsters players
Gulf Coast Nationals players
Hagerstown Suns players
Potomac Nationals players
Savannah Sand Gnats players
St. Lucie Mets players
Binghamton Mets players
Las Vegas 51s players
Binghamton Rumble Ponies players
Rockford Aviators players
Indianapolis Indians players
Toledo Mud Hens players
Oklahoma City Dodgers players
York Revolution players
Calhoun High School alumni