Julian Christopher Merryweather (born October 14, 1991) 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 ...

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 ...

for 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 ...

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 has previously played in MLB for the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

Early life and college career

Merryweather attended Junípero Serra High School in

San Mateo, California San Mateo ( ; ) is a city in San Mateo County, California, on the San Francisco Peninsula. About 20 miles (32 km) south of San Francisco, the city borders Burlingame to the north, Hillsborough to the west, San Francisco Bay and Foster C ...

, and played

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 ...

Skyline College Skyline College is a public community college A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have gr ...

and

Oklahoma Baptist University Oklahoma Baptist University (OBU) is a private Baptist university in Shawnee, Oklahoma. It was established in 1910 under the original name of The Baptist University of Oklahoma. OBU is owned and was founded by the Baptist General Convention of ...

. In two seasons with the

Bison Bison are large bovines in the genus ''Bison'' (Greek: "wild ox" (bison)) within the tribe Bovini. Two extant and numerous extinct species are recognised. Of the two surviving species, the American bison, ''B. bison'', found only in North Ame ...

, Merryweather pitched to a 22–5

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...

, 1.73

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 ...

(ERA), and 208

strikeout 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 ...

Professional career

Cleveland Indians

Draft and minor leagues

The

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 ...

selected Merryweather in the fifth 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 ...

. He made his professional debut with the

Mahoning Valley Scrappers The Mahoning Valley Scrappers are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Niles, Ohio, a city in the valley of the Mahoning River, and play their home games at Eastwood Field. From 1999 to 2020, they were a M ...

going 1–2 with a 3.66 ERA in 13 games. He pitched 2015 with the

Lake County Captains The Lake County Captains are a Minor League Baseball team in Eastlake, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, that plays in the Midwest League as the High-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. The Captains joined the Class A Midwest League following t ...

, posting a 4.08 ERA in 70 innings, and 2016 with the

Lynchburg Hillcats The Lynchburg Hillcats are a Minor League Baseball team in Lynchburg, Virginia that plays in the Carolina League and is the Single-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They were a farm team of the Atlanta Braves from 2011 to 2014, the Cincinna ...

and

Akron RubberDucks The Akron RubberDucks are a Minor League Baseball team based in Akron, Ohio. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They play in Canal Park, located in downtown Akron, which seats 7,630 ...

, going a combined 13–6 with 2.60 ERA in 24 games started between both teams. Merryweather started 2017 with Akron and was promoted to the

Columbus Clippers The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy Merchant ship, mercha ...

during the season. In 25 total games between Akron and Columbus, Merryweather pitched to a 7–9 record and 5.32 ERA. The Indians added him to their 40-man roster after the season. Merryweather injured his pitching elbow during the Indians' 2018 spring training camp. The Indians subsequently announced he would need

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 ...

and would miss the entire 2018 season.

Toronto Blue Jays

On October 5, 2018, Merryweather was sent to the Toronto Blue Jays as the

player to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

from the earlier trade for

Josh Donaldson Joshua Adam Donaldson (born December 8, 1985) is an American professional baseball third baseman for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Oakland Athletics, Toronto Blue Jays, Cleveland Indians, Atla ...

. In 2019, Merryweather made two appearances in the 2019 minor league season, and played for the

Scottsdale Scorpions The Scottsdale Scorpions are a baseball team that plays in the East Division of the Arizona Fall League. They play their home games in Scottsdale, Arizona, at Scottsdale Stadium, which is also the spring training facility of the San Francisco Gia ...

of 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 ...

during the offseason.

Major leagues

Merryweather made his major league debut on August 20, 2020 against the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

. On August 26, 2020, he made his first MLB start. With the 2020 Toronto Blue Jays, Merryweather appeared in 13 games, compiling a 0-0 record with 4.15 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 13 innings pitched. On May 5, 2021, Merryweather was placed on the 60-day injured list with an oblique strain. On September 8, Merryweather was activated off of the injured list. Merryweather was designated for assignment by the Blue Jays on January 10, 2023, after the signing of

Brandon Belt Brandon Kyle Belt (born April 20, 1988), nicknamed "Baby Giraffe", "Sparky", and “Captain”, is an American professional baseball first baseman for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the S ...

became official.

Chicago Cubs

On January 17, 2023, Merryweather was claimed off waivers by the

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Merryweather, Julian 1991 births Living people Akron RubberDucks players Baseball players from Berkeley, California Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Columbus Clippers players Dunedin Blue Jays players Gulf Coast Blue Jays players Lake County Captains players Lynchburg Hillcats players Mahoning Valley Scrappers players Major League Baseball pitchers Oklahoma Baptist Bison baseball players Scottsdale Scorpions players Toronto Blue Jays players Florida Complex League Blue Jays players Junípero Serra High School (San Mateo, California) alumni