Justin Anthony Lawrence (born November 25, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher 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 ...

of Major League Baseball (MLB).

Career

Amateur career

Lawrence was born in Panama in 1994 and moved to the United States at two years old. Lawrence attended

First Coast High School First Coast High School is a comprehensive public high school in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. It was opened concurrently with its sister school, Mandarin High School. The school is one of 47 high schools in the Duval County School Dist ...

in Jacksonville, Florida and played college baseball at Jacksonville University and

Daytona State College Daytona State College (DSC) is a public college with its main campus in Daytona Beach, Florida. DSC also has 6 smaller regional campuses throughout Volusia and Flagler counties. It is part of the Florida College System. The college offers more ...

. He was drafted by the

in the 12th round of the

2015 Major League Baseball draft The 2015 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 8 through June 10, 2015, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2014 MLB season standings. As the Diamondbacks ...

and signed.

Professional career

After signing, Lawrence made his professional debut with the Boise Hawks before being reassigned to the

Grand Junction Rockies The Grand Junction Jackalopes are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. They are located in Grand Junction, Colorado, and play their home games ...

. In 22 relief appearances between the two teams, he went 0–3 with an 8.39 ERA. In 2016, he played for both Boise and the Asheville Tourists where he pitched to a 4–6 record and 4.98 ERA in 49 relief appearances, and in 2017, he returned to Asheville, going 0–2 with a 1.65 ERA in in only innings due to injury. Lawrence spent 2018 with the Lancaster JetHawks, pitching to an 0–2 record and 2.65 ERA with 62 strikeouts in relief innings. After the 2018 season, Lawrence played in the Arizona Fall League. The Rockies also added him to their 40-man roster after the 2018 season. Lawrence spent the 2019 season with the Hartford Yard Goats and the Albuquerque Isotopes, going 1–5 with an 8.76 ERA, striking out 32 over 37 relief innings. On January 17, 2020, Lawrence was suspended without pay for 80 games for testing positive for the performance enhancing substance

dehydrochlormethyltestosterone Chlorodehydromethyltestosterone (CDMT; brand name Oral Turinabol), also known as 4-chloro-17β-hydroxy17α-methylandrosta-1,4-dien-3-one, is an anabolic–androgenic steroid (AAS). It is the 4-chloro-substituted derivative of metandienone (dehy ...

. He did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the Minor League Baseball season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. On April 29, 2021, Lawrence was promoted to the major leagues for the first time. He made his MLB debut that day, pitching a scoreless 8th inning. In the game, he notched his first major league strikeout, punching out Arizona Diamondbacks infielder

Eduardo Escobar Eduardo José Escobar (born January 5, 1989) is a Venezuelan professional baseball third baseman for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Chicago White Sox, Minnesota Twins, Arizona Diamondbacks a ...

. He posted an ERA of 8.64 in 19 games with 19 walks in innings. On October 3, 2022, Lawrence tossed a scoreless ninth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers to earn his first career save. He ended the season with a 3-1 record in 38 games. He struck out 48 in innings. Heading into the 2023 season, Lawrence began as the setup man to closer

Pierce Johnson Pierce William Johnson (born May 10, 1991) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres and ...

. A few months into the season, Lawrence was named closer for the Rockies.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawrence, Justin 1994 births Living people Albuquerque Isotopes players Asheville Tourists players Boise Hawks players Colorado Rockies players Grand Junction Rockies players Hartford Yard Goats players Jacksonville Dolphins baseball players Lancaster JetHawks players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Panama Salt River Rafters players 2023 World Baseball Classic players Zonians Baseball players from Jacksonville, Florida