Joshua Randol Fleming (born May 18, 1996) 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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

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

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) East division. Since its inception, the team's home v ...

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 August 2020.

Amateur career

Fleming attended

Columbia High School Columbia High School may refer to: *Columbia High School (Huntsville, Alabama) *Columbia High School (Georgia) *Columbia High School (Florida) *Columbia High School (Idaho) *Columbia High School (Illinois) *Columbia High School (Mississippi), a Mis ...

in Columbia, Illinois, where he pitched for the Eagles. He enrolled at

Webster University Webster University is a private university with its main campus in Webster Groves, Missouri. It has multiple branch locations across the United States and countries across Europe, Asia, and Africa. It offers undergraduate and graduate program ...

, where he 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 p ...

Professional career

The

selected Fleming in the fifth round of the

2017 MLB draft The 2017 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 12, 2017. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first 36 picks, including the first round and compensatory picks, were broadcast on MLB Network on J ...

. He signed and made his debut with the

Princeton Rays The Princeton Rays were a Minor League Baseball team in Princeton, West Virginia, operating as an Advanced Rookie-level team in the Appalachian League. The team was affiliated with several Major League Baseball (MLB) franchises, primarily the Ta ...

, that year. Fleming's 2017 stat line included a 5.40

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) across 12 games (nine starts). In 2018, Fleming began the season with the

Bowling Green Hot Rods The Bowling Green Hot Rods are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and play their home games at Bowling Green Ballpark, which open ...

, where he posted a 1.20 ERA over ten games. Fleming began pitching for the

Charlotte Stone Crabs The Charlotte Stone Crabs were a Minor League Baseball team located in Port Charlotte, Florida, from 2009 to 2020. They competed in the Florida State League (FSL) as the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays Major League Baseball (MLB) ...

in July, achieving a record of 3–3 with a 4.11 ERA. In posting a 2019 season record that included a 3.31 ERA over 21 games, Fleming was named the MVP of the season by the

Montgomery Biscuits The Montgomery Biscuits are a Minor League Baseball team based in Montgomery, Alabama. They are the Double-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays and play in the Southern League. The team was founded in Orlando, Florida, in 1973 as the Orlando Twins ...

. He finished the season with the

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened ...

, compiling a 5.14 ERA across four games. In July 2020, the Rays added Fleming to their 60-man roster. On August 21, after Rays starter

Yonny Chirinos Yonny Enrique Chirinos Mejias (born December 26, 1993) is a Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). Career Minor league career Chirinos signed with the Tampa Bay Rays for $10,000 as an in ...

was ruled out for the rest of the 2020 season with a torn UCL,

Kevin Cash Kevin Forrest Cash (born December 6, 1977) is an American professional baseball manager and former player who is the manager of the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). Previously, Cash played catcher in MLB for the Toronto Blue Jays, ...

announced Fleming would be called up to make his debut on August 23, against 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 ...

. His contract was officially selected to the active roster on August 23. Fleming earned the win in his big league debut, pitching five innings with three strikeouts and two earned runs in a 5–4 Rays victory. He finished the season with a 5–0 record and a 2.78 ERA in innings. On July 7, 2021, Fleming combined with

Collin McHugh Collin Alexander McHugh (born June 19, 1987) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the New York Mets, Colorado Rockies, Houston Astros and Tampa Bay Rays. List ...

, Diego Castillo,

Matt Wisler Matthew Robert Wisler (born September 12, 1992), nicknamed Wis, is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He was drafted by the San Diego Padres out of high school in the seventh round of the 2011 Major League Baseball dra ...

, and Peter Fairbanks to no–hit 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 Fi ...

. However, since the feat was achieved in a truncated seven–inning doubleheader game, it was not recorded as an official no-hitter. Fleming made 26 appearances for the Rays in 2021, which included 11 starts. In innings pitched, he logged a 10–8 record and 5.09 ERA with 65 strikeouts and 1 save. In 2022, Fleming made only 10 appearances (3 starts) for the Rays, missing time with an oblique injury. In 35.0 innings of work, he struggled to a 2–5 record and 6.43 ERA with 29 strikeouts. In 2023, Fleming began the year with the Rays, pitching in 11 games before he was scratched from a scheduled start against the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

and placed on the injured list with elbow soreness on June 2. An

MRI Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to form pictures of the anatomy and the physiological processes of the body. MRI scanners use strong magnetic fields, magnetic field gradients, and radio waves ...

revealed cartilage buildup on his elbow bone as well as inflammation, and he was transferred to the 60–day injured list on June 10. He was activated on August 12.

Personal life

Fleming and his wife, Katie, met at Webster (where she played volleyball) and were married in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

in November 2020.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fleming, Josh 1996 births Living people Bowling Green Hot Rods players Charlotte Stone Crabs players Durham Bulls players Florida Complex League Rays players Major League Baseball pitchers Montgomery Biscuits players Baseball players from St. Louis County, Missouri Princeton Rays players Tampa Bay Rays players Webster University alumni