T. J. Zeuch

Timothy James Zeuch ( ; born August 1, 1995) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Colorado Rockies organization. He played college baseball for the Pittsburgh Panthers, and was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the first round of the 2016 Major League Baseball draft and made his MLB debut for the team in 2019.

Amateur career

Zeuch attended Mason High School in Mason, Ohio. He was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 31st round of the 2013 Major League Baseball draft, but did not sign and attended the University of Pittsburgh to play college baseball for the Panthers.

As a freshman at Pittsburgh in 2014, Zeuch appeared in 15 games and made nine starts. He pitched to a 2–6 win–loss record with a 2.75 earned run average (ERA) and 41 strikeouts. As a sophomore, he started 14 games, going 5–6 with a 3.87 ERA and 90 strikeouts. After the 2015 season, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Chatham Anglers of the Cape Cod Baseball League. Zeuch missed the first month of his junior year due to a strained groin. He finished the year with a 6–1 record, 3.10 ERA, and 74 strikeouts in 69 innings.

Professional career

Minor leagues

Zeuch was considered a top prospect heading into the 2016 draft, and was selected 21st overall by the Toronto Blue Jays. He signed with the Blue Jays on June 17 for $2.175 million, and was assigned to the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Blue Jays. Zeuch made his professional debut on July 9, striking out two and not allowing a baserunner in three innings, before being promoted to the Short Season-A Vancouver Canadians of the Northwest League on July 13. On August 29, Zeuch was promoted to the Class-A Lansing Lugnuts. He finished the season with a combined 0–2 record, 4.50 ERA, and 38 strikeouts in 34 innings pitched. Zeuch was assigned to the Advanced-A Dunedin Blue Jays for the 2017 season. He battled injuries that limited him to just 65 innings, and finished the season with a 3–6 record, 3.56 ERA, and 51 strikeouts.

Zeuch started the 2018 season in Dunedin, where he went 3–3 with a 3.47 ERA before being promoted to the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats. On June 4 he pitched his first shutout.

In 2019 Zeuch went to spring training with the Major League Blue Jays, but in February he suffered a strained lat muscle and did not pitch for about 3 months. After several appearances with Dunedin in June, on June 22 he was promoted to the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons and was immediately inserted into the starting rotation. On August 19, Zeuch threw a no-hitter against the Rochester Red Wings, and in doing so became the first Bison to throw a no-hitter since Bartolo Colón in 1997.

Toronto Blue Jays

The Blue Jays selected Zeuch's contract and promoted him to the major leagues on September 3, 2019. He made his debut that night in relief in the second inning of the Blue Jays' game against the Atlanta Braves. The first batter he faced was Tyler Flowers, who grounded out; later that inning he struck out Mike Foltynewicz for his first career strikeout. In all, Zeuch pitched four innings, allowing two runs on three hits and two walks with four strikeouts. Zeuch earned his first major league win on September 15, pitching 5 innings in relief, striking out five and allowing two earned runs in a 6–4 Blue Jays win over the New York Yankees. Zeuch's rookie season ended with a 1–2 record and a 4.76 ERA in five games pitched.

During spring training in 2020, Zeuch was optioned to AAA in Buffalo. Once the 2020 Major League regular season got underway in late July (due to the COVID-19 pandemic), Zeuch was assigned to the alternate training site in Rochester, New York. On September 17, Zeuch was called up to the majors. In his first relief appearance the next day, he pitched 3 innings, giving up 1 run against the New York Yankees. Three days later, again vs. the Yankees, Zeuch pitched innings of one-run, one-hit, one-walk relief to record his second career win.

Zeuch was the starting pitcher in the Blue Jays' next-to-last game of the regular season and he pitched 5 scoreless innings against the Baltimore Orioles. He did not get a decision in the Blue Jays' 5-2 win. Zeuch finished the regular season with a 1-0 record and an ERA of 1.59 in 11.1 innings pitched, allowing 9 hits and 4 walks with 3 strikeouts.

On May 3, 2021, Zeuch was assigned to Triple-A Buffalo. On June 17, Zeuch was recalled from Buffalo to start against the New York Yankees. Zeuch struggled to an 0-2 record and 6.60 ERA in 5 games, 3 of them starts, before he was designated for assignment on July 20.

St. Louis Cardinals

On July 25, 2021, the Blue Jays traded Zeuch to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for cash considerations. He pitched the remainder of the season for the Cardinals' AAA affiliate in Memphis. Zeuch was designated for assignment on May 21, 2022, and was released on May 28.

Cincinnati Reds

Zeuch was signed to a minor league contract by the Cincinnati Reds on June 3, 2022. On September 14, Zeuch was released by the Reds.

He was called up to the Reds on August 10 to start a game that day against the New York Mets in New York. He made two starts, giving up 6 runs in 4 innings in each start, before being optioned to Louisville August 21.

Colorado Rockies

On December 15, 2022, Zeuch signed a minor league contract with the Colorado Rockies.

Personal life

Zeuch is the son of Tim and Lisa Zeuch. His father played in the Kansas City Royals organization, pitching in two games in 1980.

On November 17, 2018, Zeuch married Lindsay Wilson in Pittsburgh.

References

External links

Pittsburgh Panthers bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zeuch, T. J.
1995 births
Living people
American expatriate baseball players in Canada
Baseball players from Ohio
Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players
Chatham Anglers players
Cincinnati Reds players
Dunedin Blue Jays players
Gulf Coast Blue Jays players
Lansing Lugnuts players
Major League Baseball pitchers
New Hampshire Fisher Cats players
People from Mason, Ohio
Pittsburgh Panthers baseball players
Toronto Blue Jays players
Vancouver Canadians players