MICHAEL JEFFERSON | LEFT HANDED PITCHER |
 | Born: July 31, 1989 Height: 6′ 5″ Weight: 190 Bats: Left Throws: Left Drafted: 22nd Round, 662nd Overall, 2011 How Acquired: Draft College: Louisiana Tech University Agent: N/A |
WTM’S PIRATE PLAYER PROFILES |
| Jefferson was the ace of the Louisiana Tech staff in 2011, as he made significant progress with the control problems he’d had in his first two years. He also cut way down on gopher balls, possibly with some help from the new bats. He’s never allowed a lot of hits. Baseball America ranked him the 32nd best prospect in Louisiana. He has a 90-91 MPH fastball and a good curve, as well as a change and splitter. He was drafted by the Mets in 2010 in the 46th round, but returned to school. He redshirted in 2008 and so had another year of eligibility left, but he signed with the Pirates. 2011 Jefferson started off pitching mainly in relief at State College and struggled through the first part of the season. He moved to the rotation for good at the beginning of August and pitched much better. His ERA was 6.86 before August and 2.25 in August. Opponents batted .291 against him in June and July and .165 in August. His walk and K rates were solid and his WHIP was much better than his ERA. He was a strong flyball pitcher, but only allowed four HRs. Jefferson will open 2012 at West Virginia, where he’ll pitch out of the bullpen at least initially. |
STATS | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Baseball Reference–Minors Fangraphs MiLB.com | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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CONTRACT INFORMATION |
| 2012: Minor league contract |
PLAYER INFORMATION |
| Signing Bonus: N/A MiLB Debut: 2011 MLB Debut: MiLB FA Eligible: 2017 MLB FA Eligible: Rule 5 Eligible: 2014 Added to 40-Man: Options Remaining: 3 MLB Service Time: 0.000 |
TRANSACTIONS |
| June 9, 2010: Drafted by the New York Mets in the 46th round, 1382nd overall pick. June 7, 2011: Drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 22nd round, 662nd overall pick; signed June 18, 2011. |
