Marc Rzepczynski

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Marc Rzepczynski
Cleveland Indians – No. 35
Pitcher
Born: (1985-08-29) August 29, 1985
Oak Lawn, Illinois
Bats: Left Throws: Left
MLB debut
July 7, 2009 for the Toronto Blue Jays
Career statistics
(through 2013 season)
Win–loss record 9–17
Earned run average 3.95
Strikeouts 240
Teams

Career highlights and awards

Marc Walter Rzepczynski (/zəpˈtʃɪnski/ zəp-CHIN-skee; born August 29, 1985[1]) is an American professional baseball player. A left-handed pitcher, Rzepcynski plays in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians. He has previously played in MLB for the Toronto Blue Jays and St. Louis Cardinals.

Amateur career

Rzepcynski attended Servite High School in Anaheim, California and the University of California, Riverside, where he played college baseball for the Highlanders from 2004–2007. In his senior season, the Highlanders won the Big West Conference championship and appeared in the NCAA Tournament.[2][3]

He also played for the Corvallis Knights and the Bellingham Bells (2004) in the West Coast League, an independent summer collegiate league.

Professional career

Toronto Blue Jays

In June 2007, Rzepczynski was drafted in the fifth round (175th overall) of the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft by the Toronto Blue Jays. He made his professional debut that season for the short-season Jays' Class A affiliate Auburn Doubledays of the New York-Penn League. With Auburn, he posted a 5–0 record and a 2.76 ERA in 11 games (7 starts), with 49 strikeouts and 17 walks in 45.2 innings pitched.

In 2008, Rzepczynski advanced to the Class A Lansing Lugnuts of the Midwest League, where he finished 7–6 with a 2.83 ERA in 22 starts, with 124 strikeouts and 42 walks over 121 innings pitched.

Rzepczynski during the 2011 World Series victory parade.

In 2009, Rzepczynski through early July had split his season between the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, the Jays' Double-A team in the Eastern League, and the Las Vegas 51s, the Jays' Triple-A team in the Pacific Coast League. His 2009 statistics between Double-A and Triple-A combined for 16 games (all starts), with a 9–5 record, a 2.66 ERA, 104 strikeouts, and 40 walks, in 88 innings pitched.[4]

A series of injuries to pitchers at the major league level had plagued the parent Blue Jays for the first three months of the 2009 season, leading to opportunities for several rookies to advance to the top level. Scott Richmond, himself a rookie starter who had pitched very well for Toronto, became the latest casualty, when he went on the disabled list on July 4, retroactive to July 1, due to biceps tendinitis. Richmond, before play on July 6, ranked 16th of 40 eligible American League pitchers in Earned Run Average (ERA). Brett Cecil, another rookie who is already in the Jays' starting rotation, started on July 5 on short notice in Richmond's stead, against the New York Yankees, but this still left Toronto with only four healthy starters, leading to Rzepczynski's promotion and opportunity.[5] Rzepczynski pitched solidly in his debut against the defending American League champion Rays, lasting 6 innings, during which he gave up 2 hits and 1 earned run, walked 4, and struck out 7 in a no-decision; the Jays lost 3–1 in 11 innings. In his second big-league start, Rzepczynski again pitched well, but took the loss against the Baltimore Orioles on July 12, lasting 6 innings and allowing 3 earned runs; Toronto lost the game 4–2. Rzepczynski won his first major-league game on July 18, defeating the American League leading Boston Red Sox; he pitched 6 innings, allowing 1 earned run on 4 hits, walking 4 and striking out 4; Toronto won 6–2. Jays Manager Cito Gaston stated before the game that Rzepczynski would remain in the rotation for at least the next couple of weeks, pending Richmond's return from the disabled list.

St. Louis Cardinals

He was traded on July 27, 2011, to the St. Louis Cardinals along with Octavio Dotel, Edwin Jackson and Corey Patterson for Colby Rasmus, P. J. Walters, Trever Miller and Brian Tallet.[6][7]

On April 29, 2013, Rzepczynski was optioned to the Memphis Redbirds.[8] On July 25, 2013, Rzepczynski was recalled by the St. Louis Cardinals [9]

Cleveland Indians

On July 30, 2013, Rzepczynski was traded to the Cleveland Indians for minor league second baseman Juan Herrera.[10]

Personal life

Rzepczynski is of Polish descent.[11] The Toronto Blue Jays blogosphere gave Rzepczynski the nickname "Scrabble".[12][13]

References

  1. ↑ "Marc Rzepczynski". MLB.com. Major League Baseball Advanced Media. Retrieved June 5, 2012. 
  2. ↑ "University of California, Riverside Baseball Players Who Made it to the Major Leagues". Baseball-Almanac.com. Archived from the original on 18 December 2012. Retrieved 18 December 2012. 
  3. ↑ "2007 Highlanders". UCR.edu. Archived from the original on 18 December 2012. Retrieved 18 December 2012. 
  4. ↑ http://lasvegas.51s.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?pos=P&sid=t400&t=p_pbp&pid=519240
  5. ↑ Rookie lefty Rzepczynski called up, by Jordan Bastian, http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090706&content_id=5728292&vkey=news_tor&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor
  6. ↑ "Cardinals deal Rasmus to Jays in a three-team mega-deal". Sporting News. Retrieved 27 July 2011. 
  7. ↑ Frenette, Brad. "Blue Jays acquire top prospect Colby Rasmus in three-team deal". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 27 July 2011. 
  8. ↑ "St. Louis Cardinals get Seth Maness from Memphis, option Marc Rzepczynski". April 29, 2013. Retrieved June 21, 2013. 
  9. ↑ http://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseball/professional/cardinal-beat/cards-recall-rzepczynski-option-martinez/article_60ee14db-cc1f-59e0-90cc-1245c5b0a503.html
  10. ↑ "Indians acquire Marc Rzepczynski from Cards". Associated Press. July 30, 2013. Retrieved July 30, 2013. 
  11. ↑ Waldstein, David (October 26, 2011). "The Only St. Louis Pitcher’s Name That La Russa Got Right". The New York Times. 
  12. ↑ Visser, Josh (3 April 2010). "2010 Blue Jays preview: Few wins, but future bright(er)". CTVToronto. Retrieved 2011-05-31. "Youngsters Marc Rzepczynski (nicknamed "Scrabble" for obvious reasons) and Brett Cecil will probably get their shot later in the season." 
  13. ↑ Lankhof, Bill (21 May 2011). "Everyone knows Rzepczynski now". Edmonton Sun. Toronto Sun. Retrieved 2011-05-31. "Developed the nickname “Scrabble” in the blogosphere in reference to the high score his last name would earn in the board game." 

External links

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