Paul DeJong

Paul DeJong

DeJong with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2017
St. Louis Cardinals – No. 11
Infielder
Born: (1993-08-02) August 2, 1993
Orlando, Florida
Bats: Right Throws: Right
MLB debut
May 28, 2017, for the St. Louis Cardinals
MLB statistics
(through August 11, 2017)
Batting average .286
Home runs 16
Runs batted in 40
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Paul Sterling DeJong (born August 2, 1993) is an American professional baseball infielder for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB).

Career

DeJong batting in 2017.

DeJong graduated from Antioch Community High School in Antioch, Illinois, in 2011.[1] He then attended Illinois State University where he played college baseball for the Illinois State Redbirds. After his sophomore year in 2014, he was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 38th round of the 2014 Major League Baseball Draft. He did not sign with the Pirates and returned to Illinois State.[2][3] He was then drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the fourth round of the 2015 MLB Draft.[4][5][6][7]

DeJong signed with the Cardinals and made his professional debut with the Johnson City Cardinals of the Rookie-level Appalachian League. After 10 games, he was promoted to the Peoria Chiefs of the Class A Midwest League.[8] In 2016, he played for the Springfield Cardinals of the Class AA Texas League, and was selected as a Texas League All-Star.[9] He finished the 2016 season batting .260 with 22 home runs and 73 RBIs.[10] After the season, the Cardinals assigned DeJong to the Glendale Desert Dogs of the Arizona Fall League (AFL).[11]

DeJong began the 2017 season with the Memphis Redbirds of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League. The Cardinals promoted him to the major leagues on May 28, 2017.[12] He made his major league debut that day against the Colorado Rockies. In his first at bat in the major leagues, he hit a home run, the ninth Cardinals' player to do it.[13] In July, DeJong set a rookie record for extra-base hits in a three-game series. [14]

After batting .298/.347/.638 (.985 OPS) with 6 home runs and 16 RBI's in the month of July, DeJong was named the NL Rookie of the Month on his 24th birthday. He is the first Cardinals' player to win the award since Kolten Wong in May 2014. Through the game on August 1, DeJong is hitting .281/.308/.558, with 14 home runs and 32 RBIs in 208 plate appearances. Among rookies with at least 50 games played, only the Yankees' Aaron Judge and the Dodgers' Cody Bellinger have a higher slugging percentage than DeJong.[15]

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/lake-county-news-sun/sports/ct-lns-college-baseball-paul-dejong-illinois-state-draft-st-0605-20150605-story.html
  2. ↑ rreinhardt@pantagraph.com, Randy Reinhardt. "Stock rising for versatile ISU slugger DeJong". Retrieved September 26, 2016.
  3. ↑ Leusch, John (February 9, 2015). "Antioch's DeJong catching some national attention at Illinois State". Retrieved September 26, 2016.
  4. ↑ Tribune, Chicago. "St. Louis Cardinals pick Antioch's Paul DeJong in MLB draft". Retrieved September 26, 2016.
  5. ↑ Goold, Derrick. "Grichuk ranks among the best in 'exit velocity'". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
  6. ↑ Davidoff, Ken. "Meet the newest Mets-killer, whom they nearly drafted". New York Post. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
  7. ↑ Knobler, Danny. "Paul DeJong Is Breakout MLB Star Thanks in Part to Man Serving 4 Years in Prison". Bleacher Report. Retrieved August 4, 2017.
  8. ↑ rreinhardt@pantagraph.com, Randy Reinhardt. "Former Redbird DeJong promoted to Peoria". Retrieved September 26, 2016.
  9. ↑ Langosch, Jenifer (June 14, 2016). "Wong getting work in center field in Minors". stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com. Retrieved July 21, 2016.
  10. ↑ "Paul DeJong Stats, Highlights, Bio - MiLB.com Stats - The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". Retrieved September 26, 2016.
  11. ↑ "Major League Baseball - Winter Leagues - Arizona Fall League". Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  12. ↑ http://www.foxsports.com/midwest/story/st-louis-cardinals-place-kolten-wong-dl-purchase-paul-dejong-contract-052817
  13. ↑ "DeJong homers in first at-bat". MLB.com. May 28, 2017.
  14. ↑ "Paul DeJong sets rookie mark for extra-base hits in 3-game series". ESPN. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
  15. ↑ "B-day boy DeJong named NL's top July rookie". MLB.com. August 2, 2017.
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