Jeter Downs | |
---|---|
![]() Downs with the Dayton Dragons in 2018 | |
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – No. 4 | |
Shortstop | |
Born: San Andrés, Colombia | July 27, 1998|
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |
MLB debut | |
June 22, 2022, for the Boston Red Sox | |
MLB statistics (through 2023 season) | |
Batting average | .182 |
Home runs | 1 |
Runs batted in | 5 |
Teams | |
Jeter Deion Downs (born July 27, 1998) is a Colombian professional baseball shortstop for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox and Washington Nationals. Listed at 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m) and 195 pounds (88 kg), he bats and throws right-handed.
Early life and education
[edit]Downs was born on July 27, 1998, in San Andrés, Colombia. His father, Jerry Sr., had played professional baseball in Colombia. He was named for Baseball Hall of Fame shortstop Derek Jeter. To facilitate better baseball opportunities for him and his brother, Jerry Jr., the family moved to Miami, Florida.[1]
Downs attended Monsignor Edward Pace High School in Miami Gardens, Florida, and played for the school's baseball team as a shortstop. He committed to attend the University of Miami on a college baseball scholarship.[2]
Professional career
[edit]Cincinnati Reds
[edit]The Cincinnati Reds selected Downs with the 32nd overall selection of the 2017 MLB draft.[3][4] He signed with the Reds for a $1.825 million signing bonus.[5] After signing, he was assigned to the Billings Mustangs of the Rookie-level Pioneer League, where he spent all of his first professional season, posting a .267 batting average with six home runs and 29 runs batted in (RBIs) in 50 games.[6] Downs spent the 2018 season with the Dayton Dragons of the Class A Midwest League[7] where he hit .257 with 13 home runs, 47 RBIs, and 37 stolen bases in 120 games.[8]
Los Angeles Dodgers
[edit]On December 21, 2018, the Reds traded Downs to the Los Angeles Dodgers, along with Homer Bailey and Josiah Gray in exchange for Matt Kemp, Yasiel Puig, Alex Wood, Kyle Farmer and cash considerations.[9] He began 2019 with the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes[10] and was selected to the mid-season California League all-star game[11] and post-season league all-star team.[12] He played in 107 games for Rancho Cucamonga, hitting .269 with 19 homers and 75 RBIs.[13] The Dodgers promoted him to the Double-A Tulsa Drillers of the Texas League on August 20, 2019,[14] where he hit .333 in 12 games with five home runs and 11 RBIs.[15][13]
Boston Red Sox
[edit]The Dodgers traded Downs, Alex Verdugo, and Connor Wong to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for Mookie Betts, David Price and cash considerations on February 10, 2020.[16] Downs did not play during 2020, due to the cancellation of the minor league season. Following the 2020 season, Downs was ranked by Baseball America as the Red Sox' number two prospect.[17]
Downs began the 2021 season in Triple-A with the Worcester Red Sox. In May, he was named to the roster of the Colombia national baseball team for the Americas Qualifying Event for the Olympics.[18] He was selected to play in the mid-season All-Star Futures Game,[19] where he went 1-for-2, driving in two runs with a double.[20] In 99 games with Worcester, Downs batted .190 with 14 home runs and 39 RBIs.[21] After the regular season, Downs was selected to play in the Arizona Fall League.[22] On November 19, in advance of the Rule 5 draft, the Red Sox added Downs to their 40-man roster.[23]
Downs began the 2022 season with Worcester.[24] He was added to Boston's major-league active roster on June 20, despite only batting .180 in 53 games for Worcester.[25] Downs made his MLB debut two nights later, playing third base and going 0-for-4 at the plate against the Detroit Tigers at Fenway Park.[26] He was optioned back to Triple-A the next day.[27] Downs was recalled to Boston on July 9, when Christian Arroyo was placed on the injured list.[28] That evening, Downs collected his first MLB hit and RBI, and then scored the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning against the New York Yankees.[29] He hit his first major league home run on July 17 at Yankee Stadium.[30] Downs was optioned back to Worcester on July 30, when Arroyo rejoined the team.[31] In 14 games for the 2022 Red Sox, Downs batted .154 with one home run and four RBIs.[32] In 81 Triple-A games with Worcester, he batted .197 with 16 home runs and 33 RBIs.[21]
Downs was designated for assignment by the Red Sox on December 15, 2022.[33]
Washington Nationals
[edit]The Washington Nationals claimed Downs off of waivers on December 22, 2022.[34] Downs was optioned to the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings to begin the 2023 season.[35] He appeared in just 6 games for Washington, going 2–for–5 (.400) with one RBI, two stolen bases, and four walks. On December 12, Downs was designated for assignment by the Nationals.[36]
New York Yankees
[edit]On December 19, 2023, the New York Yankees claimed Downs off waivers.[37] One month later, he was designated for assignment to make room for Diego Castillo on the 40-man roster.[38] He cleared waivers on January 24 and was sent outright to the Triple–A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.[39] He was released by Yankees organization on July 30.
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
[edit]On July 30, 2024, Downs signed with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball.[40]
Personal life
[edit]Downs' brother, Jerry Jr., played several years in Minor League Baseball.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ Mayo, Jonathan (May 3, 2018). "Jeter Downs proud of namesake, journey to USA". MLB.com. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
- ^ a b "Monsignor Pace (Fla.) baseball star Jeter Downs living up to name | USA Today High School Sports". Usatodayhss.com. April 20, 2017. Retrieved June 21, 2017.
- ^ Sheldon, Mark (January 20, 2016). "Reds take Jeter Downs at 32 in 2017 MLB Draft". MLB.com. Retrieved June 21, 2017.
- ^ Walter Villa (June 13, 2017). "Monsignor Pace shortstop is first local player picked in MLB Draft". Miami Herald. Retrieved June 21, 2017.
- ^ Sheldon, Mark (January 20, 2016). "Reds sign Jeter Downs, Stuart Fairchild | MLB.com". M.mlb.com. Retrieved June 21, 2017.
- ^ "Jeter Downs Stats, Highlights, Bio - MiLB.com Stats - The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". Retrieved December 10, 2017.
- ^ "Downs' career-high four hits fuel Dragons". MiLB.com. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
- ^ "Jeter Downs Stats, Highlights, Bio - MiLB.com Stats - The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
- ^ "Dodgers deal Puig, Kemp, Wood, Farmer to Reds". MLB.com. December 21, 2018. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
- ^ "Jeter Downs, Connor Wong Headline High-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 2019 Opening Day Roster". Dodgerblue.com. April 3, 2019. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
- ^ Lindskog, Mike (June 7, 2019). "Seven Quakes Named 2019 Mid-Season All Stars". milb.com. Retrieved June 13, 2019.
- ^ Dykstra, Sam (August 21, 2019). "Campusano, Castro lead Cal honorees". milb.com. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
- ^ a b "Jeter Downs Minor League Statistics & History". Retrieved September 6, 2019.
- ^ Grant, Kellan (August 20, 2019). "Dodgers Prospect Jeter Downs Promoted to Double-A Tulsa". Dodgers Nation. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
- ^ Sam Dykstra (October 1, 2019). "Toolshed: Downs' power on the ups". MiLB.com. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
- ^ Gurnick, Ken (February 10, 2020). "Mookie Betts is officially on his way to LA". MLB.com. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
- ^ Speier, Alex (November 12, 2020). "Ranking the top prospects in the Red Sox' farm system". The Boston Globe. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
- ^ "Colombia names 26-man roster, 14 pitchers for upcoming Olympic baseball qualifier in Florida". wbsc.org. WBSC. May 26, 2021. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
- ^ Callis, Jim (June 30, 2021). "Futures Game rosters are STACKED". MLB.com. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
- ^ "AL Futures 3, NL Futures 8 (Final Score)". MLB Gameday. July 11, 2021. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
- ^ a b "Jeter Downs Minor & Fall Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
- ^ Cundall, Ian (October 27, 2021). "Scouting Scratch: Breaking down the Arizona Fall League contingent". Sox Prospects. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
- ^ Jennings, Chad (November 19, 2021). "By playing it safe on 40-man decisions, Red Sox take their chances in upcoming Rule 5 draft". The Athletic. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
- ^ Callis, Jim (April 6, 2022). "Here's where Red Sox Top 30 prospects are starting '22". MLB.com. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
- ^ Mahoney, Andrew (June 20, 2022). "Red Sox call up infield prospect Jeter Downs from Worcester". The Boston Globe. Retrieved June 20, 2022 – via MSN.com.
- ^ "Jeter Downs making MLB debut for Red Sox Wednesday night vs. Tigers". CBS News. June 22, 2022. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
- ^ Smith, Christopher (June 23, 2022). "Boston Red Sox roster moves: Jeter Downs optioned to Worcester, Christian Arroyo likely to be activated Friday". masslive.com. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
- ^ "Red Sox Roster & Staff – Transactions". MLB.com. July 2022. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
- ^ "Jeter scores winning run ... against Yankees?". MLB.com. July 10, 2022. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
- ^ Dixon, Michael (July 17, 2022). "MLB world reacts to Jeter Downs' home run in New York". The Comeback. Retrieved July 17, 2022 – via MSN.com.
- ^ "Red Sox's Christian Arroyo: Activated, starting Saturday". CBS Sports. July 30, 2022. Retrieved July 30, 2022.
- ^ "Jeter Downs Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
- ^ Anderson, R. J. (December 15, 2022). "Red Sox DFA Jeter Downs, part of Mookie Betts trade, to make room for Masataka Yoshida". CBS Sports. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
- ^ Cotillo, Chris (December 22, 2022). "Jeter Downs claimed by Nationals as Red Sox lose prospect from Mookie Betts trade". masslive.com. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
- ^ "Nationals' Jeter Downs: Optioned to Triple-A level". cbssports.com. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
- ^ https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/12/nationals-sign-dylan-floro-to-major-league-deal.html
- ^ "New York Yankees claim shortstop Jeter Downs off waivers". ESPN.com. Associated Press. December 19, 2023. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
- ^ "Yankees cut Jeter Downs to make room for Diego Castillo". ESPN.com. Associated Press. January 19, 2024. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
- ^ https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/01/yankees-outright-oscar-gonzalez-jeter-downs.html
- ^ "ジーター・ダウンズ選手 入団のお知らせ". 福岡ソフトバンクホークス (in Japanese). Retrieved July 30, 2024.
External links
[edit]- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet