J. P. Howell

J. P. Howell
Howell playing for the Tampa Bay Rays on September 22, 2008.
Tampa Bay Rays – No. 74
Relief pitcher
Born: April 25, 1983 (1983-04-25)
Bats: Left	Throws: Left
MLB debut
June 11, 2005 for the Kansas City Royals
Career statistics (through June 3, 2011)
Win-Loss	18-20
Earned run average	4.54
Strikeouts	310
Saves	20
Teams
Kansas City Royals (2005) Tampa Bay Rays (2006–2009, 2011-present)

James Phillip Howell (born April 25, 1983 in Modesto, California) is a Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays. J.P. attended Saint Mary's School in Sacramento, California. He is an alumnus of Jesuit High School in Carmichael, California where he had a 0.09 ERA his senior year and the University of Texas at Austin, where he led the Longhorns to an appearance in the 2004 College World Series championship series. Howell had the best ERA in the CWS that year at 0.77.

Howell is a soft tosser. He throws his sinker in the mid 80's, topping out at 90 MPH. He also throws a knuckle-curve that has been described by scouts as "heavy" because of its extremely sharp downward break. He throws a change-up that breaks away from right-handed hitters. Howell's arsenal also includes a cutter. Howell has solid command of all four pitches.

Howell made his Major League Baseball debut with the Kansas City Royals on June 11, 2005. On June 20, 2006 Howell was traded to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for infielder Fernando Cortez and outfielder Joey Gathright,and made his Devil Rays debut on August 1, 2006.

He pitched out of the bullpen for the Rays in 2008 and became one of the team's primary closers. He went 6-1 with a 2.22 ERA in 64 games, striking out 92 batters while earning three saves. He also pitched in the 2008 World Series, a series in which he took the loss in the deciding game 5, giving the Philadelphia Phillies their first world championship in over 25 years.

On July 19, 2009, Howell became only the second Rays pitcher to record three saves in a row in a series (Troy Percival being the first). It came against his former team, the Royals.

In 2010, Howell suffered from what was reported as "weakness" in his left shoulder during spring training. He was not active for the start the season with the Rays, but was expected to return in late May. He threw in a simulated game on May 17, but stopped after only twelve pitches, still experiencing discomfort in his shoulder. A few days later he underwent surgery on the shoulder, causing him to miss the entire 2010 season. On December 13, 2010, Howell signed a one-year deal with the Tampa Bay Rays.

External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)