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Jonathan Papelbon

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Template:MLBpitcher Jonathan Robert Papelbon (born November 23, 1980 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana) is a pitcher in Major League Baseball who plays for the Boston Red Sox since 2005. He bats and throws right-handed.

Papelbon was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in 2004 out of Mississippi State. Papelbon, along with left-hander Jon Lester, is one of the so-called untouchable young pitchers in the Red Sox organization, according to Baseball America.

Papelbon throws a fastball clocked up to 96 mph, typically hitting the low-90s, with great command. He has a good slider and a changeup, as well as a slurve curveball. He also added a splitter to his arsenal in the 2005 spring training, after some tutoring from Curt Schilling.

Career

After a 13-10 record for the Class-A Lowell and Sarasota teams from 2003-04, Papelbon was 5-2 in 14 starts for Double-A Portland in 2005. Promoted to Triple-A Pawtucket, he was 1-2 with a 3.57 ERA in four starts, walking two and struck out 21 in 22.1 innings. He made his major league debut with the Red Sox on July 31 against Minnesota, in which he went 5 1/3 innings, struck out seven (including the first major leaguer he faced), and walked five in Boston's 4-3 victory. He got a no-decision. After the game, Papelbon was sent to Pawtucket. The Red Sox also gave him a new role: reliever. Papelbon, who was a closer at Mississippi State, was called into Terry Francona's office and told he was heading back to the farm team to work on his secondary pitches for a possible return.

Papelbon was called up to the major leagues again on August 15. He earned his first major league win on September 12, pitching three scoreless innings in an extra-inning game against Toronto. He finished strong in September, posting a 1.29 ERA in 14 innings. In two postseason appearances, he pitched four scoreless innings against the White Sox.

Papelbon began the 2006 season as a relief pitcher. On April 5, 2006, he pitched in the 9th inning of a one-run game, which is usually a role reserved for the closer, spurring discussion about whether Papelbon will replace Keith Foulke as the full-time closer. He has proven himself well; he was dominant in spring training and was unscored upon during the entire first month of the 2006 season.

Even if Papelbon does take the closer role away from Foulke, it remains to be seen how long he will keep it. The Red Sox farm system groomed Papelbon to be a starter, largely because of the fact that former St. John's University standout Craig Hansen is lying in wait to inherit the closer job. Hansen is expected to reach the major leagues in mid-2006, at which point Papelbon will likely be moved into the starting rotation.

Fact

  • Papelbon was drafted in the fourth round in 2003, a year after the Athletics picked him in the 40th round. He did not sign because he wanted one more year in college to pitch and a chance to get to the College World Series (he did not). The Phillies had called him in round six to ask if he’d sign if they drafted him, but he rejected the offer. Finally, the Red Sox drafted him the next year in the fourth round.
  • Papelbon, on April 29, 2006, set a major league record with his 10th save against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. No rookie in major league baseball history had recorded that many saves in the month of April prior to that game.

Sources

 

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