J. J. Schwarz
J. J. Schwarz | |
---|---|
Oakland Athletics | |
Catcher | |
Born: Palm Beach Gardens, Florida | March 28, 1996|
Bats: Right Throws: Right |
Jeffrey James Schwarz (born March 28, 1996) is an American professional baseball catcher in the Oakland Athletics organization. He played college baseball for the Florida Gators.
Career
Schwarz attended Palm Beach Gardens Community High School in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.[1] As a senior, he hit .337 with seven home runs and 35 runs batted in (RBI). He was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 17th round of the 2014 MLB draft.[2] He did not sign with the Brewers and attended the University of Florida where he played college baseball for the Florida Gators.[3]
Schwarz started all 70 games his freshman year at Florida in 2015. In 256 at-bats he hit .332 and led the team in RBIs (73), home runs (18), doubles (16), sacrifice flies (6), and slugging percentage (.629). Against Stetson University, he hit a school-record four home runs.[4] He helped lead Florida to the College World Series, where they were eliminated by Virginia.[5][6] He was named the Freshman Player of the Year by the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper and the Freshman Hitter of the Year by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA).[7][8]
In 2016, as a sophomore, Schwarz batted .290 with seven home runs and 60 RBIs.[9] As a junior in 2017, he batted .259 with 12 home runs and 54 RBIs.[10] He was drafted in the 38th round of the 2017 MLB draft, but he did not sign and returned to Florida.[11] In 2018, his senior year, he was named to the All-SEC First Team.[12]
Schwarz was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the eighth round of the 2018 MLB draft.[13] He signed a minor league contract on July 6.[14]
Personal
Schwarz's father, Jeff Schwarz, played in Major League Baseball, and his sister, Taylor Schwarz, played softball at Florida.[15]
References
- ^ "Pressure meets Gardens baseball duo heading into playoffs".
- ^ Chiang, Anthony. "2014 MLB Draft: Palm Beach Gardens, American Heritage, Trinity Christian, Palm Beach Central players drafted on Day 3 - High School Buzz".
- ^ "County's top prospects drafted, opt for college".
- ^ Chiang, Anthony. "Palm Beach Gardens grad JJ Schwarz makes history with Florida Gators - Gator Bytes".
- ^ writer, Kevin Brockway Staff. "Schwarz having a blast in postseason".
- ^ Writer, Eric Olson AP Sports. "UF's Schwarz out to join softball-playing sister as champ".
- ^ "Gators catcher JJ Schwarz named Collegiate Baseball Co-Freshman of the Year". Tampa Bay Times.
- ^ "JJ Schwarz Named Freshman Hitter of the Year by the NCBWA". Florida Gators.
- ^ http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/florida-gators/swamp-things-blog/os-sp-gators-baseball-preview-0216-story.html
- ^ "Senior Schwarz back to lead top-ranked UF baseball team". The Gainesville Sun.
- ^ https://www.seccountry.com/florida/florida-baseball-jj-schwarz-mlb-draft
- ^ https://www.seccountry.com/sec/sec-announces-all-conference-baseball-teams-individual-honors
- ^ Lichtenstein, Adam (June 5, 2018). "Baseball: Oakland Athletics select former Palm Beach Gardens star JJ Schwarz". Palm Beach Post. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
- ^ "JJ Schwarz Stats, Fantasy & News". MLB.com. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
- ^ "Gene Frenette: Magical time for Schwarz family".
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference (Minors)
- Florida Gators bio