Jake Fishman

Jake Layton Fishman[1] (born February 8, 1995) is an American-Israeli professional baseball pitcher in the Miami Marlins organization and for Team Israel.

Jake Fishman
Miami Marlins
Pitcher
Born: (1995-02-08) February 8, 1995
Sharon, Massachusetts
Bats: Left Throws: Left

In high school, in 2013 he was named to the Hockomock League All-Star First Team, and was named to the Massachusetts All-Star Team. In college, in his junior season with the Union Dutchmen, in 2016 Fishman led all of college baseball with a 0.41 ERA. He was named the Liberty League's Pitcher of the Year, Player of the Year, All-Liberty League First Team both as a pitcher and as a utility player, and a D3baseball.com All-American.

Fishman was selected in the 30th round of the 2016 Major League Baseball draft by the Toronto Blue Jays. He was on the roster for Team Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic. In November 2019, he obtained Israeli citizenship so that he could play for Team Israel in baseball at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

Early and personal life

Fishman was born in Newton, Massachusetts, to Hutch Fishman and Cindy Layton, and is Jewish.[2][3][4]

High school

Fishman attended Sharon High School in Massachusetts, where he was an outfielder and pitcher.[5] He was captain of his high school baseball team during both his junior and senior years.[3] The now-6'-3" pitcher said he was only 5' 7" until he had a 7-inch growth spurt in his junior year.[6] In his senior year he was named to the Hockomock League All-Star First Team, was runner-up to be the Hockomock League MVP, and was named to the Massachusetts All-Star Team.[3][7] He graduated in 2013.[8]

College

Undrafted out of high school, Fishman didn't receive an NCAA Division I offer.[9] Fishman then attended NCAA Division III Union College for three years.[3]

In his freshman season, he pitched to a 7–0 win–loss record with a 2.29 earned run average (ERA) and 49 strikeouts in 63 innings pitched. Fishman was named Division III Upstate Baseball Pitcher of the Week after pitching a no-hitter in his second college start on March 29, 2014.[10] Fishman also played first base and designated hitter and batted for Union, hitting .400 with 24 runs batted in (RBI) and 12 stolen bases.[3][11] In the off-season, he played for the Brockton Rox of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League.[5] In 2015, Fishman went 4–2 with a 1.48 ERA and 43 strikeouts in 42​2⁄3 innings. At the plate, he hit .477 with 23 RBIs and 10 stolen bases.[3] He was named to the NCAA 2015 Academic All-District 3 Baseball Team as a designated hitter, with a 3.32 GPA and a major in Managerial Economics.[12] He was also named a 2015 Jewish Sports Review College Baseball All-American with, among others, first baseman Simon Rosenbaum and first baseman/outfielder Jeremy Wolf.[13]

In his junior, and final, season with the Dutchmen, in 2016 Fishman led all of college baseball with a 0.41 ERA, and had a 7–0 record with 85 strikeouts in 66 innings pitched.[3] He threw a fastball in the low-90s.[14] He also batted .361 with 14 RBIs. At the end of the season he was named the Liberty League's Pitcher of the Year, Player of the Year, and All-Liberty League First Team both as a pitcher and as a utility player.[15][16] Fishman was also selected to the 2016 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List, the only NCAA Division III baseball player named to the list.[17] He was the first Union player to receive D3baseball.com All-American honors at pitcher, and was chosen as an American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Second-Team All-American at utility.[18] In his three years pitching for Union, he went 18-2 with a 1.36 ERA, and as a hitter he batted .410.[4][19]

After the college season, he pitched during the summer for the Wareham Gatemen of the Cape Cod League.[18] Fishman planned to continue attending classes for his Union College degree in the fall of 2016, and to finish his degree requirements.[20][14]

Minor leagues

Fishman was selected in the 30th round of the 2016 Major League Baseball draft by the Toronto Blue Jays.[21][1] In being selected, he became the first Union College player to be taken in an MLB draft.[22] He signed with the Blue Jays on June 17, for a signing bonus of $50,000 and payment of his senior year tuition, approximately $65,000.[15][23][14]

Fishman was assigned to the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Blue Jays. In seven appearances, including one start, he posted a 0–1 record, 4.80 ERA, and 13 strikeouts in 15 innings pitched.[21] He was promoted to the Bluefield Blue Jays of the Rookie Appalachian League on August 20, but did not appear for the team before the end of the season.[24][21]

In 2017, Fishman pitched one scoreless inning for the Gulf Coast League Blue Jays, pitched in 14 relief appearances for the Vancouver Canadians of the Class A- Northwest League for whom he was 1-0 with 1 save and a 1.17 ERA and 4 walks and 23 strikeouts in 23 innings, and pitched four times in relief for the Lansing Lugnuts of the Class A Midwest League, for whom he was 0-1 with a 4.05 ERA and zero walks and 15 strikeouts in 6.2 innings.[25]

Fishman began the 2018 season pitching for the Dunedin Blue Jays of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League, for whom he was 2-3 with 8 saves (10th in the league) and a 2.68 ERA, as in 44 games (tied for 2nd in the league) he pitched 57 innings, walked 11, and struck out 56 batters, as he had the best WHIP on the team.[26][27] He pitched in one game for the Buffalo Bisons of the Class AAA International League, pitching 1.1 perfect innings with one strikeout.[28] Blue Jays pitching coordinator Jeff Ware described Fishman as "the kind of pitcher that gives lefties nightmares at the dish."[29]

In 2019, Fishman pitched for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats of the Class AA Eastern League.[30] He was 1-1 with 4 saves and a 3.45 ERA in 42 relief appearances (tops on the team), as he pitched 62.2 innings with 74 strikeouts (averaging 10.6 strikeouts per 9 innings), and induced ground balls 50.9% of the time.[30][31] He held lefties to a .223 batting average and a .540 OPS, and his fastball was top-10 in horizontal movement among upper-level lefties.[32][33]

On December 10, 2020, Fishman was selected by the Miami Marlins in the First Round, with the 12th pick, of the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft.[34]

International baseball

Fishman was on the roster to play for Team Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic in South Korea.[35] Team Israel coach Jerry Weinstein had been Fishman's coach when he played for the Wareham Gatemen of the Cape Cod League in 2016.[4]

In November 2019, he obtained Israeli citizenship so that he could play for Team Israel in baseball at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.[36]

References
  1. "Jake Fishman Stats, Highlights, Bio". MiLB.com. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  2. "Jake Fishman Stats, Fantasy & News". MLB.com. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  3. "Union College - Jake Fishman". unionathletics.com. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  4. "Fishman hoping to play for Israel in WBC," The Daily Gazette, February 19, 2017.
  5. Johnson, John R. (July 20, 2014). "Sharon's Jake Fishman eyes healthy return to mound for Brockton Rox". The Boston Globe. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  6. "Union College pitcher getting MLB attention," Times Union.
  7. "Sharon High baseball team has a spring season to remember," The Patriot Ledger, Quincy, MA.
  8. "Proud of her Brockton Rox boys," Mansfield News - Mansfield, MA
  9. Singelais, Mark (May 5, 2016). "Union College pitcher getting MLB Attention". Times Union. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  10. "Five from Liberty League earn ECAC weekly honors". libertyleagueathletics.com.
  11. Ryan Mueller. "Blue Jays 2018 Hidden Gems: Jake Fishman". Jays From The Couch. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  12. "15 bb academic all-district (PDF)" (PDF). University of South Alabama Athletics.
  13. Kelvin Queliz (July 6, 2015). "Weston Silverberg Named Jewish Sports Review College Baseball All-American". Texas A&M - Kingsville Athletics.
  14. "Baseball’s Jake Fishman drafted into MLB," Concordiensis.
  15. "Union pitcher Jake Fishman drafted by Toronto Blue Jays". Times Union. June 11, 2016. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  16. Sabocheck, Scott (May 17, 2016). "Seven From UR Named All-Liberty League In Baseball". Hero Sports. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  17. Schott, Ken (April 27, 2016). "Union's Fishman plays big in a tiny pond". Daily Gazette. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
  18. "Fishman drafted & signed by Toronto," unionathletics.com, June 11, 2016.
  19. "Blue Jays 2018 Hidden Gems: Jake Fishman," Jays From The Couch.
  20. "Union's Jake Fishman signs with Blue Jays," WRGB.
  21. "Jake Fishman Minor League Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  22. Patrick Stothers. "Spring training has been a reality check for Fishman," The Toronto Observer.
  23. "Blue Jays sign 24 from 2016 Draft". MLB.com. June 17, 2016. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  24. "Appalachian League Transactions". MiLB.com. August 2016. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  25. "Jake Fishman Minor Leagues Statistics & History," Baseball-Reference.com.
  26. Charlie Marshall. "Blue Jays MiLB Recap - Bisons Play Season Opener"
  27. "Blue Jays 2018 Dunedin Blue Jays: Wrap Up," Jays From The Couch.
  28. "Jake Fishman Stats, Highlights, Bio | Florida State League Stats". Florida State League.
  29. "Blue Jays system ready to make an impact". MiLB.com. December 19, 2018. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  30. "Jake Fishman Amateur & Minor Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com.
  31. Jeff Quattrociocchi. "Blue Jays' MiLB "Scouting the Stats" All Stars: The Bullpen". Jays From The Couch. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  32. "Toronto RHP Jiménez taken in Rule 5 Draft". MLB.com. December 10, 2020.
  33. "The 2020 Rule 5 Draft Scouting Reports". Fangraphs. December 10, 2020.
  34. "2020 Rule 5 Draft results, pick by pick". MLB.com. December 10, 2020.
  35. Chisholm, Gregor (February 8, 2017). "Bautista, Stroman headline Toronto's WBC contingent". MLB.com. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  36. Steven Klein (November 22, 2019). "U.S. Baseball pros arrive to claim Israeli citizenship, qualify for Olympics". Haaretz. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
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