Reese McGuire

Reese Jackson McGuire (born March 2, 1995) is an American professional baseball catcher for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first round of the 2013 MLB draft, and was traded to Toronto in 2016. He made his MLB debut in 2018, and is ranked 20th on Major League Baseball's 2020 Top 30 Blue Jays prospects list.[1]

Reese McGuire
McGuire with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2020
Toronto Blue Jays – No. 7
Catcher
Born: (1995-03-02) March 2, 1995
Seattle, Washington
Bats: Left Throws: Right
MLB debut
September 6, 2018, for the Toronto Blue Jays
MLB statistics
(through 2020 season)
Batting average.243
Home runs8
Runs batted in16
Teams
Medals
Men’s baseball
Representing  United States
18U Baseball World Championship
2012 Seoul National team

High school and international

McGuire attended Kentwood High School in Covington, Washington, where he played for the school's baseball team.[2][3] He also played for the United States national baseball team in 18-and-under competitions, being named the player of the year as the United States won the International Baseball Federation 18-and-under Baseball World Championship. He won the USA Baseball Richard W. "Dick" Case Player of the Year Award in 2012.[4][5] He had committed to attend the University of San Diego and play college baseball for the San Diego Toreros baseball team.[6]

Professional career

Pittsburgh Pirates
McGuire with the Bradenton Marauders in 2015

McGuire was considered among the best prospects from the Pacific Northwest eligible in the 2013 MLB draft[7][8] and was drafted 14th overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates.[9] He received a $2.36 million signing bonus and was assigned to the Gulf Coast Pirates of the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League.[10] In 46 games, McGuire batted .330 with 21 runs batted in (RBIs) before being promoted to the Jamestown Jammers of the Class A-Short Season New York-Penn League, where he appeared in four games to close the 2013 minor league season.[11] He played for the West Virginia Power of the Class A South Atlantic League in 2014, and was named a SAL All-Star.[12] He played a total of 98 games in the 2014 season, and hit .262 with three home runs and 45 RBIs.[11]

Continuing his progression through the minor leagues, McGuire was assigned to the Bradenton Marauders of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League in 2015.[13][14] He again appeared in 98 games, and hit .254 with 34 RBIs and 14 stolen bases.[11] The Pirates invited McGuire to spring training in 2016.[15] He was assigned to the Altoona Curve of the Class AA Eastern League to begin the 2016 season.[16] McGuire hit .259 with one home run and 37 RBIs in 77 games leading up to his trade to Toronto.[11]

Toronto Blue Jays
McGuire with the Buffalo Bisons in 2018

On August 1, 2016, the Pirates traded McGuire, along with Francisco Liriano and Harold Ramírez, to the Toronto Blue Jays for Drew Hutchison.[17] McGuire appeared in 15 games for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats of the Eastern League in 2016, and hit .226 with five RBIs.[11]

On January 19, 2017, McGuire was named the sixth-best catching prospect by MLB heading into the 2017 minor league season.[18] Due to injuries, McGuire appeared in only 45 games in 2017, but hit a career-high six home runs with a .295 batting average and 28 RBIs.[11] On November 20, 2017, McGuire was added to Toronto's 40-man roster.[19] He played for the Buffalo Bisons of the Class AAA International League in 2018.[20]

On September 6, 2018, the Blue Jays promoted McGuire to the major leagues.[21] He made his MLB debut that night against the Cleveland Indians and hit a double in the game for his first career hit. He hit his first career home run on September 26 against the Houston Astros.[22]

McGuire did not make the 2019 opening day roster and was optioned to AAA.[23] McGuire joined the Blue Jays in late July after Luke Maile was injured, and appeared in 30 games throughout the season, hitting .299 with an .872 OPS.[24]

Overall with the 2020 Blue Jays, McGuire batted .073 with one home run and 1 RBI in 19 games.[25]

Personal life

McGuire's older brother, Cash, played college baseball for Seattle University as a second baseman. His younger brother, Shane, plays baseball for the University of San Diego as a catcher.[6]

In February 2020, McGuire was charged with a misdemeanor count of exposure of sexual organs after an incident in a shopping center parking lot in Dunedin, Florida, near the Blue Jays spring training complex.[26] He pleaded no contest and was fined.[27]

References
  1. "MLB 2020 Prospect Watch". MLB.com. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  2. "Kentwood's McGuire aims for title, prepares for draft | Sports | Seattle News, Weather, Sports, Breaking News". KOMO News. May 13, 2013. Retrieved May 24, 2013.
  3. Kelley, Mason (April 23, 2012). "4A and 3A high-school baseball rankings - Week 5 | High School Sports Blog". The Seattle Times. Retrieved May 24, 2013.
  4. "Reese McGuire Wins USA Baseball Player of the Year Award". Baseball America. Archived from the original on July 4, 2015.
  5. "USA Baseball names year-end award winners". usabaseball.com. Archived from the original on July 5, 2015.
  6. "Washington high school catcher Reese McGuire has talent and leadership skills | MLB.com: News". Mlb.mlb.com. November 16, 2012. Retrieved May 24, 2013.
  7. Crawford, Christopher. "MLB Draft Blog Blog - ESPN". Insider.espn.go.com. Retrieved May 24, 2013.
  8. Mayo, Jonathan. "Top high school catchers figure to go early in MLB First-Year Player Draft | MLB.com: News". Mlb.mlb.com. Retrieved May 24, 2013.
  9. "Pirates get into position to snare prep stars | pirates.com: News". Mlb.mlb.com. June 6, 2013. Retrieved August 24, 2013.
  10. "Kentwood grad Reese McGuire off to hot start in minor league baseball". Kent Reporter. July 17, 2013. Retrieved August 24, 2013.
  11. "Reese McGuire Register Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  12. "Reese McGuire Stats, Highlights, Bio". MiLB.com. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  13. "Florida State League notebook: Reese McGuire showing maturity with showing maturity Bradenton Marauders - MiLB.com News - The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com. Retrieved May 28, 2015.
  14. "Bradenton Local News - Bradenton Herald & Lakewood Ranch Herald". bradenton.com. Retrieved May 28, 2015.
  15. Biertempfel, Rob (January 4, 2016). "Catcher McGuire leads prospects invited to spring training with Pirates". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved March 5, 2016.
  16. Avallone, Michael (July 26, 2016). "McGuire flashing offensive potential". MiLB.com. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  17. "Blue Jays trade Drew Hutchison to Pirates for Francisco Liriano, prospects". Sportsnet. August 1, 2016. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  18. Callis, Jim (January 19, 2017). "2017 Prospect Watch: Top 10 Catchers". MLB.com. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
  19. Davidi, Shi (November 20, 2017). "Jansen, Tellez among players added to Blue Jays' 40-man roster". Sportsnet. Retrieved November 20, 2017.
  20. Moritz, Amy (April 12, 2018). "Reese McGuire gets first taste of spring baseball in Buffalo". buffalonews.com. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
  21. "Blue Jays recall McGuire, Shafer from triple-A Buffalo". Sportsnet. September 6, 2018. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
  22. "Blue Jays give John Gibbons a win in his final game in Toronto". CBC. September 26, 2018. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
  23. "Blue Jays' Reese McGuire: Optioned to Triple-A". CBSSports.com. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  24. "McGuire makes case for more permanent role". MLB.com. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
  25. https://www.mlb.com/player/reese-mcguire-624512?stats=career-r-hitting-mlb&year=2020
  26. McLarty, Christine. "Blue Jays' Reese McGuire charged with indecency in Dunedin". Wfla.com. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  27. "Blue Jays' Reese McGuire: Fined for off-field incident". CBS Sports. July 7, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
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