Adrian Sampson

Adrian David Sampson

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 205 lb.
• School Bellevue Community College
• High School Skyline High School
• Debut June 18, 2016

• Born October 7, 1991 in Redmond, WA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Starting pitcher Adrian Sampson began his professional career in 2012.

After going 6-2 with six complete games and a 1.82 ERA in 10 appearances for Northwest Athletic Conference champion Bellevue Community College in 2011, he was taken by the Florida Marlins in the 16th round of the 2011 amateur draft, a couple of picks after pitcher Carlos Rodon, but opted not to sign. He was then taken by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 5th round of the 2012 amateur draft and inked a contract. For BCC, he went 11-0 with a 1.36 ERA in 13 games. In his two years there, he was a combined 17-2 with a 1.58 ERA in 23 games (21 starts). In 142 innings, he allowed 87 hits and 42 walks while striking out 189 batters.

In his first professional season, he went 0-1 with a 2.95 ERA in 42 2/3 innings for the State College Spikes, striking out 44 batters. He followed that with a 5-8, 5.14 season for the Bradenton Marauders in 2013. Between the Altoona Curve and Triple-A Indianapolis Indians in 2014, Sampson was 11-6 with a 2.96 ERA in 28 starts. In his first taste of Triple-A, he was 1-1 with a 6.63 ERA in four starts. He began 2015 with Indianapolis, but was traded on July 31st to the Seattle Mariners for J.A. Happ. Between Indianapolis and the Tacoma Rainiers, he was 10-12 with a 4.76 ERA in 28 starts. He then went back to Tacoma to begin the 2016 season.

Adrian made his major league debut with the Mariners on June 18, 2016, as the starting pitcher against the Boston Red Sox. He gave up 4 runs on 8 hits in 4 2/3 innings to be charged with a 6-2 loss. He was slated to make his second start against the Detroit Tigers on June 23rd but exited with discomfort in his right elbow while still warming up before making his first pitch. The news went from bad to worse as he was diagnosed with an injury to a tendon that required season-ending surgery. Following the season, he was placed on waivers and picked up by the Texas Rangers, but spent all of the 2017 season in the minors.

Adrian resurfaced in the big leagues for 5 games in 2018 when he went 0-3, 4.30. He finally got to play regularly in 2019. He lost his first three decisions, but then found his groove when the Rangers began to use him as the long man in bullpen games. He recorded his first major league victory in the role on May 17th, when he pitched 4 1/3 inning in relief of opener Jose Leclerc in a 7-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. He won again in his next two appearances under similar circumstances, pitching 5 or more innings in relief both times. That string of solid work got him a chance to start his own games again, and he made it 5 straight appearances with a win with victories on June 2nd and June 8th. The latter was the first complete game of his career, a 3-1 win over the Oakland Athletics to complete a sweep of a doubleheader, and combined in the two starts he had given up 2 runs in 16 innings, with 1 walk and 18 strikeouts.

Related Sites

• Adrian Sampson on mlb.com
• BR Minors page