Blake DeWitt

Blake Robert DeWitt

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 175 lb.
• High School Sikeston High School

• Debut March 31, 2008
• Final Game April 19, 2013
• Born August 20, 1985 in Sikeston, MO USA

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Biographical Information

Blake DeWitt played for the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2008-2010. On July 31, 2010, he was traded to the Chicago Cubs.

Dewitt had hit .558/?/1.117 in his senior year of high school, scoring 49 and driving in 48 in 86 AB and was a first-team high school All-American pick by Baseball America. He was a 1st round pick in the 2004 amateur draft by the Dodgers. The 28th overall selection, he was LA's second first-rounder. The pick had originally belonged to the New York Yankees but went to LA as compensation for the loss of free agent Paul Quantrill. DeWitt was signed by scout Mitch Webster for a $1,200,000 bonus.

Assigned initially to the Ogden Raptors, Dewitt hit .284/.350/.488 and scored 61 runs in 70 games. Baseball America named him the #2 prospect in the Pioneer League, right behind Chris Nelson. He led league third basemen in putouts (45) and errors (20). Billy Butler won the All-Star nod at third base.

In 2005, Blake had a decent year with the Columbus Catfish (.283/.333/.428), though he only hit .218 against southpaws. Baseball America ranked him as the #7 prospect in the South Atlantic League that year. He went 13 for 31 with the Vero Beach Dodgers as well. The next year, he hit .268/.339/.442 for Vero Beach and homered 18 times. Moving up to the Jacksonville Suns, the 21-year-old managed just a .183/.241/.221 line in 26 games against older competition. He played in Hawaii Winter Baseball after the 2006 regular season, batting .216/.294/.286 for the North Shore Honu.

DeWitt hit .298/.338/.466 for the Inland Empire 66ers in 2007 and .281/.306/.466 for the Jacksonville Suns. Overall, he had 42 doubles.

DeWitt hit 8th and played third base for the 2008 Dodgers on Opening Day in his major league debut. He made the jump from AA in large part because Nomar Garciaparra, Andy LaRoche and Tony Abreu were all on the Disabled List. In his first plate appearance, DeWitt singled to left against Barry Zito in the second and came around to score on a Rafael Furcal hit. He finished the game 1 for 2 with two walks and a run while getting three assists at third base. DeWitt reached base in 9 of his first 16 plate appearances in the major leagues. DeWitt had hits in his first six bases-loaded at-bats in the majors, driving in 12 runs.

Sources: 2005-2008 Baseball Almanacs, Minorleaguebaseball.com

Related Sites

• Blake DeWitt on mlb.com