Casey Coleman

Joseph Casey Coleman

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 180 lb.
• School Florida Gulf Coast University
• High School Mariner High School
• Debut August 2, 2010
• Final Game September 28, 2014
• Born July 3, 1987 in Fort Myers, FL USA

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Biographical Information

Casey Coleman is a third-generation major league pitcher, the grandson of Joe Coleman Sr. and son of Joe Coleman Jr..

Casey was 14-1 with a 1.11 ERA in high school. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays took him in the 49th round of the 2005 amateur draft. Going on to college, he went 3-1 with a 2.56 ERA as a freshman and hit .346 as well. In 2007, the sophomore was 6-2 with a 4.29 ERA and batted .295 as a shortstop. Coleman batted .314/.344/.500 as a junior and had a 7-3, 4.11 record. The Chicago Cubs picked him in the 15th round of the 2008 amateur draft after he was scouted by Rolando Pino. He split his pro debut that summer between the Boise Hawks (1-1, 4.05), Peoria Chiefs (2-2, 2.70) and Daytona Cubs (1-0, an unearned run in 5 innings). In 2009, he went 14-6 with a 3.68 ERA and was named Chicago's Minor League Pitcher of the Year. He led Cubs farmhands in wins and innings (149) and tied John Ely for the Southern League lead in wins while finishing 7th in ERA. He began 2010 with the Iowa Cubs, going 10-7 with a 4.07 ERA. He was then called up to the majors to replace Ted Lilly, who had left via trade.

Coleman became not just a third-generation big leaguer, but the first major leaguer from Florida Gulf Coast University, edging Chris Sale by four days. His debut was an ugly one, in a contest in which Chicago tied a franchise record with 26 hits allowed in a 18-1 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. Relieving Justin Berg to open the 6th with a 10-1 deficit, he walked Casey McGehee then allowed singles to Jim Edmonds and Alcides Escobar to make it 11-1 before Jonathan Lucroy hit into a double play, the first batter retired by Casey. He gave up two more runs in the 7th then loaded the bases with three singles and only one out in the 8th before Brian Schlitter relieved and allowed all the inherited runners to score, leaving Coleman with a 23.14 ERA. He did a lot better in his next few outings and finished the season with a record of 4-2, 4.11 in 12 games. In 2011, he pitched 19 games withe Cubs, 17 of them starts, and went 3-9 with a 6.40 ERA. He allowed 102 hits in 84 1/3 innings, but did have a decent K/BB rate at 75/46. He also made 12 starts at Iowa, going 5-2, 3.65. Casey made 17 appearances with only one start in 2012, going 0-2 with a 7.40 ERA in 24 1/3 innings. After no return engagement in the bigs in 2013, he was released early in the 2014 season, seeing his final big league action with 10 appearances and a 5.25 ERA out of the Kansas City Royals bullpen.

Casey represented the United States in the 2015 Premier 12. He has seen action in five big league organizations, the Atlantic League and the Mexican League since 2015.

Related Sites

• Casey Coleman on mlb.com