Casey Janssen

Robert Casey Janssen

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 3", Weight 225 lbs.
• School University of California, Los Angeles
• High School Fountain Valley High School
• Debut April 27, 2006
• Final Game October 3, 2015
• Born September 17, 1981 in Orange, CA USA

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Biographical Information

Casey Janssen was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 4th round of the 2004 amateur draft. He was signed by scout Billy Gasparino for $150,000 and made his pro debut that summer.

He reached the major leagues with the Blue Jays as a starting pitcher in 2006, making his debut on April 27th. 17 of his 19 appearances that year were as a starter and his record was 6-10, 5.07. His 94 innings pitched that season are the most he has pitched in the majors. In 2007, he was converted to a reliever and had a very good season, posting a 2.35 ERA in 70 games, to go along with a 2-3 record and 6 saves. However, he suffered a torn labrum during spring training in 2008, and needed shoulder surgery, missing the entire year. He was back in 2009, returning to the big leagues by the end of May. He struggled to regain his consistency that year, in which he made his last five starts among his 21 appearances. He was only 2-4, with 1 save and a 5.85 ERA. He then put together two solid seasons back-to-back as a middle reliever in 2010 and 2011, pitching 56 and 55 games respectively. He went 5-2, 3.67 the first year and 6-0, 2.26 the second as one of the most effective members of the Jays' bullpen.

Janssen took over as the Blue Jays' closer on May 15, 2012, after Sergio Santos was lost to injury and veteran Francisco Cordero struggled with inconsistency. Handling the top job in the bullpen for the first time, he was unfazed, converting his first 15 save opportunities before allowing the tying run to score on a solo homer by Adam Dunn in a 9th-inning appearance against the Chicago White Sox on August 13th; the Jays then rallied to win that game in 11 innings, 3-2. he ended up saving 22 games that season, with a record of 1-1, 2.54 in 62 games. He had another excellent season as the closer in 2013, going 4-1, 2.56 with 34 saves in 56 appearances. Because the Blue Jays struggled to a last-place finish that year, he was only needed for 52 2/3 innings of work, the fewest he had pitched since he was trying to come back from shoulder surgery in 2009. Those were quality innings though, as he struck out 50 and walked only 13 while allowing 39 hits, his second straight year with a WHIP under 1.00.

Casey had to start the 2014 season on the disabled list because of a left abdominal and lower back strain, an injury he suffered while warming up for his last appearance of the spring on March 29th at Montreal's Stade Olympique, in what was only his third appearance of the spring, because of shoulder issues. As a result, he only pitched his first game of the season on May 12th, but he pitched the best ball of his career that month. He was successful in all 8 of his save opportunities from May 13-May 27 and did not give up a single run during the stretch as the Blue Jays climbed to the top of the standings in the AL East. On May 29th, however, he suffered his first blown save of the year as he failed to extend the Jays' winning streak to 10 games. Facing the Kansas City Royals with a 6-5 lead, he retired the first two batters of the 9th inning, the second out coming when RF Jose Bautista threw out Billy Butler at first base, depriving him of a base hit. However, Alex Gordon followed with a base hit, and pinch-runner Jarrod Dyson then stole second and raced home when Jose Reyes threw wildly to first on Santiago Perez's ground ball; the Jays then lost the game by allowing two more runs in the top of the 10th.

Notable Achievements

• 30 Saves Seasons: 1 (2013)

Related Sites

• Casey Janssen on mlb.com
• UCLA bio