Dan Straily

From BR Bullpen

DanielStraily.JPG

Daniel Steven Straily

BR page

Biographical Information[edit]

DanielStraily2.JPG

Dan Straily made his major league debut in 2012.

Straily had a 7-3, 2.48 and hit .343 as a high school senior. He began his college career at Western Oregon University, then transferred to Marshall. As a junior in 2008, he was 5-4 with a 4.28 ERA. He put up nearly identical numbers as a senior (4-3, 4.27). The Oakland Athletics took him in the 24th round of the 2009 amateur draft. The scout was Matt Ranson.

Making his pro debut with the Vancouver Canadians, he had a 5-3, 4.12 record. He tied for 6th in the Northwest League in wins and was 8th in strikeouts (66 in 59 innings). Moving up to the Kane County Cougars, he posted a 10-7, 4.32 record and struck out 149 in 148 innings (though he walked 61). He was among the Midwest League leaders in wins (tied for 5th with Elisaul Pimentel, Erasmo Ramirez and Daniel Calhoun), strikeouts (2nd, 2 behind Josh Wall), starts (tied for second) and walks (tied for 8th). Among A's minor leaguers, only Shawn Haviland had more Ks and he tied for third in wins.

In 2011, Dan was 11-9 with a 3.87 ERA for the Stockton Ports, cutting his walk total by more than a third to 40 despite increasing his innings to 160 2/3. He struck out 154. He tied for 7th in the California League in wins and was 5th in strikeouts (between J.C. Sulbaran and Jose Cisnero). Among A's minor leaguers, he tied A.J. Griffin for 4th in wins and ranked third in strikeouts. He opened 2012 with the Midland RockHounds and did well (3-4, 3.38, 108 K in 85 1/3 IP). He was easily leading the Texas League in whiffs (at least 25 ahead of Cisnero) when he was promoted to the Sacramento RiverCats. He lasted 7 innings, allowing 3 hits, 3 walks and no runs in his debut at AAA, striking out 8 against the Fresno Giants. He was 5-2, 1.36 in 8 starts for Sacramento and was leading all of Organized Baseball in strikeouts (175) when he got the call to the major leagues.

When Straily made his major league debut for the Athletics, giving one run in 6 innings (5 K, 5 H) in a start against the Toronto Blue Jays on August 3, 2012, he became the first major leaguer from Western Oregon University. He left with a lead but got a no-decision when Ryan Cook blew the save. He picked up his first win on August 16th when he pitched 6 1/3 shutout innings against the Kansas City Royals, getting the credit for a 3-0 win. He went 2-1, 3.89 in 7 starts that first year. In 2013, he made 27 starts for the A's, with a record of 10-8, 3.96, pitching 152 1/3 innings and striking out 124. He also made 5 starts for Sacramento, going 3-1, 1.14. He started Game 4 of the ALDS against the Detroit Tigers on October 8th, giving up 3 runs in 6 innings. He was not involved in the decision as the A's lost, 8-6. He started the 2014 season in the Athletics's starting rotation, but was sent down to Sacramento in early May after a 1-2, 4.93 record in his first 7 starts. In AAA, he made 10 starts and was 4-3, 4.71 then on July 4th, he was one of three young players traded to the Chicago Cubs, along with first-rounders Addison Russell and Billy McKinney, in return for starting pitchers Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel. He pitched 7 times for the Cubs, making only one start, and had a record of 0-1, 11.85. He did better in AAA with the Iowa Cubs, where he went 3-05, 4.09 in 10 starts.

On January 19, 2015, he was traded to the Houston Astros along with 3B Luis Valbuena in return for OF Dexter Fowler. He only made 4 appearances for the Astros in 2015 - three of them starts - going 0-1, 5.40. He spent the bulk of the year with the AAA Fresno Grizzlies, where he was 10-9, 4.77 in 22 games as a starter. In 122 2/3 innings, he allowed 147 hits, but had a very solid K/W ratio of 124/25. He went to spring training with the Astros in 2016, but when he failed to make the team, he was traded to the San Diego Padres for C Erik Kratz on March 28th, then was immediately placed on waivers. He had reached a low point in his career, but it turned out to be a great opportunity for him. The pitching-starved Cincinnati Reds picked him up, and he was soon taking a regular turn out of the starting rotation - with excellent results. He ended up making 31 starts in 34 appearances, with a record of 14-8 and a 3.76 ERA - all for a last-place team. He also logged 191 1/3 innings, a huge bonus for a team whose bullpen was historically bad.

Having re-established his value, Straily was now a valuable trade chip for the rebuilding Reds and on January 19, 2017, he was sent to the Miami Marlins in return for a package of three solid prospects: Ps Austin Brice and Luis Castillo and OF Isaiah White. He went 10-9, 4.26 in 33 games for the Marlins, leading the National League with 33 starts. He also struck out 170 batters in 181 2/3 innings. On June 21, 2015, he received a five-game suspension for throwing at San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey and starting a brawl in a game two days earlier.

Sources[edit]

Related Sites[edit]