Daniel Aldrich

Daniel Alexander Aldrich

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 210 lb.
• School College of Charleston
• High School Wando High School
• Born October 5, 1990 in Wurzburg, Germany

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Outfielder Daniel Aldrich began his professional career in the New York Yankees system in 2013, signing as an undrafted free agent. He played for three minor league affiliates that year—the GCL Yankees 2, the Staten Island Yankees and the Charleston RiverDogs—but after hitting just .200/.273/.282 with 2 home runs, 13 RBI and 57 strikeouts in 135 at-bats over 39 games, he was let go.

He latched on in the independent leagues, where he experienced significantly greater success. Between the Frontier League's Windy City ThunderBolts (.239/.255/.304 with 0 home runs and 4 RBI) and the Pecos League's Bisbee Blue (.366/.428/.685 with 18 home runs and 74 RBI) in 2014, he hit .332/.386/.585 with 18 home runs, 78 RBI and 77 runs scored in 91 games. He led the Pecos League in home runs (1 ahead of #2 Yermin Mercedes), doubles (26, 2 ahead of runner up Craig Massey) and total bases (176, 6 ahead of #2 Omar Artsen) and third in RBI, runs (77) and strikeouts (63). He played for the Frontier League's Lake Erie Crushers in 2015 (.171/.259/.237, 1 HR, 6 RBI) and the Pecos League's Alpine Cowboys .(342/.435/.674, 14 HR, 60 RBI) in 2015, hitting .294/.387/.550 with 15 home runs and 66 RBI in 79 games. His 54 strikeouts were second in the Pecos League, behind Nick Howell's 70. He split 2016 between Lake Erie, Alpine and the Santa Fe Fuego, hitting a combined .327/.402/.760 with 26 home runs, 65 RBI and 60 runs scored in 59 games. His 24 Pecos League home runs, hit in just 36 games, were second in the league, one behind leader Brian Frazier. Had he qualified, his .979 slugging mark and 1.479 OPS would have far outpaced the rest of the circuit by about 160 points each.

He graduated to the American Association in 2017, hitting .241/.258/.399 with 4 home runs, 19 RBI and 13 runs scored in 42 games for the Salina Stockade. He was also the Stockade's manager for part of the season, replacing J.D. Droddy. He played for the Atlantic League's Road Warriors in 2018, hitting .189/.245/.331 with 3 home runs and 9 RBI in 36 games, and for the Pecos League's Fuego, hitting .358/.491/.809 with 21 home runs and 71 RBI in 49 games; combined, he batted .284/.393/.599 with 24 home runs and 80 RBI. He also managed the Fuego for part of the year, replacing T.J. Zarewicz; they went 5-15 under his leadership. He was third in the Pecos League in home runs. After not playing in 2019 or 2020, he suited up for the American Association's Houston Apollos in 2021, hitting .213/.272/.336 with 4 home runs, 20 RBI and 19 runs scored in 42 games. For the 2022 season, he hit .318/.422/.697 with 21 runs and 27 RBI in 19 games for the San Rafael Pacifics.

Aldrich then suited up for his birthplace, Germany, in the 2022 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers. Hitting 5th and playing left in their opener against Britain, he singled off former major leaguer Akeel Morris to score Aaron Altherr in the first with Germany's only run. He was 1 for 11 with two walks and two runs the rest of the tourney following his opening single.

He has also made a handful of pitching appearances in his career, posting a 12.91 ERA in 5 relief appearances to date. He is the Pecos League record holder in career home runs with 70.