Drew Rasmussen

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Drew Thomas Rasmussen

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Biographical Information[edit]

Pitcher Drew Rasmussen was drafted three times before signing with the Milwaukee Brewers. Coming out of high school in 2014, he was taken in the 39th round by the Arizona Diamondbacks, but chose to attend college instead. After his junior season at Oregon State University, he was taken in the Competitive Balance Round A of the 2017 amateur draft by the Tampa Bay Rays, with the 31st overall pick, but he did not sign. It turned out that he needed Tommy John surgery and the two sides could not agree on how much of a discount he should give the Rays on his signing bonus due to the condition. He was the only first-rounder not to sign that year, and the Rays received the 32nd pick of the next year's draft as compensation. As a result of the surgery Rasmussen did not pitch at all in 2018, and when the 2018 amateur draft came around, he fell to the 6th round, where he was taken by the Brewers.

He was very successful with Oregon State, going 7-4, 2.80 as a freshman in 2015 and pitching the first perfect game in the school's history, over Washington State University on March 21st. In 2017, he was 3-0, 1.00 in 8 games before being shut down as Oregon State made it to the 2017 College World Series. They returned to the tournament in 2018 and won the title, but without him.

He finally began his professional career in 2019, and after a few games with two Class A teams to get acclimatized to the pro ranks, spent the bulk of the year in AA with the Biloxi Shuckers of the Southern League. In 22 games with Biloxi (18 starts), he was 1-3, 3.54. He pitched only 61 innings as he was kept on a short leash given his injury history. He did strike out 77 batters and allowed just 49 hits. The minor leagues were then shut down by the Coronavirus pandemic in 2020, and he started the year at the Brewers' alternate training site before being called up to make his debut on August 19th. He pitched 12 times in the majors that year, all in relief, going 1-0 with a 5.87 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 15 1/3 innings. he also made one appearance in the Wild Card Series, pitching one scoreless inning in the Brewers' loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In 2021 he began the season in the Brewers' bullpen, going 0-1, 4.24 in his first 15 games, logging 17 innings, before he was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays on May 21st. Joining him in heading to Florida was another second-year reliever with a very similar profile, J.P. Feyereisen, while the Brewers received SS Willy Adames and P Trevor Richards in return. He blossomed in Tampa, making 10 starts in 20 appearances and going 4-0, 2.44 in 59 innings. He was tabbed to start Game 3 of the Division Series against the Boston Red Sox on October 10th, although thungs did not go well. He gave up a solo homer to Kyle Schwarber to lead off the bottom of the 1st, then in the 3rd allowed three straight singles to lead off the inning - to Christian Arroyo, Schwarber and Kiké Hernandez, the third of these tying the game at 2-2. He gave way to Josh Fleming who allowed another single, to Rafael Devers to put Boston ahead, 3-2. But the game was not decided until the 13th inning and he finished with a no-decision.

He was back as a full-time starter for the Rays in 2022 and pitching very well. He had the game of his life - thus far - on August 14th when he was perfect through the first eight innings in a start against the Baltimore Orioles before Jorge Mateo hit a double on his first pitch in the 9th inning. He had thrown just 79 pitches entering the 9th. He recorded another out after Mateo's hit, but Mateo scored on a wild pitch and former teammate Brett Phillips reached on a dropped third strike, ending his day's work. Jason Adam recorded the final two outs, both on strikeouts, in the 4-1 win and Drew received credit for his 7th win of the season, against four losses. He was named the American League Pitcher of the Month for August after going 3-1, 1.57 with a 33/4 K/W ratio during the month.

Further Reading[edit]

  • Adam Berry: "So close! 'Elite' Rasmussen takes perfecto bid into 9th", mlb.com, August 14, 2022. [1]

Related Sites[edit]

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