Ed Easley

Edward Michael Easley

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 200 lb.
• School Mississippi State University
• High School Olive Branch High School
• Debut May 29, 2015
• Final Game October 4, 2015
• Born December 21, 1985 in Memphis, TN USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Ed Easley made his major league debut in 2015.

Easley hit .296 as a college freshman at Mississippi State University in 2005. The next year, he improved to .336 and scored 60 runs. As a junior, he batted .358 with 12 homers, 59 runs and 63 RBI. He was named All-Southeastern Conference at catcher. The American Baseball Coaches Association named him the All-American catcher for NCAA Division I and he took the Johnny Bench Award, beating out Matt Wieters and Buster Posey, who took the other two major All-American honors.

Easley was taken 61st overall in the 2007 amateur draft; it was a supplemental first-round pick of the Arizona Diamondbacks that was compensation for the loss of Miguel Batista. He was signed by scout Mike Valarezo and hit .250/.319/.419 for the Yakima Bears in his pro debut. In 2008, Easley had a batting line of .247/.317/.336 for the Visalia Oaks, especially disappointing as the club played in the high-scoring California League.

Returning to Visalia in 2009, Ed hit .228/.324/.304 though he did reach base in 36 straight games at one point. Easley moved up to the Mobile BayBears in 2010 and was at .250/.339/.320 after 31 contests.

Easley was called up to the majors in April of 2015 by the St. Louis Cardinals when back-up catcher Tony Cruz went on paternity leave for three days, but he did not get a chance to play. He got another call-up on May 26th when 1B Matt Adams was likely lost for the season with a torn quadriceps muscle and this time was expected to be there for a longer stretch. His debut came on May 29th, when he pinch-hit for pitcher John Lackey, leading off the bottom of the 7th against J.P. Howell of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He reached on an error by 3B Justin Turner, then was forced out at second base by Kolten Wong.

Sources

• 2006-2010 Baseball Almanacs
• 2010 Diamondbacks Media Guide

Related Sites

• Ed Easley on mlb.com
• BR Minors page