J.P. Feyereisen

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Jonathon Paul Feyereisen

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Biographical Information[edit]

Pitcher J.P. Feyereisen, also known as Jonathon Feyereisen, was a 16th round selection by the Cleveland Indians in the 2014 amateur draft out of the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point, not necessarily known as a baseball hotbed. Baseball America named him the best prospect in NCAA Division III. The scout was Les Pajari. He began his pro career that year with the Mahoning Valley Scrappers of the New York-Penn League, where he went 3-0 with an unblemished ERA in 15 games. He saved 4 games and struck out 24 batters while walking only 1 in 17 innings.

Having opened some eyes, J.P. went to the Lake County Captains of the Midwest League to open 2015 and continued to dominate, with an ERA of 1.08 in 16 games. On May 28th, he was promoted to the Lynchburg Hillcats of the Carolina League. Between the two stops, he was 1-1, 2.08 in 46 games, recorded 12 saves and struck out 56 batters in 47 2/3 innings. In 2016, he was assigned to the Akron RubberDucks of the AA Eastern League. In 33 games, he was 4-3, 2.23 when on July 31st, he was one of four prospects traded to the New York Yankees in return for closer Andrew Miller. Accompanying him were OF Clint Frazier and Ps Ben Heller and Justus Sheffield. He was superb with the Trenton Thunder after the trade (3-0, 8 H, 22 K in 18 IP, .50 ERA). He was 2-1 with a save and a 2.57 ERA for the Scottsdale Scorpions.

Feyereisen split 2017 between Trenton (3 Sv, 2.70 ERA in 13 G) and the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (2-3, Sv, 3.53 in 24 G). In 2018, he was 6-6 with a save and a 3.45 ERA in 37 outings for the RailRiders. In his third season with the team, he was 10-2 with 7 saves and a 2.49 ERA in 40 appearances, fanning 94 in 61 1/3 innings and allowing only 37 hits. He tied for 2nd in the 2019 IL in wins, one behind Kyle Wright. Among Yankee farmhands, he was second in victories, two shy of Roansy Contreras. On September 1st, he was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers for Brenny Escanio and international bonus slot money.

J.P. then made the USA national team for the 2019 Premier 12. In his first outing, he relieved Caleb Thielbar in the 8th against Mexico with two on, no out and a 3-2 deficit. He retired Christian Villanueva but intentionally walked Matt Clark and allowed a two-run single to Efren Navarro, then Alí Solís hit a three-run bomb to make it 8-2. Noah Perio Jr. doubled before Feyereisen got his second out, fanning Javier Salazar. He walked Jonathan Jones and Spencer Jones relieved. His other outing came against Japan, replacing Clayton Richard in the 6th with a 3-1 lead, one on and two out. Hideto Asamura doubled to make it 3-2 but Feyerisen got Hayato Sakamoto swinging. In the 7th, after the US got an insurance run, he retired Tsubasa Aizawa. Shuta Tonosaki singled and Yoshihiro Maru doubled, but J.P. retired Tetsuto Yamada. Thielbar came in to escape the jam. Feyereisen's 16.20 ERA on the tournament tied Thielbar for the highest on the US staff.

He was known as "J.P." when in the minors, but upon reaching the majors expressed his preference to be called by his full first name, Jonathon, although this did not last long, as he was back to being referred by his initials before the end of the season. In his MLB debut on Opening Day, July 24, 2020, he relieved Corey Knebel in the 8th inning against the Chicago Cubs with a 2-0 deficit. He got Ian Happ and fanned Kris Bryant but Anthony Rizzo took him deep. He recovered to retire Javier Baez. He was on the shuffle between the majors and the alternate training site all season, pitching 6 games for the Brewers, with no decisions and a 5.79 ERA in 9 1/3 innings. He made the team out of spring training in 2021 and was part of a very solid bullpen that also included Josh Hader and Devin Williams. He went 0-2, 3.26 over his first 21 appearances, with 20 strikeouts in 19 13 innings when on May 21st the Brewers decided to trade from a position of strength - the bullpen - to address other needs. He and fellow reliever Drew Rasmussen were sent to the Tampa Bay Rays in return for SS Willie Adames and P Trevor Richards, a potential starter. He turned out to be one of Tampa's most reliable relievers the rest of the way, going 4-2, 2.45 with 3 saves in 34 games. He ended the year at 4-4, 2.73 in 55 games, with 53 strikeouts and 33 walks in 56 innings. In the postseason, he appeared in 3 games in the Division Series against the Boston Red Sox and was charged with the loss in Game 4 on October 11th when he came in in the bottom of the 9th with the score tied at 5-5 as Tampa's eighth pitcher of the game. He allowed the winning run on a pair of singles and a sacrifice fly by Kiké Hernandez.

Early in the 2022 season, the Rays used him as an opener, giving him his first career starts. In his second start on April 23rd, he began a game against the Red Sox with two perfect innings. This was the beginning of nine no-hit innings by the Rays' pitchers, but the game was still scoreless after regulation innings, so it was not an official no-hitter. The bid was broken up by the first batter in the 10th, Bobby Dalbec, who hit a triple off Matt Wisler, and after a wild inning, Tampa ended up winning the strange game, 3-2, on two-run walk-off homer by Kevin Kiermaier. Overall, he made 22 appearances for the Rays and did not give a single earned run, ending up with a virgin ERA in 24 1/3 innings (he did allow one unearned run). His record was 4-0, and he allowed just 7 hits and 5 walks in 24 1/3 innings while striking out 25. But what was shaping up as a dream season ended in early June when he experienced shoulder pain and was shut down, not to return. He underwent surgery in November but was designated for assignment when the Rays signed Zach Eflin as a free agent in December. On December 14th, he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for minor league P Jeff Belge. He was unlikely to be ready to pitch until the second half of 2023, and in fact only made his first appearance for L.A. at the start of the 2024 season, but the Dodgers had known that they would need to wait and were prepared to do so, contrary to the Rays, who needed his roster spot.

Further Reading[edit]

  • Juan Toribio: "Dodgers play long game with trade for Feyereisen", mlb.com, December 14, 2022. [1]

Related Sites[edit]

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