J.T. Ginn

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John Thomas Ginn

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Biographical Information[edit]

J.T. Ginn was considered one of the top high school pitchers in the country when he was drafted 30th overall, with the last pick in the 1st round proper, by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2018 amateur draft. He had recently played for the USA junior national baseball team, including at the 2017 U-18 Baseball World Cup held in Thunder Bay, ON in September 2017. He saved Ryan Weathers' 2-0 win over South Korea, then struck out two of three batters to close out their victory over South Korea in the Gold Medal Game. He worked 3 1/3 hitless, scoreless innings for the tournament (2 BB, 6 K). However, he and the Dodgers were unable to come to an agreement, and he went on to attend Mississippi State University. His decision not to sign was based solely on monetary considerations: the Dodgers had a tight budget when it came to bonuses that year and were unwilling to go over his slot value.

He was drafted again in the 2nd round in the 2020 amateur draft, this time by the New York Mets, with the 52nd overall pick. As a freshman with Mississippi State in 2019, he had gone 8-4, 3.13 in 17 starts, striking out 105 batters in 86 1/3 innings and pitched in the 2019 College World Series, before he underwent Tommy John surgery after just one start in 2020. However, he did not really miss any playing time, as the collegiate season was shut down by the Coronavirus pandemic only a couple of weeks later, as were the minor leagues. When they drafted him, the Mets knew what it would take to sign him, and paid a bonus well above his draft slot ($2.9 million instead of $1.4 million) in order to come to a deal. He made his professional debut in 2021, splitting the season between the St. Lucie Mets of the Low-A Southeast and the Brooklyn Cyclones of the High-A East, combining for a record of 5-5, 3.03 in 18 starts.

On March 12, 2022, right after the settlement of the 2021-2022 lockout, he was traded to the Oakland Athletics along with fellow pitcher Adam Oller in return for veteran starting pitcher Chris Bassitt. Injuries limited him to 12 games that season, and 8 in 2023, with all of his time outside of rehabilitation assignments coming with the Midland RockHounds of the Texas League, where his ERA was high both years. That caused him to fall a bit off the radar of prospect watchers, but in 2024, he was healthy again, going 4-1, 4.15 in 6 games for Midland, to earn his first look at AAA. He was 4-3, 5.72 in 15 games for the Las Vegas Aviators of the Pacific Coast League when he was called up to the majors. While he had been almost exclusively a starter in the minors, his major league debut on August 21st came in a relief appearance against the Tampa Bay Rays, when he pitched two scoreless innings in relief of Mitch Spence in a 4-2 loss.

Further Reading[edit]

  • Anthony DiComo: "Mets sign final Draft pick, 2nd-rounder Ginn", mlb.com, June 30, 2021. [1]
  • Manny Randhawa: "Dodgers' top '18 pick chooses college over pros: Ginn, who went 30th overall, will attend Mississippi State University", mlb.com, July 5, 2018. [2]

Related Sites[edit]

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