Jacob Berry

Jacob Berry

• Bats Both, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 212 lb.
• School University of Arizona, Louisiana State University
• High School Queen Creek High School

• Born May 5, 2001 in Tucson, AZ USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Infielder Jacob Berry was the first true college player to be taken in the 2022 amateur draft, going 6th overall to the Miami Marlins. Kumar Rocker, who was taken with the 3rd pick by the Texas Rangers, had also attended college, but had spent the last year working out on his own and then pitching in the independent leagues after failing to come to terms with the team that had picked him the year before. Jacob was coming out of a season at Louisiana State University where he had hit .370 in 53 games, with 15 homers and 48 RBIs, after an equally impressive first college season at the University of Arizona in 2021 when he was named National Freshman of the Year and played in the 2021 College World Series. Between the two schools, he played for the USA College National Team in the summer of 2021. He signed for a bonus of $6 million, roughly equivalent to his draft slot.

In his first professional season in 2022, he played 4 games with the FCL Marlins before moving up to the Jupiter Hammerheads of the Florida State League where he hit .264 in 33 games. In 2023, he started the year with the Beloit Sky Carp of the Midwest League, then moved up to the Pensacola Blue Wahoos of the AA Southern League after 79 games. Overall, his slash line was .233/.284/.388 in 107 games, with 9m homers and 59 RBIs. He actually hit slightly better at the higher level. He played in the Arizona Fall League after the season and appeared in the Rising Stars Game. In 2024, he reached AAA after starting off with Pensacola for 104 games, finishing the year with 25 games for the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp of the International League. He hit .239/.307/.363 in 129 games between the two teams, with 11 homers and 54 RBIs. He had played the two corner infield positions his first two seasons, but his most common position in 2024 was right field. This was a case of the Marlins trying to figure out what the best positional fit for him would be, given he had been a DH at Arizona, and played both third base and the outfield in college.

His father, Perry Berry, was a fourth-round pick by the Houston Astros in the 1990 amateur draft and played four seasons in the Minor Leagues.

Further Reading

• Christina De Nicola: "'Pure hitter' Berry, hard-throwing Miller highlight Marlins' 1st round", mlb.com, July 20, 2022. [1]
• Jordan McPherson (Miami Herald): "With multiple college bats to choose from, Marlins draft LSU’s Jacob Berry at No. 6", Yahoo! News, July 17, 2022. [2]

Related Sites

• Louisiana State University bio
• University of Arizona bio