Jacob Steinmetz

Jacob Steinmetz

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 6", Weight 230 lb.

• High School Elev8 Sports Academy, Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns & Rockaway

• Born July 19, 2003 in Queens, NY USA

BR register page

Biographical Information

Jacob Steinmetz has pitched in the minors and for the Israeli national team.

Steinmetz was picked by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the third round of the 2021 amateur draft, the 77th overall selection, and signed for a $500,000 bonus. The scout was Jason Gallagher. He was the first Orthodox Jewish pitcher to be drafted and felt his religious observance could be accommodated. After all, the Texas Rangers had worked around the observance of 7th-day Adventist Ed Correa in the 1980s.

He allowed four walks, a hit and three runs (one earned) in 1 1/3 IP in a loss for the 2021 ACL Diamondbacks in his pro debut. He was 0-7 with a 7.88 ERA for the ACL Diamondbacks Red the next summer, finishing second to Freddery Paulino in losses in the Arizona Complex League. He still made Israel's team for the 2023 World Baseball Classic (Israel's WBC teams were composed primarily of Jewish Americans, not Israelis). He had a major challenge in his lone game, starting against the former champion Dominican national team and Pirates hurler Roansy Contreras. He allowed a Juan Soto double to begin the game but then retired 2022 AL Rookie of the Year Julio Rodríguez and struck out Manny Machado. He walked Rafael Devers and allowed a RBI single to Eloy Jiménez. He recovered to get Ketel Marte on a grounder. In the second, he whiffed Jeremy Peña, walked Jeimer Candelario and struck out two-time All-Star Gary Sánchez. In one trip through the potent lineup, he had struck out three and allowed one run, not bad for a teenager without a pro win under his belt. Evan Kravetz relieved and Steinmetz took the loss against Contreras.

In '23, he improved a bit but continued to struggle overall, going 1-10 with a 6.19 ERA for the Visalia Rawhide. He tied Wyatt Wendell for the California League lead in losses and tied Wendell and Yilber Diaz for the most by a D'backs farmhand.