Jakson Reetz

Jakson Dale Reetz

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 205 lb.
• High School Norris High School
• Debut July 10, 2021

• Born January 3, 1996 in Hickman, NE USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Catcher Jakson Reetz was drafted by the Washington Nationals in the 3rd round of the 2014 amateur draft, out of high school, giving up a commitment to attend the University of Nebraska in order to sign, and eventually reached the major leagues in 2021, when he appeared in a couple of games with Washington in July, going 1 for 2 with a run scored. Except for that brief interlude, his first ten professional seasons were spent in the minors.

Until the COVID-19 pandemic cost him the 2020 season, the minor leagues being shut down, he had never played at a higher level than Class A, but had been a regular at catcher every year since having been drafted, including in 2018 and 2019 with the Potomac Nationals of the Carolina League. He never really hit for an impressive average, but was solid defensively and in 2019 did connect for 13 homers and drove in 55 runs in 96 games, which earned him a spot on the league's mid-season All-Star team and as a Nationals organizational All-Star.

After the pandemic, when he spent the year at the Nationals' alternate training site in Fredericksburg, VA, he played solely in AA and AAA, eventually settling into a back-up role in AAA. In 2021, when he made it briefly to the Show, he played 65 games in AA for the Harrisburg Senators and 14 in AAA for the Rochester Red Wings. He hit below .200 at both stops, so it was clear that his call-up in July was the result of an emergency situation, and not of his having forced the Nationals' hand. He had only played in the Nationals system until the end of that season, but starting in 2022, he began moving around, signing free agent contracts in turn with the Milwaukee Brewers and Kansas City Royals for the 2022 season, and the San Francisco Giants in 2023. He hit a lot better between the two organizations and with three teams at two levels in 2022, finishing at .264/.359/.575 in 104 games, with 30 homers and 82 RBIs. He left the Brewers for the Royals when the former decided to outright him to the minors on August 20th. The Royals did not gave him a look at the major league level either, in spite of his being named the Southern League Player of the Year for his performance with the Biloxi Shuckers as well as a postseason All-Star in the Southern League and a Brewers organizational All-Star. In 2023, he started off with the Omaha Storm Chasers, but was let go after 27 games, and finished the year with the Sacramento River Cats, the Giants' top affiliate in the Pacific Coast League. In 82 games total, he hit .243/.342/.500 with 17 homers and 57 RBIs.

In 2024, he started the season as the back-up catcher for Sacramento, playing behind Blake Sabol, who had spent the previous season in San Francisco as a Rule V draftee. Sabol was considered the better prospect, but the Giants were evidently comfortable enough with him and Reetz at AAA that they traded Joey Bart, once considered the organization's "catcher of the future", to the Pittsburgh Pirates a few days into the season. Disaster struck on May 3-4th when both major league catchers, Patrick Bailey and Tom Murphy, were injured in consecutive games against the Philadelphia Phillies, forcing the Giants to call up first Sabol, then Reetz. He was hitting .217 with 2 homers and 9 RBIs in 15 games at the time. On May 5th, Sabol started the final game of the series against the Phils, the was replaced by a pinch-hitter in the 7th, bringing Reetz into the game. In the 9th, Reetz's turn to bat came up, and with no other catcher on the roster, manager Bob Melvin was forced to let him hit against closer José Alvarado with San Francisco trailing 5-3. He proceeded to stun just about everyone in Citizens Bank Park and in a nationwide audience watching the game on ESPN's "Sunday Night Baseball" telecast by homering deep to left field for his first big league homer. The next two Giants batters made outs, however, to end the game with the score at 5-4.

Notable Achievements

• 2022 Player of the Year, Southern League, Biloxi Shuckers

Related Sites

• Jakson Reetz on mlb.com