James Pugliese

James Michael Pugliese

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 3", Weight 230 lb.
• School Mercer County Community College, Kean University
• High School Steinert High School

• Born August 12, 1992 in Trenton, NJ USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Pitcher James Pugliese played in the minor leagues from 2011 to 2021, peaking at AA.

He was originally signed by the Chicago Cubs after being drafted in the 18th round of the 2011 amateur draft out of community college, and played in their system until 2018. He was a starter during his first three seasons, then was almost exclusively a reliever after that. In 2014, he went 4-0, 1.66 in 31 games for the Kane County Cougars of the Midwest League, then in 2015 went 4-2, 2.78 with 5 saves in 30 games for the Myrtle Beach Pelicans of the Carolina League, also earning a brief promotion to the Tennessee Smokies of the AA Southern League. At that point, he looked like a genuine prospect, even if still a long-shot, but his progression stalled after that.

In 2016, he started the year at Myrtle Beach, earned a quick promotion to Tennessee in April, but after just 2 games was sent back to Myrtle Beach for the remainder of the season. There, he was used as a swingman, going 7-5, 3.83 in 28 games, including 7 starts. In 2017, he did get a chance to spend a full season with Tennessee and did very well, going 7-2, 1.84 in 40 games, including another 7 starts, which would be the final ones of his career. He was named as a league mid-season All-Star. Those numbers should have resulted into a promotion to AAA in 2018, but instead he returned to the Smokies, and when he struggled, giving up 11 runs in 5 1/3 innings in his first 6 games, he was released, and ended up spending the rest of the season in the independent leagues, with the York Revolution of the Atlantic League, where he went 5-1, 2.29 in 29 games. In 2019, he was with the Somerset Patriots, still in the Atlantic League and went 4-1, 3.62 in 45 games. He was then forced into inactivity by the COVID-19 pandemic, which shut down minor league baseball in 2020. He returned for one final season in 2021, when he was the closer for the Lincoln Saltdogs of the American Association. He ended his career with a very solid year, finishing at 3-3, 2.47 in 42 games, with 25 saves, which led the circuit. At that point, he decided to step away from the game in order to complete his college degree in physical education from Kean University.

In addition to his pitching in the U.S. minors, Pugliese played a number of seasons of winter league baseball, appearing in the Venezuelan League with the Tigres de Aragua and in the Puerto Rican League with the Cangrejeros de Santurce. With Santurce in 2018-19, he was a contributor to a league championship when he combined with starter Adalberto Flores and fellow relievers Lendy Castillo and Fernando Cruz to shut out the Indios de Mayagüez, 1-0, on January 25, 2019, to clinch the title. As a result, he played in the 2019 Caribbean Series, appearing in 2 games for Santurce.

Following his playing career, he became a physical education teacher and baseball coach at Hightstown High School. He said he developed a knack for teaching when he worked as a pitching instructor on the side starting in 2013. He took classes towards earning his college degree during the off-seasons while still an active player.

Related Sites

• Alumni Spotlight from Mercer County College