Jan-Niclas Stöcklin

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Jan-Niclas Stöcklin

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

Biographical Information[edit]

Jan-Niclas Stöcklin has been a pitcher in the Bundesliga, where he has won two strikeout titles. His brother Lennard Stöcklin has also played in Germany's top league.

Stöcklin made his Bundesliga-1 debut in 2007 with the Mainz Athletics, going 0 for 1. In 2008, he hit .241/.362/.328 for Mainz and allowed five walks, three hits and four runs in two innings. In the 2008 European Cup, he walked 7 and gave up 5 hits and 6 runs (4 earned) in 3 1/3 IP, taking the loss against Grosseto. He went 3 for 16 with a homer at the plate and made five errors, tying for the tourney lead. He hit only .179/.333/.231 for the 2009 Athletics and was 0-1 with a 5.63 ERA. In 2010, he batted .291. During 2011, he hit well in limited action (7 for 20, 3 3B, HR, 5 R, 5 RBI) and pitched well (3-0, 1.59 in 5 G).

The right-hander made major strides in 2012, moving to the Mannheim Tornadoes and going 7-3 with a 3.58 ERA. In 93 innings, he struck out 106 and allowed only 50 hits, though he did walk 58. He tied Aljoscha Schattmann for third in the league in wins (behind Mike Bolsenbroek and Justin Kuehn) and was 4th in strikeouts. He made the German national team in the 2012 European Championship. In his lone game, he relieved André Hughes with a 6-1 lead over Belgium in the top of the 8th. He walked Dennis De Quint, retired Thomas De Wolf, walked Hans Heyman, retired Jamie Verheyleweghen, allowed a RBI single to Stijn Janssens and walked Robin Roevens to load the bases. The struggling hurler was replaced by Eugen Heilmann, who escaped the jam.

In 2013, he was 3-6 with a 3.56 ERA for Mannheim, with 55 walks, 18 wild pitches and 125 strikeouts in 78 1/3 IP. He was 5th in the league in losses, second in walks, tied for third in wild pitches, led in strikeout rate and was second in whiffs. During 2014, he had a 7-3, 1.47 record, with 136 K to 26 BB in 98 IP, showing much-improved control. He was second in ERA (.42 behind Luke Sommer), led in strikeouts (by 42), tied Nick Renault for third in wins, first in K/IP (1.38, .14 better than Bolsenbroek), led in opponent average allowed (.123, .061 ahead of Sommer) and led in WHIP (.68, .27 ahead of Sommer). He did not make the top 10 in walks after his wild work of 2012-2013.

Stöcklin was excellent for Germany in the 2014 European Championship, going 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA, 21 K and only 7 hits in 14 innings while beating both Great Britain and the Czech Republic. He was second in the Euros in Ks, four behind former AAA hurler Pete Sikaras, tied for first in wins and 6th in opponent average (.143, between Jake Esch and Cedric Desmedt). For Mannheim in 2015, he was 8-2 with a 3.25 ERA and 118 K in 80 1/3 IP. He was 7th in ERA (between Eric Massingham and Lukas Steinlein), led in strikeouts (one ahead of Massingham), tied Gianny Fracchiolla and Massingham for 4th in wins, was 5th in IP (between Massingham and Matteo D'Angelo), was 3rd in walks (50), led in K/IP, was 5th in opponent average (.229), was second in opponent slugging (.287, behind Michael Torrealba), 9th in opponent OBP and 5th in opponent OPS.

He spent the winter with the Sydney Blue Sox, going 4-4 with a 4.89 ERA in the 2015-2016 Australian Baseball League with a league-high 43 walks (in 57 innings). He got the start against the Czechs in the 2016 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers but did not fare as well against them as in the 2014 Euros, allowing five hits, a walk and five runs (one earned) in 5 2/3 IP, an error by Dominique Taylor playing a role in so many unearned runs before Kevin Trisl; Stöcklin took the decision in what would be a 15-3 loss.

He saw limited action for Mainz in 2016 (1-1, 2.13, 49 K in 38 IP). In the 2016 European Championship, he allowed one run in five innings on five walks and four hits while registering three Ks.

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