Jared Fernandez

Jared Wade Fernández

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 223 lb.
• School California State University, Fresno, College of Eastern Utah
• High School Kearns High School
• Debut September 19, 2001
• Final Game May 11, 2006
• Born February 2, 1972 in Salt Lake City, UT USA

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Biographical Information

Jared Fernández, a Mormon, [1] is a knuckleball pitcher

Jared was 7-3 with a 3.54 ERA and only 14 walks in 81 innings for Fresno State in 1993 and was 4th in the Western Athletic Conference in ERA. He had a 11-5, 3.98 record the next year and tied for the WAC lead in wins. He walked just 24 in 131 innings and made the All-Western Division Team as a senior.

In 1994, Fernández was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Boston Red Sox. Assigned to the Utica Blue Sox, he was 1-1 with four saves and a 3.60 ERA that year. He split the next year between Utica (3-2, 1.89) and the Trenton Thunder (5-4, 3.90), bypassing mid- and high-level class A.

In 1996, Jared was with Trenton again and was roughed up for a 9-9, 5.08 record on a team that was 77-47 when other pitchers got the decision. He led the Eastern League in earned runs allowed (101) and tied Carlton Loewer for the most runs allowed (115). The control specialist turned wild, walking 83 in 179 frames. He was 1-0 with a 4.02 ERA for the Gold Coast Cougars in the 1996-1997 Australian Baseball League. In 1997, Fernández's control got worse and he led the entire Boston chain with 87 walks. He had a 4-6, 5.41 line with Trenton and was 0-3 with a 5.79 ERA for the Pawtucket Red Sox. Back in Australia that winter, the knuckleballer was a poor 6-8 with a 6.14 ERA.

Fernández saw little progress at age 26, going 1-1, 4.74 for Pawtucket and 3-7, 5.25 for Trenton. In 1999, Jared led the Red Sox minor leaguers with 182 innings and tied Tomokazu Ohka for the lead with 15 wins. He had a 3-0 record, one save and a 3.38 ERA for Trenton while going 12-9, 4.24 with Pawtucket. Rediscovering his precision, he walked 39 in 163 innings for the PawSox. In his 7th and last year in the Boston system, Fernández had a 10-4, 3.02 line with 4 saves for Pawtucket.

He was signed by the Cincinnati Reds to a minor league contract in 2001. Jared had another okay year in AAA, going 10-9 with a 4.13 ERA for the Louisville RiverBats. He led the International League in innings pitched (196), hits allowed (218) and wild pitches (20) and got a September call-up. He was 0-1 with a 4.38 ERA for the Reds in 2001. Fernández split 2002 between Louisville (12-5, 1 Sv, 3.93, 31 BB in 128 IP) and the Reds (1-3, 4.44 in 50 2/3 IP, his longest look at the majors).

In December 2002, he was signed by the Houston Astros after he filed for free agency. In 2003 and 2004, he again was bouncing between the majors and minors. The first of those years, he was 7-10 with a 3.81 ERA for the New Orleans Zephyrs with 37 BB in 156 innings. He had a career-best 111 ERA+ for the Astros (3-3, 3.99). He finished 10th in the Pacific Coast League in ERA. In the latter season, Fernández had a 7-11, 4.77 line for New Orleans and allowed six runs in his one inning in the majors. The durable knuckleballer led the Pacific Coast League in innings pitched (196).

In 2005, he began the year back in Louisville (5-5, 4.38) before Cincinnati let him go. He spent the rest of the season in the minors with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons (4-2, 2.66), in the Philadelphia Phillies organization.

That winter, Jared signed with the Milwaukee Brewers. He was 6-4 with 3 saves and a 3.27 ERA for the Nashville Sounds but struggled with Milwaukee in 2006 (9.95 ERA in four games). He was 7th in the PCL in ERA.

After 2006, Fernández signed for the Hiroshima Carp for a one-year, $200,000 deal. He struggled in 2007 going 3-8 with a 6.04 ERA in 30 games and was not back in 2008.

As of last notice, Fernández resides in West Valley City, UT

Sources: Japanese Baseball