Joey Estes

Joseph Lee Estes

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 190 lb.
• High School Paraclete High School
• Debut September 20, 2023

• Born October 8, 2001 in Lancaster, CA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Pitcher Joey Estes was one of four youngsters acquired by the Oakland Athletics from the Atlanta Braves in return for 1B Matt Olson at the start of spring training in 2022. Estes had been a 16th-round pick by the Braves in the 2019 amateur draft out of a high school in Lancaster, CA. He was coming off a strong season with the Augusta GreenJackets of what was called the Low-A East that year, going 3-6, 2.91 in 20 starts, with 127 strikeouts in 99 innings, allowing just 66 hits. In spite of the small number of wins, he was named the league's Pitcher of the Year and a postseason All-Star. It should be noted that pitching numbers were depressed that year, as just about every hurler in the circuit had had to sit out the previous season as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Following the trade, he was assigned to the Lansing Lugnuts of the Midwest League where he went 3-7, 4.55 in 20 games. He moved up to the Midland RockHounds of the Texas League in 2023 and was 6-6, 3.28 in his first 20 games before being promoted to the Las Vegas Aviators of the AAA Pacific Coast League on August 1st. He went 3-0, 5.23 in 7 games there and got to make his major league debut for the A's against the Seattle Mariners on September 20th. He started the game but gave up 6 runs in 4 2/3 innings to be charged with a 6-3 loss. He made just one other start that year, which went much better but resulted in a no-decision, to finish at 0-1, 7.20 with a total of 10 innings pitched.

In 2024, he started the season with Las Vegas, going 2-3, 6.04 in 6 starts before being called up to Oakland on May 11th. He earned his first major league win that day, giving up 1 run in 5 innings in an 8-1 win over the Mariners, and secured a regular turn in the starting rotation. On July 3rd, he pitched an absolute gem against the Los Angeles Angels, shutting them out on 5 hits for a 5-0 win that was also the first complete game of his career. Not only that, but he needed just 92 pitches, giving him a so-called "Maddux" - a complete game shutout achieved in under 100 pitches. He was on a roll by then, as it was his third straight start of giving up 2 runs or less, with an ERA of 1.74 over the three games.

He is not related to 1990s and 2000s pitcher Shawn Estes.

Notable Achievements

• 2021 Pitcher of the Year, Low-A East, Augusta GreenJackets
• AL Shutouts Leader (2024)

Further Reading

• Martín Gallegos: "'This was Joey’s game': Estes dominates in 1st career 'Maddux'", mlb.com, July 4, 2024. [1]

Related Sites

• Joey Estes on mlb.com