John Ely

John Daniel Ely

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 200 lb.
• School Miami University
• High School Homewood-Flossmoor High School
• Debut April 28, 2010
• Final Game September 16, 2012
• Born May 13, 1986 in Harvey, IL, USA

BR page

Biographical Information

John Ely made his major league debut in 2010.

Ely was 27-5 in high school and made All-State as a senior. Going on to Miami University, Ely was 10-2 with a save and a 2.87 ERA as a freshman in 2005 He paced the Mid-American Conference with 108 strikeouts, over one per inning, while keeping his WHIP under 1. He tied for the MAC lead in victories. He was named a Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball.

As a sophomore, John was 8-2 with a 3.57 ERA and over a strikeout per inning. He made All-MAC. He was 1-3 with a 3.70 ERA that summer for the Cape Cod League's Wareham Gatemen. His junior year at Miami, Ely posted a 8-3, 2.89 record. He was second in the MAC in wins and was fourth in ERA, making All-Conference for the second straight year. Overall, he had gone 26-7 with a 3.07 ERA in college, finishing second in school history with 284 whiffs.

The Chicago White Sox picked Ely in the third round of the 2007 amateur draft, the third of six straight hurlers they selected. He was signed by scouts Keith Staab and Mike Shirley and made his pro debut with the Great Falls White Sox, going 6-1 with a 3.86 ERA and 56 strikeouts in 56 innings, while walking 14.

In 2008, the right-hander was 10-12 with a 4.71 ERA for the Winston-Salem Warthogs with 46 walks in 145 1/3 IP. He was second among White Sox farmhands with 134 strikeouts, one behind leader Santo Luis. He was one loss behind leader Charlie Haeger. Baseball America rated him as having the best breaking pitch and best control in the Carolina League. They ranked him as the #17 prospect in the league, between Brandon Snyder and Josh Tomlin.

Moving up to the Birmingham Barons in 2009, Ely had a big year, going 14-2 with a 2.82 ERA. He tied for the most wins by a Chicago farmhand, tied Casey Coleman for the most wins in the Southern League and led the SL in strikeouts (125). He almost won a pitching Triple Crown but Travis Wood beat him out in ERA (barely qualifying in the process). John was named the SL's All-Srar right-handed pitcher while southpaw Wood claimed Most Outstanding Pitcher honors. Despite that, Baseball America did not list him among the league's top 20 prospects.

In December, he was dealt with Jon Link as a player to be named later to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Juan Pierre trade. He had gone 30-15 in three years in the Chicago chain.

Starting 2010 with the Albuquerque Isotopes, Ely went 2-1 with a 3.00 ERA after three starts. He was then called up to the 2010 Dodgers to replace the injured Vicente Padilla. In his MLB debut, he started and lost against another John, John Maine of the Mets. Ely allowed five runs in six innings, four of them coming in the second frame, in the defeat. At the plate, he was 0 for 1 with a sacrifice hit.

Ely became a pitching coach with the Great Falls Voyagers in 2017-2019. He began the 2019 season with the Winston-Salem Dash as an assistant pitching coach and then moved to Great Falls when their season began in June. Ely was scheduled to return to Great Falls in 2020 before the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ely was pitching coach of the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers in 2021-2022, Winston-Salem Dash in 2023, and Birmingham Barons in 2024.

Notable Achievements

• 2012 Pitcher of the Year Pacific Coast League Albuquerque Isotopes

Sources

• 2010 Dodgers Media Guide
• Miami bio
• 2005-2010 Baseball Almanacs
• Cape Cod League

Related Sites

• John Ely on mlb.com