Justin Erasmus

From BR Bullpen

Justin Erasmus (Bobby)

  • Bats Right, Throws Right
  • Height 5' 10", Weight 175 lb.

BR register page

Biographical Information[edit]

Justin Erasmus was born in South Africa and then came to Australia. He signed with the Boston Red Sox in 2007 as an amateur free agent. The scout was Jon Deeble. He was on the South African roster for the 2009 World Baseball Classic, giving up 3 runs in 3 innings in a start against Mexico. All the runs were driven in by Adrian Gonzalez, on a RBI double and 2-run homer.

He made his pro debut in 2009 with the GCL Red Sox on June 25, allowing one run and fanning 3 in 2 2/3 innings against the GCL Rays. He was 2-2 with five saves and a 2.05 ERA for the year. He tied for 9th in the Gulf Coast League in saves. In 2010, he was 1-3 with 10 saves and a 2.12 ERA for the GCL Red Sox, fanning 33 in 29 2/3 IP. He was second in the GCL in saves, 5 behind Bruce Rondon.

When the Australian Baseball League was re-established in 2010-2011, he was with the Brisbane Bandits, struggling at 0-3, 6.38. Moving to full-season ball with the 2011 Greenville Drive, he had another strong summer at 4-1, 1.11 with a save. He did not allow more than one earned run in any game. With the Australian national team in the 2011 Baseball World Cup, he saw limited action. He allowed two runs (one earned) in one inning against Italy and got the win over Germany with one shutout inning (he replaced starter Clayton Tanner, who did not last the 5 innings needed for the win). In his third and final game, he relieved Kable Hogben in the 6th inning of the 5th/6th place game versus South Korea and worked one shutout inning before turning it over to Steven Kent.

Brisbane used him as a reliever in 2011-2012 and he was much better (2 Sv, 8 H, 2.25 ERA in 16 IP). He returned to Greenville in 2012 and did much worse (1-3, 3 Sv, 9.24 ERA, .329 opponent average) to earn him his release from the Red Sox chain. With Brisbane in 2012-2013, he was 2-3 with 3 saves, a 0.42 ERA and 23 strikeouts in 21 1/3 IP. In 2013, he pitched for two teams in the independent Frontier League - the Gateway Grizzlies (1-0, 3 Sv, 0 R in 4 2/3 IP) and Joliet Slammers (3-2, 17 Sv, 1.52). He was 4th in the Frontier League in saves (between Michael Click and Eric Massingham). Massingham was named the league's All-Star RP.

Erasmus moved to the Melbourne Aces in 2013-2014 and was 3-4 with four saves and a 3.48 ERA. He tied Cameron Lamb for 7th in the circuit in saves. In the summer of 2014, he appeared for a couple other independent clubs, the Schaumburg Boomers (3-0, Sv, 4.21 in 8 G) and Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks (2-2, 2 Sv, 5.07 in 24 G). Returning to Brisbane in 2014-2015, he was 0-1 with a 3.89 ERA, tying for third in the ABL in games pitched (21). He went 4-3 with a 5.05 ERA for the 2015-2016 Bandits.

Despite his highest ERA in the ABL in five winters, he still made Australia's roster for the 2017 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers. Like half the pitching staff, he did not get into a game. He joined De Glaskoning Twins in the Netherlands for the 2016 Hoofdklasse but only pitched three games. He was 1-2 with a 1.08 ERA but walked 14 in 16 2/3 IP before his visa expired; he was replaced by Keiji Uezono. Erasmus then moved on to Germany's Haar Disciples.

His brother is Bradley Erasmus.

Sources[edit]

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