Paul Blackburn

Paul Cady Blackburn

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 185 lb.
• School Heritage High School
• Debut July 1, 2017

• Born December 4, 1993 in Antioch, CA USA

BR page

Biographical information

Paul Blackburn was a supplemental first-round pick in the 2012 amateur draft. He made his big league debut with the Oakland A's in 2017.

Blackburn had a 8-3, 1.27 record as a high school senior, striking out 84 and walking 17 in 77 1/3 innings and throwing a no-hitter. He had a commitment to Arizona State when he was drafted by the Chicago Cubs with the 56th pick of the 2012 draft. The pick was Chicago's third overall, after Albert Almora and Pierce Johnson, and was compensation for the loss of Carlos Peña to free agency. Paul made his debut that summer with the AZL Cubs, going 2-0 with a 3.48 ERA in 9 games. He pitched in the Cubs' system until 2016, with his best season coming in 2014 with the Kane County Cougars of the Midwest League, for whom he was 9-4, 3.23 in 24 starts. In 2016, he was 6-4, 3.17 in 18 starts for the Tennessee Smokies of the AA Southern League when, on July 20th, he was traded to the Seattle Mariners (along with Dan Vogelbach) in return for pitchers Mike Montgomery and Jordan Pries. He went 3-1, 3.54 in 8 games for the AA Jackson Generals to finish with a combined mark of 9-5, 3.27. On November 12th, he was traded again, this time to the A's, for major league utilityman Danny Valencia.

Around the time he was named a Pacific Coast League All-Star, Blackburn was called up to make his big league debut on July 1, 2017. He posted a 3.22 ERA in 10 starts, with his season coming to an early end after taking a line drive to the hand off the bat of Trey Mancini in August. His ERA more than doubled to 7.16 in 6 starts in 2018, with two stints on the injured list forming the bread around the sandwich of his season. His ERA continued its skyward trajectory to end the 2010s, as he came in at 10.64 in 4 games (1 start) with 13 earned runs and 3 home runs allowed in 11 big league innings in 2019.

Source: MLB.com

Notable Achievements

• AL All-Star (2022)

Related Sites

• Paul Blackburn on mlb.com
• BR Minors page