R.J. Freure

Richard Jared Freure

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 210 lb.
• School University of Pittsburgh
• High School Robert Bateman High School

• Born July 6, 1997 in Burlington, ON Canada

BR Register page

Biographical Information

R.J. Freure has pitched for Team Canada (winning a Silver Medal) and in the minors.

Freure pitched 4 1/3 shutout innings for Canada in the 2015 U-18 Baseball World Cup, going 1-0. He was 4-1 with a 4.74 ERA as a freshman at Pitt. He had a 2-2, 4.14 record in the fall for the Chatham Anglers. As a sophomore, he was 4-1 with two saves and a 4.30 ERA for Pitt, striking out 95 but walking 35 in 58 2/3 IP. His 27 games pitched were second-most in school history. He led NCAA Division I in strikeouts per 9 IP (14.57, .42 ahead of runner-up Shane McClanahan). The Houston Astros selected him in the 6th round of the 2018 amateur draft; the scout was Bobby St. Pierre.

He had a strong pro debut for the Tri-City ValleyCats that year, going 3-0 with a 0.98 ERA, .172 opponent average and 29 whiffs in 27 2/3 IP. He moved up to the Quad Cities River Bandits in 2019. Mostly starting that year, he was 5-7 with 3 saves and a 4.08 ERA, striking out 114 and walking 61 in 88 1/3 innings. He was second among Astros minor leaguers in Ks (behind Yohan Ramirez). He missed the Midwest League top 10 in Ks by 4 and tied Robinson Pina for 3rd in the MWL in walks. R.J. missed part of the summer of 2019 pitching for Canada in the Pan American Games. He was a solid part of their Silver Medal performance. In the opening 10-0 win over Argentina, he relieved Philippe Aumont in the 7th with a 5-0 lead and closed out the 10-0 mercy rule rout. He retired Lucas Montalbetti then struck out Juan Pablo Angrisano and Mauro Schiavoni. After Canada got two in the bottom of the 7th, he walked Agustín Tissera but fanned both Nicolás Arrube and Federico Gómez then got Mauricio Costa on a fly to end it. That impressed manager Ernie Whitt enough to start him in the Gold Medal Game against Puerto Rico. He allowed a single to Jeffrey Domínguez and a walk to Brahiam Maldonado in a scoreless 1st, struck out 2 of 4 in the 2nd (one batter reaching via error) and struck out the side in the third as Giovanni Soto matched him zero for zero. Despite seven Ks and one hit in three innings, he was yanked in the 4th in favor of Chris Leroux; Canada went on to lose 6-1. Freure tied Freddie Cabrera for 9th in ERA in the Games (all the top 10 were at 0.00; he and Cabrera had the fewest innings of that group) and was second in strikeouts (11, one behind Randy Consuegra).

He was named to the Canadian national team for the 2023 World Baseball Classic.