Ryan Lillie

Ryan Gregory Lillie

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 210 lb.
• School University of California, Riverside
• High School Vista Murrieta High School

• Born May 1, 1996 in Murrieta, CA USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Pitcher Ryan Lillie was part of a historical feat on May 18, 2022 when he was the starting pitcher in a combined no-hitter for the San Antonio Missions against the Midland RockHounds in the Texas League. Three other pitchers succeeded him on the mound that day, but the historical part was that three days earlier, on May 15th, four other pitchers for the Missions had combined on another no-hitter. Normally a reliever, he was asked to start that day as part of a bullpen game; he was expected to go three innings, but did so well that his manager, Phillip Wellman, left him in for a fourth, before turning the ball over to Michel Báez, the only member of the foursome with major league experience.

Lillie was initially drafted by the Miami Marlins in the 5th round of the 2017 amateur draft, out of the University of California, Riverside. He pitched in the Marlins system in 2017 and 2018, lining up for three different teams both of these years. He went 6-7, 3.44 as a starter in 2018, then after the season was traded to the Cincinnati Reds for future considerations. He then had a rough few years: in 2019, he went a combined 4-12, 4.59 as a starter between the Daytona Tortugas of the Florida State League and Chattanooga Lookouts of the Southern League. He had to sit out the 2020 season when the minor leagues were shut down due to the Coronavirus pandemic, and in 2021, he pitched only 8 times, logging 10 1/3 innings, with Chattanooga, being shut down by an injury in the middle of June. Just before training camp started in 2022, he was signed as a free agent by the San Diego Padres and could finally start to get his career back on track.

Related Sites

• University of California-Riverside bio