Zach Eflin

Zachary Adams Eflin

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 4", Weight 200 lb.
• High School Paul J. Hagerty High School
• Debut June 14, 2016

• Born April 8, 1994 in Orlando, FL USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Zach Eflin was a 2012 supplemental first-round pick.

Eflin was 7-0 with a 0.51 ERA as a high school senior and was timed as high as 97 mph on the radar gun. He had a commitment to the University of Central Florida when the San Diego Padres took him 33rd overall in the 2012 amateur draft. The selection was compensation for the loss of Heath Bell to free agency. He was the second of four Padres first-rounders, after fellow high school hurler Max Fried and before Travis Jankowski and Walker Weickel. He soon signed and made his pro debut for the AZL Padres on June 28th with an atrocious relief outing. Replacing fellow former first-rounder Joe Ross, he yielded four hits, a walk and 3 runs in only 1 1/3 IP. The club rallied to win a 14-13 slugfest with the AZL Rangers.

On December 11, 2014, the Padres traded Eflin with Yasmani Grandal and Joe Wieland to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Matt Kemp and Tim Federowicz. The trade was only finalized on December 18th, because of concerns over Kemp's health; one day after the trade was completed, the Dodgers sent Eflin to the Philadelphia Phillies along with another young pitcher, Tim Windle, in return for SS Jimmy Rollins. He spent 2015 with the Reading Fightin Phils of the Eastern League, going 8-6, 3.69 in 23 starts. In 2016, he moved up to the AAA Lehigh Valley IronPigs.

On June 10, 2016, the Phillies announced that Eflin would be making his major league debut on June 14th, taking the place of the injured Vince Velasquez in the starting rotation. He had a pretty rough first outing, however, as the Toronto Blue Jays chalked 9 runs off him in 2 2/3 innings on their way to an 11-3 win. He gave up three homers, including a grand slam by Josh Donaldson. Things went better after that and on July 5th, he pitched his first career complete game in defeating the Atlanta Braves, 5-1, registering his first career win in the process.

Notable Achievements

• AL Wins Leader (2023)
• NL Complete Games Leader (2019)
• 15 Wins Seasons: 1 (2023)

Further Reading

• Adam Berry: "Rays agree to 3-year deal with RHP Eflin (source)", mlb.com, December 1, 2022. [1]
• Adam Berry: "Eflin comes full-circle with hometown Rays: Right-hander signs largest free-agent contract in franchise history", mlb.com, December 13, 2022. [2]
• Bob Nightengale: "Phillies pitcher Zach Eflin overcame tragedy to become one of MLB's biggest surprises", USA Today, May 15, 2019. [3]

Related Sites

• Zach Eflin on mlb.com
• BR Minors page