Zack Godley

Zachary Thomas Godley

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 3", Weight 235 lb.¸
• School University of Tennessee
• High School Bamberg Ehrhardt High School
• Debut July 23, 2015

• Born April 21, 1990 in Bamberg, SC USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Pitcher Zack Godley was a 10th round selection by the Chicago Cubs in the 2013 amateur draft, out of the University of Tennessee. Four years earlier, in 2013, the New York Mets had picked him in the 50th round upon his graduation from high school, but he chose to attend college instead.

Godley pitched for two teams in his first professional season in 2013, making one relief appearance with the AZL Cubs and then pitching 13 times for the Boise Hawks of the Northwest League. He put up a 2.02 ERA in 26 2/3 innings and recorded a pair of wins while striking out 28 batters. He started the 2014 season with the Kane County Cougars of the Midwest League, where he was 1-1, 1.80 with 7 saves in 15 innings, during which he struck out 25 opponents. He was promoted to the Advanced Class A Daytona Cubs of the Florida State League, where his ERA rose to 3.57 in 29 games. The season was quite positive overall, as he racked up another 8 saves, to give him 15 on the year, and struck out 52 in 40 1/3 innings.

On December 9, 2014, he was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks along with Jeferson Mejia in return for major league catcher Miguel Montero. He was assigned to the Visalia Rawhide of the Class A California League to begin the 2015 season, then earned a promotion to AA on July 1st, after going 8-3, 2.27 in 12 games. After only 3 starts for the Mobile BayBears of the Southern League, he received another promotion, this time all the way to the major leagues. Facing the Milwaukee Brewers as the starting pitcher for the Diamondbacks on July 23rd, he allowed no runs and struck out 7 while walking none in 6 innings to earn an 8-3 win. The strikeouts tied a club record for most in a major league debut set by Max Scherzer in 2008. He then won his next two starts as well, 8-4 over the Seattle Mariners on July 28th and 6-4 over the Washington Nationals on August 3rd, becoming the second pitcher in team history to win his first three big league outings. However, in spite of his excellent showing, he was sent back to Mobile on August 5th to allow the D-Backs to bring up Allen Webster in order to shore up a tired bullpen. He came back later in the year and in all he had 9 appearances at the major league level, including 6 starts, with a record of 5-1, 3.19.

Following this promising debut, Godley had a tough sophomore season in 2016 as his ERA ballooned all the way to 6.39 in 27 games (9 starts) to go along with a 5-4 record. But he did better in 2017, when he made 25 starts in 26 appearances, pitched 155 innings and finished with a record of 8-9 with a solid 3.37 ERA. The D-Backs reached the postseason as a wild card team that year and Zack saw action in the Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, pitching five innings in relief of Taijuan Walker in Game 1 on October 6th, giving up 3 runs. It was a valiant effort in a tough situation, as the team had tired out its pitching staff in disposing of the Colorado Rockies in a tiring Wild Card Game, but Arizona was still swept in three games by a dominant Dodger team. He then had another strong season in 2018 as he set personal bests in almost all pitching categories: games (33), starts (32), innings (178 1/3), strikeouts (185) and wins (15). However, his ERA shot up by almost a run and a half compared to his previous season, from 3.37 to 4.74, which was a concern. The bottom then fell out in 2019, as he made 9 starts before losing his slot in the starting rotation and being moved to the bullpen. He was 3-5, 6.39 in 27 games when on August 7th he was claimed off waivers by the Toronto Blue Jays, after the D-Backs had failed to find a taker for him in a trade at the trading deadline. He pitched better for Toronto going 1-0, 3.94 in 6 games and 16 innings, but he was let go in September, and that December signed as a free agent with the Detroit Tigers, hoping to set his career back on track with the rebuilding team.

Notable Achievements

• 15 Wins Seasons: 1 (2018)

Related Sites

• Zack Godley on mlb.com
• BR Minors page