Jonny DeLuca

Jonny DeLuca
DeLuca with the Oklahoma City Dodgers
Tampa Bay Rays – No. 21
Outfielder
Born: (1998-07-10) July 10, 1998 (age 26)
Thousand Oaks, California, U.S.
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
MLB debut
June 7, 2023, for the Los Angeles Dodgers
MLB statistics
(through 2024 season)
Batting average.222
Home runs8
Runs batted in37
Teams

Jonathan Davis DeLuca (born July 10, 1998) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He made his MLB debut in 2023 with the Dodgers.

Career

Amateur career

DeLuca attended Agoura High School in Agoura Hills, California.[1] He was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 39th round of the 2017 Major League Baseball Draft, but did not sign and played college baseball at the University of Oregon. In 2018, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox of the Cape Cod Baseball League and was named a league all-star.[2] After two years at Oregon, he was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 25th round of the 2019 MLB Draft and signed.[3][4]

Professional career

Los Angeles Dodgers

DeLuca made his professional debut with the rookie-level Arizona League Dodgers in 2019, where he hit .273 in 26 games.[5] DeLuca did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[6] He returned to action in 2021 to play for the Single-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes and High-A Great Lakes Loons, hitting a combined .264 in 101 games with 22 home runs and 64 runs batted in (RBIs).[5] DeLuca started the 2022 season with Great Lakes before being promoted to the Double-A Tulsa Drillers. Between the two levels, he played in 98 games and hit .260 with 25 home runs and 71 RBIs.[5]

On November 15, 2022, the Dodgers added DeLuca to the 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.[7] He returned to Tulsa to begin the 2023 season[8] and was promoted to the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers on May 16.[9] After just 17 games there, he was called up to the majors for the first time on June 4.[10] DeLuca made his debut against the Cincinnati Reds on June 7 as the starting centerfielder.[11] He was hitless in two at-bats with a walk in his debut.[12] His first major league hit was a single to center field off of Ranger Suárez of the Philadelphia Phillies on June 9.[13] On July 4, 2023, DeLuca hit his first MLB home run off Ángel Perdomo of the Pittsburgh Pirates.[14] He played in a total of 24 games in the majors, hitting .262 with two homers and six RBIs before being optioned back to the minors.[15] Between the two minor league levels he played at in 2023, he appeared in 73 games and hit .294 with 17 homers and 53 RBI.[5]

Tampa Bay Rays

On December 16, 2023, the Dodgers traded DeLuca and Ryan Pepiot to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for Tyler Glasnow and Manuel Margot.[16]

References

  1. ^ "DeLuca is dynamo on diamond, track". April 7, 2016.
  2. ^ "#16 Jonathan Deluca - Profile". pointstreak.com. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  3. ^ "Oregon's Jonny DeLuca selected by L.A. Dodgers in MLB Draft". June 5, 2019.
  4. ^ "DeLuca ditches Ducks for Dodgers".
  5. ^ a b c d "Johnny DeLuca Amateur, College and Minor League Statistics". Baseball Reference. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
  6. ^ "2020 Minor League Baseball season cancelled". mlb.com. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
  7. ^ Stephen, Eric (November 15, 2022). "Dodgers add Diego Cartaya, Michael Busch, Andy Pages, Jonny DeLuca to 40-man roster". SB Nation. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  8. ^ "Dodgers' Jonny DeLuca: Optioned to minors". cbssports.com. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  9. ^ Stephen, Eric (May 16, 2023). "Dodgers outfielders Andy Pages, Jonny DeLuca promoted to Triple-A Oklahoma City". SB Nation. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
  10. ^ Stephen, Eric (June 4, 2023). "Jonny DeLuca is the latest Dodgers rookie to get the call". SB Nation. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
  11. ^ DiGiovanna, Mike (June 7, 2023). "Agoura High's Jonny DeLuca is poised to complete journey from Dodgers fan to starter". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
  12. ^ "Dodgers vs Reds (June 7, 2023} Play by Play". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
  13. ^ "Dodgers vs Phillies (June 9, 2023) Play by Play". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  14. ^ "Jonny Deluca hits his first big league home run to give the Dodgers a 7-6 lead over the Pirates". FOX Sports. July 4, 2023. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
  15. ^ "Jonny DeLuca Stats". Baseball Reference. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  16. ^ Wexler (December 16, 2023). "Dodgers acquire Glasnow, Margot from Rays; Glasnow also agrees to extension". Sarah. Retrieved December 16, 2023.