The Pittsburgh Pirates have signed left handed reliever Jackson Lodge out of Australia, according to the Adelaide Bite Facebook page. Lodge becomes the fifth player signed by the Pirates out of Australia in the last few years, joining Mitchell Fienemann, Jarryd Sullivan, Dylan Child, and Wilson Lee.
Lodge currently has a 9.64 ERA in 4.2 innings in the Australian Baseball League, along with a 5:1 K/BB ratio. Lodge, who turned 17 on October 12th, is 6′ 1″, 158 pounds. UPDATE: Lodge pitched in the Australian Baseball Academy this past season, putting up a 2-3 record with a 2.03 ERA in 40 innings pitched, along with a 22:3 K/BB ratio. That’s much better than his ABL totals so far. Thanks to John Dreker for pointing out those numbers.
Tim started Pirates Prospects in 2009 from his home in Virginia, which was 40 minutes from where Pedro Alvarez made his pro debut in Lynchburg. That year, the Lynchburg Hillcats won the Carolina League championship, and Pirates Prospects was born from Tim's reporting along the way. The site has grown over the years to include many more writers, and Tim has gone on to become a credentialed MLB reporter, producing Pirates Prospects each year, and will publish his 11th Prospect Guide this offseason. He has also served as the Pittsburgh Pirates correspondent for Baseball America since 2019. Behind the scenes, Tim is an avid music lover, and most of the money he gets paid to run this site goes to vinyl records.
