Michael Jefferson

MICHAEL JEFFERSON
LEFT HANDED PITCHER
  Born: July 31, 1989
Height: 6′ 5″
Weight: 190
Bats: Left
Throws: Left
Drafted: 22nd Round, 662nd Overall, 2011
How Acquired: Draft
College: Louisiana Tech University
Agent:  N/A

WTM’S PIRATE PLAYER PROFILES
Jefferson was the ace of the Louisiana Tech staff in 2011, as he made significant progress with the control problems he’d had in his first two years.  He also cut way down on gopher balls, possibly with some help from the new bats.  He’s never allowed a lot of hits.  Baseball America ranked him the 32nd best prospect in Louisiana.  He has a 90-91 MPH fastball and a good curve, as well as a change and splitter.  He was drafted by the Mets in 2010 in the 46th round, but returned to school.  He redshirted in 2008 and so had another year of eligibility left, but he signed with the Pirates.

2011
A-:  2-3-0, 4.33 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 43.2 IP, 3.1 BB/9, 7.0 K/9 

Jefferson started off pitching mainly in relief at State College and struggled through the first part of the season.  He moved to the rotation for good at the beginning of August and pitched much better.  His ERA was 6.86 before August and 2.25 in August.  Opponents batted .291 against him in June and July and .165 in August.  His walk and K rates were solid and his WHIP was much better than his ERA.  He was a strong flyball pitcher, but only allowed four HRs.

2012
A:  7-7-1, 4.67 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 108.0 IP, 3.2 BB/9, 7.2 K/9

Jefferson spent 2012 at West Virginia as a swing man.  He pitched mostly in relief until partway into July, then mostly as a starter after that.  He struggled through the first half, posting a 6.41 ERA, but lowered that to 3.36 in the second half.  He was better as a starter, but with most of his starts coming late in the year, that may be more an indication of him making some improvements.  He was much more effective against right-handed batters for some reason, and was an extreme flyball pitcher, leading to a dozen HRs.

Jefferson figures to serve as an organizational pitcher from here on out.  He should be somewhere in class A in 2013.
STATS
Baseball Reference–Minors
Fangraphs
MiLB.com
NCAA
W-L-Sv
G
GS
IP
H
HR
BB
K
WHIP
OAVG
ERA
2009 3-3-1 25 3 51.2 53 8 38 39 1.76 .268 6.27
2010 4-4-0 19 13 72.1 64 13 59 69 1.70 .245 5.60
2011 6-4-1 18 14 86.0 79 1 46 70 1.45 .251 3.56
CONTRACT INFORMATION
2013: Minor league contract
PLAYER INFORMATION
Signing Bonus: N/A
MiLB Debut:  2011
MLB Debut:
MiLB FA Eligible: 2017
MLB FA Eligible:
Rule 5 Eligible: 2014
Added to 40-Man:
Options Remaining: 3
MLB Service Time: 0.000
TRANSACTIONS
June 9, 2010: Drafted by the New York Mets in the 46th round, 1382nd overall pick.
June 7, 2011: Drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 22nd round, 662nd overall pick; signed June 18, 2011.