| Justin Thomas | |
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 Justin Thomas pitching for Double-A West Tenn Diamond Jaxx |
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| Pittsburgh Pirates — No. 65 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: January 18, 1984 Toledo, Ohio |
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| Bats: Left | Throws: Left |
| MLB debut | |
| September 1, 2008 for the Seattle Mariners | |
| Career statistics (through 2008 season) |
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| Win-Loss | 0-1 |
| Earned run average | 6.75 |
| Strikeouts | 2 |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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Justin Joseph Thomas (born January 18, 1984 in Toledo, Ohio) is an American baseball player in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. Thomas stands at 6'3" and weighs 215 pounds. He throws and bats left-handed.
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Amateur career
High School
Thomas attended Clay High School in Oregon, Ohio and was a four-year letterman for the varsity baseball team and set the school record for most home runs and tied the school record for most home runs in a season. Thomas was named to the USSSA World Series first-team all-tournament team and was a two-time first-team All-GLL selection. He was also named first-team all-district and was an honorable mention selection as a pitcher and helped lead Clay to a league championship. He was named team MVP and received the James F. O’Brian Award for Best Male Student Athlete. In addition to being a four year letterman in baseball, he also lettered in golf and was a three-year letter winner in basketball.
College
Upon graduation, Thomas attended Youngstown State University from 2002 to 2005. The lefty starter helped the Penguins capture a Horizon League Title in the 2004, pitching the team into the finals and making their first ever appearance in the College World Series. In 2005 he was named First Team All-League and Horizon Pitcher of the Year boasting a 7-5 record with a 3.42 ERA and 4 complete games. He left Youngstown State ranked 2nd in strikeouts with 250 and is the only pitcher in school history to pitch back-to-back seasons of at least 7 wins.
College accolades
- 2003 Second-team All-Horizon League 5-5 4.87 ERA 80 strikeouts
- 2004 First-team All-Horizon League 7-3 5.11 ERA 4 CG 82 strikeouts
- 2005 First-team All-Horizon League 7-5 3.42 ERA 4 CG 83 strikeouts
- 2005 Horizon League Pitcher of the Year
- 3 time Horizon League pitcher of the week
Professional career
Seattle Mariners
Thomas was drafted by the Seattle Mariners as the 113 overall pick of the 2005 Major League Baseball Draft. After signing with Seattle in June of that year, Thomas made his professional debut for the Everett AquaSox of the short-season A affiliated Northwest League.
2006 for Thomas will be remembered with relative success. He led all Mariners farmhands with 14 wins, finished second with 162 strikeouts and sixth with a 3.73 ERA. He was named the California League Pitcher of the Week in August and MiLB.com's Class-A Advanced Playoff Performer of the Year.
In 2007, Thomas was promoted to Double-A West Tenn Diamond Jaxx, but began the season on the disabled list with a strained left elbow. Upon being activated from the DL, Thomas struggled with control problems posting a 4-9 record with a 5.51 ERA and a career high 61 walks.
2008 marked an improvement for Thomas as he reduced his ERA with Double-A West Tenn to 4.32 and increased his strikeouts to walks ratio from 100 strikeouts/61 base on balls in '07 to 106 strikeouts/56 base on balls in '08. He was placed on the disabled list once again with a left hand laceration but came back to work out of the bullpen. Thomas received a mid-season call up to Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers posting a career low 3.71 ERA.
On September 1, 2008 the Seattle Mariners purchased Thomas' contract from Triple-A Tacoma. Thomas made his major league debut on September 1, 2008, taking on the Texas Rangers. In one inning of work, he gave up no runs, no hits, no walks, and striking out Marlon Byrd to end the game. Thomas pitched the rest of September with the Mariners posting an 0-1 record and a 6.75 ERA.
In 2009, Thomas was re-signed by the Seattle Mariners to a one-year contract and was placed on the 40-man roster.
Pittsburgh Pirates
On October 29, 2009 Thomas was claimed off waivers by the Pittsburgh Pirates.[1]
In November he was designated for assignment
On November 30, 2009, Thomas cleared waivers and was out righted to Triple-A.
References
External links
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