Reese McGuire

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Reese McGuire
Reese McGuire 2020 (cropped).jpg
McGuire with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2020
Toronto Blue Jays – No. 7
Catcher
Born: (1995-03-02) March 2, 1995 (age 26)
Seattle, Washington
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
MLB debut
September 6, 2018, for the Toronto Blue Jays
MLB statistics
(through 2021 season)
Batting average.248
Home runs9
Runs batted in26
Teams
  • Toronto Blue Jays (2018–present)
Medals
Men’s baseball
Representing  United States
18U Baseball World Championship
Gold medal – first place 2012 Seoul Team

Reese Jackson McGuire (born March 2, 1995) is an American professional baseball catcher for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first round of the 2013 MLB draft, and was traded to Toronto in 2016. He made his MLB debut in 2018.

High school and international[]

McGuire attended Kentwood High School in Covington, Washington, where he played for the school's baseball team.[1][2] He also played for the United States national baseball team in 18-and-under competitions, being named the player of the year as the United States won the International Baseball Federation 18-and-under Baseball World Championship. He won the USA Baseball Richard W. "Dick" Case Player of the Year Award in 2012.[3][4] He had committed to attend the University of San Diego and play college baseball for the San Diego Toreros baseball team.[5]

Professional career[]

Pittsburgh Pirates organization (2013–2016)[]

McGuire with the Bradenton Marauders in 2015

Unlike other high school catchers, whose offensive skills were more developed than their defensive abilities, McGuire's skill behind the plate, as well as his left-handedness, made him an attractive target in the 2013 MLB Draft, and he was projected to be chosen in the first round.[6] The Pittsburgh Pirates selected him 14th overall in the MLB draft, and he signed with the team on a $2.36 million contract. The team assigned McGuire to the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League (GCL) Pirates, where, in his professional baseball debut, he recorded four hits, three RBI, and two doubles.[7] After batting .330 with 11 doubles and 21 RBI in 46 GCL games, McGuire was promoted to the Class A Short Season Jamestown Jammers of the New York–Penn League on August 31.[8] He appeared in only four games there, going 4-for-16 in the process.[9]

McGuire was one of several highly-rated Pirates prospects to play for the Low-A West Virginia Power of the South Atlantic League in 2014.[10] While many of these other prospects, such as , Austin Meadows, and spent time on the disabled list, McGuire remained healthy through the first half of the season, and after batting .277 with 19 RBI and a 19-game hitting streak, he was named a South Atlantic League midseason All-Star.[11] He finished the 2014 season hitting .262 with 11 doubles, four triples, three home runs, and 45 RBI, and was promoted to the Bradenton Marauders of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League for the 2015 season.[12] There, he batted .254 with 34 RBI in 98 games and 374 at bats,[9] and received his third minor league All-Star selection, this time with the Florida State League.[13]

After the regular 2015 minor league season, the Pirates sent McGuire to the Arizona Fall League to continue his development.[14] In 14 games with the Glendale Desert Dogs, McGuire batted .294 with six RBI, striking out only 7 times in 51 at bats.[9] He was also the youngest prospect chosen to play in the AFL All-Star Game.[15] After spending spring training in 2016 with the Pirates,[16] he joined the Double-A Altoona Curve for 77 games, during which he hit .259 with one home run and 37 RBI in 266 at bats.[9]

Toronto Blue Jays[]

McGuire with the Buffalo Bisons in 2018

On August 1, 2016, McGuire, fellow prospect Harold Ramirez, and pitcher Francisco Liriano were traded from the Pirates to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for pitcher Drew Hutchison.[17] He finished out the season with the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats, batting .226 with five RBI in 15 games and 53 at bats.[9] He returned to the Fisher Cats for the 2017 season, but was limited to only 45 games after suffering a torn meniscus in his right knee that required arthroscopic surgery to repair.[18] After suffering the knee injury in early May, McGuire was able to return to Double-A at the start of August,[19] and shortly after his return, McGuire's home runs in three consecutive games earned him Eastern League Player of the Week honors for the week ending August 20.[20] In his limited appearances in 2017, McGuire batted .295 with six home runs and 28 RBI in 149 at bats.[9]

On November 20, 2017, McGuire was added to Toronto's 40-man roster.[21] He played for the Buffalo Bisons of the Class AAA International League in 2018.[22]

On September 6, 2018, the Blue Jays promoted McGuire to the major leagues.[23] He made his MLB debut that night against the Cleveland Indians and hit a double in the game for his first career hit. He hit his first career home run on September 26 against the Houston Astros.[24]

McGuire did not make the 2019 opening day roster and was optioned to AAA.[25] McGuire joined the Blue Jays in late July after Luke Maile was injured, and appeared in 30 games throughout the season, hitting .299 with an .872 OPS.[26]

Overall with the 2020 Blue Jays, McGuire batted .073 with one home run and 1 RBI in 19 games.[27]

On April 1, 2021, McGuire was designated for assignment by the Blue Jays[28] clearing waivers (April 3) and assigned to the Jays' alternate training site[28] before being assigned to Triple-A Buffalo (May 3) [29] On May 5, McGuire was selected to Toronto’s active roster.[30]

Personal life[]

McGuire's older brother, Cash, played second base for Seattle University . His younger brother, Shane, played baseball at the University of San Diego as a catcher and was taken in the 2021 MLB draft and is now in the Oakland Athletics organization.[5]

In February 2020, McGuire was charged with a misdemeanor count of exposure of sexual organs after an incident in a shopping center parking lot in Dunedin, Florida, near the Blue Jays spring training complex.[31] He pleaded no contest and was fined $500.[32]

References[]

  1. ^ "Kentwood's McGuire aims for title, prepares for draft | Sports | Seattle News, Weather, Sports, Breaking News". KOMO News. May 13, 2013. Retrieved May 24, 2013.
  2. ^ Kelley, Mason (April 23, 2012). "4A and 3A high-school baseball rankings - Week 5 | High School Sports Blog". The Seattle Times. Retrieved May 24, 2013.
  3. ^ "Reese McGuire Wins USA Baseball Player of the Year Award". Baseball America. Archived from the original on July 4, 2015.
  4. ^ "USA Baseball names year-end award winners". usabaseball.com. Archived from the original on July 5, 2015.
  5. ^ a b "Washington high school catcher Reese McGuire has talent and leadership skills | MLB.com: News". Mlb.mlb.com. November 16, 2012. Retrieved May 24, 2013.
  6. ^ Mayo, Jonathan (May 24, 2013). "Top prep catchers figure to go early in Draft". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  7. ^ "Kentwood grad Reese McGuire off to hot start in minor league baseball". Kent Reporter. July 17, 2013. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  8. ^ Menendez, Jenn; Sanserino, Michael (August 31, 2013). "Pirates notebook: McCutchen, Molina battle for NL MVP". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  9. ^ a b c d e f "Reese McGuire Minor, Fall & Winter Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  10. ^ Bragg, Tom (April 1, 2014). "West Virginia Power: Pirates' Prospects flow through Charleston". Charleston Gazette-Mail. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  11. ^ "McGuire, Weiss get no All-Star break in the action". Charleston Gazette-Mail. June 16, 2014. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  12. ^ Klaas, Mark (March 5, 2015). "Former Kentwood star continues to grow in the Pirates' system". Kent Reporter. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  13. ^ March, Nate (June 8, 2015). "Five Marauders Named Florida State League All-Stars". MiLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  14. ^ Callis, Jim (October 13, 2015). "McGuire plates three in Glendale victory". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  15. ^ Everett, Brad (November 23, 2015). "Pirates prospect McGuire hopes to reach major league status soon". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  16. ^ Biertempfel, Rob (January 4, 2016). "Catcher McGuire leads prospects invited to spring training with Pirates". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  17. ^ "Blue Jays trade Drew Hutchison to Pirates for Francisco Liriano, prospects". Sportsnet. The Canadian Press. August 1, 2016. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  18. ^ Wolf, Jason (April 16, 2019). "Bisons' Reese McGuire a defensive maestro behind the plate". The Buffalo News. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  19. ^ "Blue Jays' Reese McGuire: Returns to Double-A". CBS Sports. RotoWire. August 4, 2017. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  20. ^ Murray, Tyler (August 21, 2017). "Reese McGuire Wins Player of the Week". MiLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  21. ^ Davidi, Shi (November 20, 2017). "Jansen, Tellez among players added to Blue Jays' 40-man roster". Sportsnet. Retrieved November 20, 2017.
  22. ^ Moritz, Amy (April 12, 2018). "Reese McGuire gets first taste of spring baseball in Buffalo". buffalonews.com. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
  23. ^ "Blue Jays recall McGuire, Shafer from triple-A Buffalo". Sportsnet. September 6, 2018. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
  24. ^ "Blue Jays give John Gibbons a win in his final game in Toronto". CBC. September 26, 2018. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
  25. ^ "Blue Jays' Reese McGuire: Optioned to Triple-A". CBSSports.com. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  26. ^ "McGuire makes case for more permanent role". MLB.com. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
  27. ^ https://www.mlb.com/player/reese-mcguire-624512?stats=career-r-hitting-mlb&year=2020[bare URL]
  28. ^ a b https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2021/04/blue-jays-dfa-reese-mcguire-breyvic-valera.html
  29. ^ "Toronto Blue Jays' Triple-A Buffalo Bisons set Preliminary Roster". Boxscore World Sportswire. May 3, 2021.
  30. ^ https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2021/05/blue-jays-select-reese-mcguire-move-julian-merryweather-to-60-day-il.html
  31. ^ McLarty, Christine. "Blue Jays' Reese McGuire charged with indecency in Dunedin". Wfla.com. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  32. ^ "Blue Jays' Reese McGuire: Fined for off-field incident". CBS Sports. July 7, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2020.

External links[]

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