Sean Hjelle

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Sean Hjelle
San Francisco Giants – No. 21
Pitcher
Born: (1997-05-07) May 7, 1997 (age 24)
Fridley, Minnesota
Bats: Right
Throws: Right

Sean Anthony Hjelle (pronounced “Jelly”;[1] born May 7, 1997) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the San Francisco Giants organization. The Giants selected Hjelle in the second round of the 2018 Major League Baseball draft. He is listed at 6 feet 11 inches (2.11 m) tall.[1][2] If Hjelle makes it to the major leagues, he will tie former pitcher Jon Rauch as the tallest major leaguer ever.

Amateur career[]

Hjelle attended Mahtomedi High School in Mahtomedi, Minnesota, where he played baseball and basketball.[3] In baseball as a pitcher, he threw a two-seam fastball, a four-seam fastball, a changeup, and a cutter.

Hjelle was not drafted out of high school, and enrolled at the University of Kentucky to play college baseball for the Kentucky Wildcats.[4] He was a secondary social studies education major, and graduated during 2020.

In 2017, as a sophomore at Kentucky, Hjelle was named the Southeastern Conference's Pitcher of the Year after going 9–2 with a 3.17 earned run average (ERA) in the regular season, including a 7–1 record and a 1.90 ERA in SEC games.[5] As a junior in 2018, he appeared in 15 games (14 starts), compiling a 7–5 record with a 3.44 ERA.[6]

Professional career[]

The San Francisco Giants selected Hjelle in the second round, with the 45th overall selection, of the 2018 MLB draft.[7] He signed for a $1.5 million signing bonus.[8] He made his professional debut with the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes.[9] Hjelle spent the whole season with Salem-Keizer, compiling a 5.06 ERA in 12 starts.[10]

Hjelle began the 2019 season with the Augusta GreenJackets of the Class A South Atlantic League, and was their Opening Day starter.[11] He was promoted to the Class A-Advanced San Jose Giants in May.[12] In August, the Giants promoted Hjelle to the Richmond Flying Squirrels of the Class AA Eastern League,[13] with whom he finished the year. Over 28 starts between the three clubs, Hjelle went 7–9 with a 3.32 ERA.[14]

After the 2021 season, the Giants added Hjelle to their 40-man roster.[15]

References[]

  1. ^ Rule, Heather (July 12, 2015). "Kentucky-bound Hjelle long on pitching prowess". startribune.com. Star Tribune. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  2. ^ Law, Keith (April 7, 2018). "Law: Kentucky's Sean Hjelle could be standing tall on first day of draft". ESPN.com. ESPN. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  3. ^ Mizutani, Dane (January 18, 2015). "Mahtomedi's Sean Hjelle brings skill, height to Kentucky … for baseball". twincities.com. St. Paul Pioneer Press. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  4. ^ Frederick, Jace (June 9, 2015). "Mahtomedi's Sean Hjelle is Pioneer Press East Metro baseball player of the year". twincities.com. St. Paul Pioneer Press. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  5. ^ Frederick, Jace (May 23, 2017). "Mahtomedi grad Sean Hjelle named SEC Pitcher of Year at Kentucky". twincities.com. St. Paul Pioneer Press. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  6. ^ Hale, Jon (June 3, 2018). "Two Kentucky baseball players could be picked on Day 1 of MLB draft". usatoday.com. USA Today. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  7. ^ Pavlovic, Alex (June 4, 2018). "Giants Take 6-foot-11 Pitcher Sean Hjelle No. 45 Overall in 2018 MLB Draft". nbcbayarea.com. NBC Bay Area. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  8. ^ Schulman, Henry (June 17, 2018). "Giants' Buster Posey 'needs a break,' gets another day off against Dodgers". sfgate.com. San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
  9. ^ Koch, Drew (July 16, 2018). "How are the Kentucky Baseball draftees doing so far?". aseaofblue.com. SB Nation. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
  10. ^ "Sean Hjelle Stats, Highlights, Bio". MiLB.com. Minor League Baseball. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  11. ^ Cheney, Will (April 3, 2019). "GreenJackets open season Thursday at Asheville". augustachronicle.com. Augusta, Georgia: The Augusta Chronicle. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
  12. ^ Cunningham, Kevin J. (May 27, 2019). "The SF Giants Prospect Roundup: Two Big Promotions". mccoveychronicles.com. SB Nation. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  13. ^ Dykstra, Sam (August 8, 2019). "San Francisco Giants Promote Joey Bart, Heliot, Ramos to Double-A Richmond". MiLB.com. Minor League Baseball. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  14. ^ "Sean Hjelle's velocity and other stats to track for Giants prospects in 2021".
  15. ^ "Giants add top prospects Ramos, Hjelle to 40-man roster".

External links[]

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