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Chris Stratton

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Chris Stratton
Stratton pitching for the San Francisco Giants
Los Angeles Dodgers – No. 41
Pitcher
Born: (1990-08-22) August 22, 1990 (age 34)
Tupelo, Mississippi, U.S.
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
MLB debut
May 30, 2016, for the San Francisco Giants
MLB statistics
(through May 16, 2025)
Win–loss record41–27
Earned run average4.63
Strikeouts564
Saves16
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Christopher Lee Stratton (born August 22, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Angels, Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals, Texas Rangers, and Kansas City Royals.

Early life

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Christopher Lee Stratton was born on August 22, 1990, in Tupelo, Mississippi. Stratton graduated from Tupelo High School, in Tupelo, Mississippi.

College career

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He then attended Mississippi State University from 2010 to 2012. In 2011, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[1] As a senior, he was a consensus All-American after going 11–2 with a 2.38 earned run average (ERA) and 127 strikeouts.[2] He was also the Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Year.[3] He also won the C Spire Ferriss Trophy as Mississippi's top collegiate baseball player.[4]

Professional career

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San Francisco Giants

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Minor leagues

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The San Francisco Giants selected Stratton in the first round of the 2012 Major League Baseball draft.[5] He was assigned to the Class–A Salem-Keizer Volcanoes to begin his professional career. In August of that year, he was hospitalized after a line drive struck him in the head during batting practice.[6] A severe concussion from that event ended his season[7] after only eight appearances, where he had a 3.31 ERA.[8]

Before the 2013 season, Baseball America ranked Stratton as the Giants' third best prospect.[9] He played for the Augusta GreenJackets of the South Atlantic League, pitching to a 9–3 record, 3.27 ERA and striking out 123 in 22 starts[8] and making the midseason all-star team.[7] In 2014, he began the season with the San Jose Giants of the California League before being promoted to the Double–A Richmond Flying Squirrels on July 29.[7] Between the two levels, he was 8–9 with a 4.78 ERA and 120 strikeouts in 24 games.[8]

Stratton was a non-roster invitee to major league spring training in 2015 and after beginning the season with Richmond he was promoted to the Triple–A Sacramento River Cats.[7] Between the two levels, he was 5–10 with a 3.95 ERA in 26 starts with 111 strikeouts.[8] The Giants added him to their 40-man roster after the season.[10] In 2016 with Sacramento he made 17 starts with a 12–6 record and 4.08 ERA.[8]

Major leagues

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Stratton was called up from Sacramento to the major leagues on May 28, 2016, to replace the injured Matt Cain.[11] Despite being primarily a starter in the minors, the Giants added him to their bullpen and he made his major league debut against the Atlanta Braves on May 30, pitching a scoreless bottom of the eighth inning and recording two strikeouts (his first being of Nick Markakis) while retiring all three batters he faced.[12] On June 11, he was credited with his first major league win as he pitched the top of the 10th inning in the Giants victory against the Los Angeles Dodgers.[13] On June 13 he was sent down again when Cain returned from the DL,[14] but was recalled the following day when Cain was put back on the DL with a re-injured hamstring.[15] Stratton pitched in seven games for the Giants with a 1–0 record and a 3.60 ERA.[16]

In 2017, Stratton split his season between the Giants and the River Cats, making 15 starts in the minors with a 4–5 record and 5.11 ERA[8] and 13 appearances (10 starts) for the Giants, with a 4–4 record and 3.84 ERA.[16] His first major league start was on July 6 against the Detroit Tigers, allowing five runs in 6+2⁄3 innings.[17]

Stratton made the Giants opening day roster for the 2018 season.[18] On September 14, he threw his first MLB complete game against the Colorado Rockies, winning by a score of 2–0. It was his 10th win of the season, making him the Giants’ first pitcher to reach double-digit victories since 2016. It was also the first complete game of the season for the Giants, and the first shutout for the team in over a year.[19] Stratton finished the 2018 season with a 10–10 record, 5.09 ERA and 112 strikeouts in 145 innings over 28 appearances (26 starts).[16]

Los Angeles Angels

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On March 26, 2019, Stratton was traded to the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for Williams Jerez.[20] In seven appearances (five starts) for Los Angeles, he struggled to an 0-2 record and 8.59 ERA with 22 strikeouts across 29+1⁄3 innings pitched.[16] He was designated for assignment on May 7.[21]

Pittsburgh Pirates

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On May 11, 2019, the Angels traded Stratton to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for cash considerations.[22] In 46+2⁄3 innings with the Pirates, Stratton pitched a 3.66 ERA with a 9.1 K/9 rate and 1.39 WHIP.[23] In 2020, Stratton recorded a 3.90 ERA with 39 strikeouts and a career-high 11.9 K/9 rate in 30 innings of work.[24] In 2021, Stratton led the Pirates with seven wins and recorded a 3.63 ERA with 86 strikeouts over 79+1⁄3 innings.[16]

St. Louis Cardinals

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On August 1, 2022, the Pirates traded Stratton and José Quintana to the St. Louis Cardinals for Malcom Núñez and Johan Oviedo.[25] Stratton recorded 60 strikeouts with an 8.5 K/9 and a 4.26 ERA in his 2022 season, and went 5–0 with the Cardinals after recording a 5–4 record with the Pirates.[16]

Texas Rangers

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On July 30, 2023, the Cardinals traded Stratton and Jordan Montgomery to the Texas Rangers in exchange for John King, Tekoah Roby, and Thomas Saggese.[26] In 22 appearances for Texas, Stratton recorded a 3.41 ERA with 22 strikeouts over 29 innings of work.[16] He also pitched in the postseason for the first time in his career, allowing two runs on two hits in 2+2⁄3 innings in the 2023 American League Championship Series against the Houston Astros and two runs on two hits in 1+1⁄3 innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2023 World Series.[16] The Rangers won the World Series, and Stratton got his first championship ring.[27]

Kansas City Royals

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On December 15, 2023, Stratton signed a one-year, major league contract with the Kansas City Royals.[28] He made 57 appearances out of the bullpen in 2024, compiling a 4-3 record and 5.55 ERA with 44 strikeouts and four saves across 58+1⁄3 innings pitched.[16] On October 31, 2024, Stratton exercised a player option for 2025 with the Royals.[29]

Stratton made 12 appearances for the Royals in 2025, and struggled to a 7.94 ERA with 16 strikeouts across 17 innings pitched.[16] On May 18, 2025, he was designated for assignment by Kansas City[30] and was released on May 22.[31]

Los Angeles Dodgers

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On May 25, 2025, Stratton signed a major league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.[32]

References

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  1. ^ "#10 Chris Stratton". Pointstreak. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  2. ^ "Chris Stratton: MSU's First Consensus All-American Since 1985". Hail State. June 29, 2012. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
  3. ^ Herndon, Mike (May 29, 2012). "Mississippi State's Chris Stratton named SEC pitcher of the year". Gulf Live. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
  4. ^ "C Spire Ferriss Trophy…through the years". MS Fame. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
  5. ^ "Giants sign first-round pick Chris Stratton". Mlb.mlb.com. June 12, 2012. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  6. ^ "2012 first-rounder Chris Stratton hospitalized after being hit by liner". Hardballtalk.nbcsports.com. August 22, 2012. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
  7. ^ a b c d "Chris Stratton bio". mlb.com. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  8. ^ a b c d e f "Chris Stratton Amateur, College & Minor League Statistics". Baseball Reference. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  9. ^ Baggarly, Andy (January 30, 2013). "Baseball America Giants top 2013 prospects". Baseballamerica.com. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
  10. ^ Haft, Chris (November 20, 2015). "Giants add eight pitchers to 40-man roster". MLB.com. Archived from the original on November 21, 2015. Retrieved November 21, 2015.
  11. ^ "Giants place right-hander Matt Cain, who had been placed on the 15-day disabled list". ESPN.com. May 28, 2016. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
  12. ^ Schulman, Henry (May 30, 2016). "Giants' Chris Stratton impresses with scoreless inning in debut". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
  13. ^ Chiarelli, Mark. "Stratton hangs tough after HR, earns 1st win". MLB.com. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
  14. ^ Schulman, Henry. "Giants add an infielder for depth, Cain's return, Braun rumors and lineup". Sfgate. Retrieved June 14, 2016.
  15. ^ "Giants put Matt Cain back on DL with same hamstring suffered another hamstring strain". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 14, 2016.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Chris Stratton STatistics". Baseball Reference. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  17. ^ "Chris Stratton 2017 Pitching Gamelogs". Baseball Reference. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  18. ^ "Giants set 2018 Opening Day roster". mlb.com. March 29, 2018. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  19. ^ Kroner, Steve (September 14, 2018). "Chris Stratton's complete game beats Rockies; Giants end losing streak". San Francisco Chronicle.
  20. ^ Pavlovic, Alex (March 26, 2019). "Chris Stratton traded by Giants to Angels for reliever Williams Jerez". NBC Sports Bay Area. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
  21. ^ RotoWire Staff (May 7, 2019). "Angels' Chris Stratton: Removed from roster". CBS Sports. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
  22. ^ "Pirates Acquire Right-Handed Pitcher Chris Stratton From Angels". CBS Pittsburgh. May 11, 2019. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
  23. ^ ago, Stephen Strosko 7 months (September 21, 2020). "Pittsburgh Pirates: Chris Stratton's Place in the Future of the Bullpen".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  24. ^ "Amid bullpen turnover, Pirates' Chris Stratton attempts to expand on last season". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  25. ^ Denton, John. "Cards add SP depth with deal for Quintana". MLB.com.
  26. ^ Passan, Jeff (July 30, 2023). "Rangers trade for Cardinals' Jordan Montgomery, Chris Stratton". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  27. ^ Castrovince, Anthony (November 1, 2023). "Rangers claim 1st World Series title, 52 years in the making". mlb.com. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  28. ^ "Royals continue busy offseason, sign Stratton to one-year deal". MLB.com.
  29. ^ "Hunter Renfroe, Chris Stratton Exercise Player Options". MLB Trade Rumors. October 31, 2024.
  30. ^ "Royals Designate Chris Stratton For Assignment". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved May 18, 2025.
  31. ^ "Chris Stratton: Released by Royals". cbssports.com. Retrieved May 23, 2025.
  32. ^ "Dodgers Sign Chris Stratton". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
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