Colin Poche
Colin Michael Poche is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Toros de Tijuana of the Mexican League. He has previously played in Major League Baseball for the Tampa Bay Rays, Washington Nationals, and New York Mets. He made his MLB debut in 2019.
Amateur career
Poche attended Marcus High School in Flower Mound, Texas. As a senior in 2012, he went 7–3 with a 0.21 earned run average. He was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the fifth round of the 2012 Major League Baseball draft out of high school, but did not sign and attended the University of Arkansas, where he played college baseball.In June 2014, Poche underwent Tommy John surgery and then did not pitch during 2015. After two years at Arkansas, he transferred to Dallas Baptist University. In 2016, as a redshirt junior, he pitched to a 9–1 record with a 2.38 ERA in 16 starts. After the season, he was selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 14th round of the 2016 MLB draft.
Professional career
Arizona Diamondbacks
Poche signed with Arizona and made his professional debut during the 2016 season with the Hillsboro Hops, a Low–A team, where he compiled a 1–2 record with a 3.19 ERA in 31 innings pitched. He spent 2017 with the Single–A Kane County Cougars and High–A Visalia Rawhide where he posted a combined 3–1 record and 1.25 ERA in innings pitched in relief. After the season, he pitched in the Arizona Fall League. Poche started 2018 with the Jackson Generals at the Double-A level.Tampa Bay Rays
On May 1, 2018, Poche was acquired by the Tampa Bay Rays as a player to be named later to complete the Steven Souza trade from February 2018. After three games with the Montogmery Biscuits, Poche was promoted to the Triple-A Durham Bulls of the International League. He was named to the 2018 MLB Pipeline team of the year after pitching to a 0.82 ERA in 66 innings between both levels. Poche was also named the Rays Minor League Reliever of the Year.Poche returned to Durham to begin 2019 On June 8, his contract was selected and he was called up to the major leagues for the first time. He made his MLB debut that night versus the Boston Red Sox. He went on to make a total of 51 major-league appearances during 2019, all in relief, compiling a 5–5 record with a 4.70 ERA.
On July 21, 2020, the Rays announced Poche would miss the entire abbreviated 2020 season with a torn UCL that required Tommy John surgery. On February 17, 2021, Poche was placed on the 60-day injured list as he continued to recover from surgery. He did not pitch professionally during the 2021 season. In 2022, Poche made six relief appearances with Triple-A Durham, and 64 relief appearances with Tampa Bay during the regular season.
Poche made 43 appearances for the Rays in 2024, compiling a 3.86 ERA with 33 strikeouts across innings pitched. On November 22, 2024, the Rays non–tendered Poche, making him a free agent.