Jacob deGrom


Jacob Anthony deGrom is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball. He has previously played in MLB for the New York Mets.
DeGrom began playing baseball as a shortstop and was converted into a pitcher during his junior year at Stetson University. The Mets selected him in the ninth round of the 2010 MLB draft and he made his major league debut with them on May 15, 2014. That same year, deGrom was named the National League's Rookie of the Month twice, and the NL Rookie of the Year. In 2015, 2018, 2019, and 2021 deGrom was selected as an MLB All-Star. In 2018, deGrom was the NL leader in earned run average and won the Cy Young Award. In 2019, he led the NL in strikeouts and won the Cy Young Award for the second year in a row. In 2020, he again led the National League in strikeouts. DeGrom signed with the Rangers on a five-year deal in 2023 and was named an All-Star again in 2025.
As of the 2025 season, deGrom has the lowest career WHIP and the second lowest earned run average of any starting pitcher in the live-ball era.

Early life

Jacob Anthony deGrom was born on June 19, 1988, in DeLand, Florida. DeGrom attended Calvary Christian Academy, a small school in Ormond Beach, Florida, where he played for the school's baseball and basketball teams. As a basketball player, he was voted the District 9 Class 1A player of the year by the Florida Athletic Coaches Association and selected to the all-state third team for Class 1A.
As a senior baseball player the Florida Sports Writers Association named deGrom to the All-Florida second team. He also played American Legion Baseball, where he was noticed by the coaches for the Stetson Hatters, the college baseball team of Stetson University.

College career

After not being selected in the Major League Baseball draft out of high school, deGrom enrolled at Stetson and played for the Hatters. He was exclusively a shortstop during his freshman and sophomore seasons. Though he was considered a good fielder with a strong throwing arm, deGrom was a light hitter with a career.263 batting average. He made his first appearance as a pitcher in May 2009. In the summer of 2009, between his sophomore and junior years, deGrom pitched collegiate summer baseball for the DeLand Suns of the Florida Collegiate Summer League. He initially made 5 pitching appearances, allowing 0 earned runs and struck out 6 batters across 6.1 innings. However, his time with the Suns was interrupted due to a dispute as to what position he would play. "Well, then I’m not gonna play then if I don’t play shortstop," stated deGrom to the Suns' manager, Davey Johnson.
When deGrom returned to Stetson that fall, the team used him as a relief pitcher, filling the role of their closer, in addition to playing shortstop. He quickly became one of Stetson's best pitchers, so the team moved deGrom into their starting rotation midway through the season. In addition to a fastball, deGrom learned to throw a changeup and a slider. Major league scouts began to take notice of deGrom when he pitched against Chris Sale of Florida Gulf Coast University. In the game, deGrom hit his only home run of the season against Sale. He made 12 starts for the Hatters, pitching to a 4–5 win–loss record with a 4.48 earned run average.

Professional career

Draft and minor leagues

The New York Mets selected deGrom in the ninth round as a pitcher, with the 272nd overall selection, of the 2010 Major League Baseball draft. He signed with the Mets, receiving a $95,000 signing bonus. The Mets assigned deGrom to the Kingsport Mets of the rookie-level Appalachian League where he made six starts before he was diagnosed with a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow. He attempted to rehabilitate his arm for four months but underwent Tommy John surgery to repair the UCL in October. He did not pitch in 2011 while he recovered from the surgery. While rehabilitating, deGrom worked on his changeup with Johan Santana.
DeGrom pitched for the Savannah Sand Gnats of the Class A South Atlantic League and the St. Lucie Mets of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League in 2012, finishing the year with a 2.43 ERA in 19 games started. In 2013, he began the season with St. Lucie, but was promoted to the Binghamton Mets of the Class AA Eastern League after two starts due to injuries to Binghamton's Luis Mateo and Cory Mazzoni. He received a promotion to the Las Vegas 51s of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League in June after the Mets promoted Zack Wheeler and Carlos Torres to the major leagues and traded Collin McHugh. He had a combined 4.51 ERA for the season, due to a broken finger suffered during the offseason, which altered the way he threw the ball.
The Mets added deGrom to their 40-man roster on November 20, 2013, to protect him from being eligible in the Rule 5 draft. During the offseason, deGrom improved his mechanics, and learned to throw a curveball. He began the 2014 season with Las Vegas and had a 4–0 win–loss record and a 2.58 ERA in his first seven games started.

New York Mets (2014–2022)

2014

The Mets promoted deGrom to the major leagues on May 12, 2014, after Gonzalez Germen was placed on the disabled list. The Mets planned to use deGrom in relief, but an injury to Dillon Gee required the Mets to insert him into their starting rotation. DeGrom made his major league debut on May 15 against their cross-town rival New York Yankees at Citi Field. He faced fellow rookie Chase Whitley, also making his major league debut. He pitched seven innings, allowing only one run and striking out six, but the Yankees shut out the Mets and won 1–0. DeGrom also collected his first major league hit in the game in his first career at-bat. It was the first hit by a Mets pitcher in the 2014 season ending an 0-for-64 hitless streak, the worst collective mark by a pitching staff to begin a season in major league history.
DeGrom compiled four quality starts in his first four major league starts, but did not record a win in any of them. On July 8, deGrom pitched seven scoreless innings and recorded 11 strikeouts in giving the Mets their 4,000th franchise victory. Along with Steve Cishek of the Miami Marlins, deGrom was named the National League's Co-Player of the Week for July 21 to 27 after allowing only one earned run in two starts that week. He was also named the NL Rookie of the Month for July. On August 11, deGrom was placed on the disabled list with rotator cuff tendinitis. Rafael Montero was called up on August 12 in deGrom's place. On August 23, Montero was re-sent back to the 51s to make room for deGrom coming off the disabled list.
On September 15, deGrom faced the Marlins and struck out his first eight batters, tying the major league record. Near the end of the season, deGrom was shut down for the year, ending his season with a 9–6 record, a 2.69 ERA, and 144 strikeouts. DeGrom collected a second Rookie of the Month award for his September performance, and, after the regular season ended, he was named the 2014 Sporting News Rookie of the Year by the Baseball Writers' Association of America, receiving first place votes on 26 of the 30 ballots. He was the first Met to receive the honor since Dwight Gooden in 1984.

2015

DeGrom and Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers were selected as NL Co-Players of the Week for the week ending June 7, 2015. He began the 2015 season with an 8–6 win–loss record and a 2.30 ERA through the end of June, and was named to the NL roster in the 2015 MLB All-Star Game. During the All-Star Game, deGrom struck out the three batters he faced on ten pitches, becoming the first person to do so since pitch counts were recorded. DeGrom pitched to a 14–8 record with a 2.54 ERA and a 0.99 walks plus hits per inning pitched ratio during the 2015 season.
Starting Game 1 of the 2015 National League Division Series, he allowed no runs and five hits over seven innings pitched and tied a Mets franchise postseason record with 13 strikeouts. DeGrom won the deciding Game 5 with a six-inning, two-run effort. In Game 3 of the 2015 NLCS against the Chicago Cubs, deGrom pitched seven-inning game, allowing just two runs on four hits, one walk and seven strikeouts, putting the Mets ahead 3–0 and within one game of their first World Series appearance since 2000. DeGrom started Game 2 of the 2015 World Series on October 28; he allowed four runs on six hits and three walks over five innings and took the loss as the Royals went up 2–0 in the series.
Following the season, deGrom received a Wilson Defensive Player of the Year Award as the best defensive player statistically at his position in MLB. He also placed seventh in Cy Young Award voting.

2016

DeGrom initially refused to sign the 2016 contract for the $607,000 salary assigned to him. Not yet eligible for salary arbitration, deGrom was bound by the MLB collective bargaining agreement to accept the salary assigned to him by his club. He relented and reluctantly capitulated to signing his contract early in spring training.
On July 17 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, deGrom pitched a shutout against the Philadelphia Phillies, allowing only one hit and one walk while striking out seven batters. His game score of 97 was tied for second-best in Mets history in a nine-inning game. DeGrom's final pitching appearance of the season came on September 1, when he faced the Miami Marlins. He underwent season-ending surgery on his ulnar nerve in late September in order to relieve discomfort in his elbow and numbness in his fingers which had plagued him during the 2016 season.

2017

Eligible for salary arbitration for the first time, deGrom and the Mets avoided an arbitration hearing by agreeing to a salary of $4.05 million for the 2017 season.
On June 18, 2017, deGrom hit his first major league home run at Citi Field against Joe Ross of the Washington Nationals. DeGrom was named NL Player of the Week for the week of June 12–18 after hitting his first home run, posting a 0.53 ERA, allowing eight hits, striking out 12 and walking six in 17 innings over two starts. He recorded wins in eight consecutive starts from June 12 until July 24, tying a franchise record previously set by Seaver, David Cone and Bobby Jones. DeGrom had the first stolen base of his career on August 4 off of Yu Darvish and Yasmani Grandal of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He became the first Mets pitcher to steal a base since Óliver Pérez in 2008.
Of the seven potential starting pitchers who began the season with the Mets, deGrom was the only one who finished the 2017 season without spending any time on the disabled list. DeGrom finished the season with a record of 15–10 and a 3.53 ERA. He finished eighth in voting for the 2017 NL Cy Young Award.