James Hoyt

Position: RHP
Born: 9/30/1986
Height: 6'5
Weight: 220
B/T: R/R
Acquired: Via trade from the Braves on January 14, 2015, along with C Evan Gattis for RHP’s Mike Foltynewicz and Andrew Thurman and 3B Rio Ruiz (HOU). Originally signed as an non-drafted free agent by Yuma of the independent North American League in May 2011.

Most Recent Stats at Time of Debut
CURRENT SEASON STATS: 4-3 with a 1.62 ERA with 28 saves in 45 games at Fresno (Triple-A), striking out 84 and walking 17 in 50 innings while allowing 26 hits.

Info & MLB Debut Date
Contract purchased from Fresno August 3 when RHP Doug Fister was placed on the Paternity List.
MLB Debut Date: 8/3/2016

Debut Details
August 3, in a 3-1 loss to the Blue Jays. The second of three pitchers, he walked one and struck out two in one scoreless hitless inning, throwing one wild pitch. Coming on to start the top of the seventh inning in relief of starter Collin McHugh, he struck out the first two big-league batters he faced, Kevin Pillar and Darwin Barney, both swinging. The next batter, Devon Travis, reached on an error by the shortstop, after which Hoyt walked Jose Bautista and then threw a wild pitch which advanced Travis to third. He was stranded there, however, when Hoyt induced a groundout to shortstop from Josh Donaldson to end the inning.

Player Notes
Hoyt, who has been nearly untouchable as the Grizzlies’ closer the first half of the season, has had one of the most unusual journeys to the majors, going undrafted out of Centenary after a rough final season there and ending up winding his way through a few independent leagues before landing in affiliated ball. He worked his way from Yuma of the North American League to its sister team in Edinburg in May 2012, before being traded “up” to Wichita of the independent American Association in June 2012. He was pitching most recently for Tabasco in the Mexican League before signing with the Braves as a minor league free agent on November 15, 2012. The Boise, Idaho, native throws a fastball in the middle 90s and a slider, and he’s pretty effective with them. In 2015 at Fresno, he posted a 3.49 ERA with nine saves in 47 games, fanning 66 and walking 11 in 49 innings, after combining between Gwinnett (Triple-A/Braves) and Mississippi (Double-A/Braves) for a 3.17 ERA in 52 games in 2014, striking out 77 while walking 24 in 59.2 IP.