Joseph Musgrove

Position: RHP
Born: 12/4/1992
Height: 6'5
Weight: 255
B/T: R/R
Acquired: Via trade from the Blue Jays on July 20, 2012, with Ps Francisco Cordero, Asher Wojciechowski and David Rollins, OF Ben Francisco and C Carlos Perez for Ps Brandon Lyon, David Carpenter and J.A. Happ (HOU). Originally drafted in the supplemental first round (#46 overall) of the 2011 MLB First-Year Player Draft (TOR).

Most Recent Stats at Time of Debut
CURRENT SEASON STATS: 7-4 with a 2.74 ERA in 16 games, 14 of them starts, between Corpus Christi (Double-A) and Fresno (Triple-A), striking out 87 while walking 10 in 85.1 IP, allowing 79 hits.

Info & MLB Debut Date
Recalled from Fresno August 1 to take the roster spot of RHP Scott Feldman, who was traded to the Blue Jays for RHP Guadalupe Chavez.
MLB Debut Date: 8/2/2016

Debut Details
August 2, in a 2-1 loss to the Blue Jays. The second of two pitchers, he tossed 4.1 innings of shutout, one-hit ball, walking one while striking out eight. Coming on with two outs in the fifth inning and one batter, Jose Bautista, at second base when starting pitcher Lance McCullers had to leave the game with an injured elbow, Musgrove proceeded to strike out Edwin Encarnacion swinging to end the threat. He then retired the next nine batters in order, including striking out the side in the seventh. The only two baserunners he allowed reached in the ninth, when Michael Saunders led off by drawing a walk and then, with two outs, Melvin Upton Jr. singled to left field for the lone hit. However, Josh Thole struck out for the second time against Musgrove to end the game.

Player Notes
Musgrove’s eye-opening K:BB ratio ratio this season is not far off of what he’s done during his career thus far. In 2015, he combined between three stops at Quad Cities (Class A), Lancaster (High A) and Corpus Christi (Double-A) to go 12-1 with a 1.88 ERA in 19 games, 14 of them starts, striking out 99 batters in 100.2 IP while walking eight (and no, that is not a typo). Though he missed substantial time in 2012 (rotator cuff) and 2013 (sprained UCL), he’s more than made up for it since. He throws a plus fastball which he offsets with a slider and changeup and his MLB debut was one of the best anyone has posted thus far in 2016.

2080 Notes
Musgrove was ranked at No. 62 on 2080 Baseball’s Top 125 Preseason Prospect Ranking List, where we had this to say about him: “Musgrove is an advanced pitcher with four average-or-better pitches and impressive command. He showed it at three levels in 2015 and will make a strong case for major league innings in 2016.” You can also read more about Musgrove in our Prospect Spotlight here.