Tommy Joseph

Position: 1B
Born: 7/16/1991
Height: 6'1
Weight: 255
B/T: R/R
Acquired: Via trade from the San Francisco Giants along with OF Nate Schierholtz and RHP Seth Rosin on July 11, 2012, in exchange for OF Hunter Pence (PHI). Originally drafted in the second round of the 2009 MLB First-Year Player Draft (SFG.)

Most Recent Stats at Time of Debut
CURRENT SEASON STATS: Hit .347 with six homers and 17 RBIs in 27 games at Lehigh Valley (Triple-A) with 11 runs scored, seven doubles and a .611 SLG.

Info & MLB Debut Date
Contract purchased from Lehigh Valley May 13 when 1B/LF Darin Ruf was sent down.
MLB Debut Date: 5/13/2016

Debut Details
May 13, in a 3-2 win against the Reds. The starting first baseman, he batted sixth and went 0-for-2 with a walk and a run scored before being replaced by INF Andres Blanco at first base in the top of the eighth inning. In his first big league at-bat, Joseph struck out swinging against Reds starter Brandon Finnegan. In the fourth inning, still against Finnegan, he drew a one-out walk and scored on a triple by Tyler Goeddel. In his final at-bat of the day, in the sixth inning, he struck out on a foul top against Reds reliever Steve Delabar.

Player Notes
In almost any other week, the saga of Tommy Joseph’s journey to the big leagues would be the lead story. Instead, he made his big league debut the same night as that of Matt Bush. But Joseph’s arrival is one also very much worthy of celebration. When Joseph was drafted by the Giants out of high school in the second round of 2009 he was viewed as one of the best catching prospects in the game. Tough, hard-nosed, a solid backstop and a standout hitter in an area that has become as well known for its high school baseball talent as Florida, Texas and southern California. But injuries took their toll on Joseph. Not just sore knees, and not just a broken wrist but, more seriously, a series of concussions, year after year after year, culminating in one so damaging, taken off the facemask on a foul ball, that the Phillies finally moved him to first base — maybe a career-saving move, maybe a life-saving move. Due to this series of injuries dating back over the years, Joseph had not played in more than 45 games in a season since 2012. In 2011, he’d shown what he could do with the bat when he hit .270 with 22 homers and 95 RBIs in 127 games at San Jose (High A) but since then the time spent healthy had gotten lower, the odds higher, and it was all he could do to just stay in the game and not walk away. After hitting just .193 with three homers and 18 RBIs in 45 games at Lehigh Valley in 2015, a reinvigorated (and 25 pounds lighter) Joseph returned to Allentown to start 2016 and just lit up opposing pitchers for the first month.