Zach Eflin

Position: RHP
Born: 4/8/1994
Height: 6'4
Weight: 200
B/T: R/R
Acquired: Via trade from the Dodgers on December 19, 2014, with LHP Tom Windle for SS Jimmy Rollins (PHI). Originally drafted in the first round (#33 overall) of the 2012 MLB First-Year Player Draft (SDP)

Most Recent Stats at Time of Debut
CURRENT SEASON STATS: 5-2 with a 2.90 ERA in 11 starts at Lehigh Valley (Triple-A), striking out 55 and walking 11 in 68.1 IP, allowing 49 hits and limiting opposing batters to a .199 average.

Info & MLB Debut Date
Contract purchased from Lehigh Valley June 14 when RHP Luis Garcia was sent down.
MLB Debut Date: 6/14/2016

Debut Details
June 14, in an 11-2 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays. The starting pitcher, he allowed nine runs, eight of them earned, on nine hits over two-and-two-thirds innings, walking three and striking out two. He gave up six extra-base hits, three of them homers, throwing 77 pitches overall, 48 of them for strikes. Eflin struck out the first batter he faced, Jose Bautista, but things fell apart after that. The red-hot Josh Donaldson doubled to right field and Michael Saunders drew a two-out walk to set the stage for Russell Martin’s RBI single to open the scoring. In the second inning, Kevin Pillar led things off with a homer to left field and them, with two outs, Bautista reached on an error and scored on a double by Donaldson. The Jays’ six-run third inning was highlighted by a two-run homer by Ezequiel Carrera and a grand slam by – who else? – Donaldson, followed by a double off the bat of Encarnacion, which marked the end of the day for Eflin, who was replaced by reliever Brett Oberholtzer.

Player Notes
The well-traveled Eflin had the unique honor of being traded twice in a 48-hour span in 2014 for some pretty big names. On December 18, the Padres dealt him (along with catcher Yasmani Grandal and right-hander Joe Wieland) to the Dodgers for outfielder Matt Kemp, catcher Tim Federowicz and cash. The next day, before even unpacking his virtual bags, Eflin was on the move again, this time to the Phillies in the Jimmy Rollins deal. In the four seasons since being a first-round pick out of high school, Eflin posted a career 3.41 ERA in four seasons, primarily as a starter (83 out of his 84 pro games), and was coming off a 2015 campaign at Reading (Double-A) where he went 8-6 with a 3.69 ERA in 23 starts, striking out 68 and walking 23 in 131.2 IP. After his inauspicious big league debut, Eflin was back on the mound with significantly better results on Father’s Day, allowing just two runs on four hits over 5.2 IP against the Diamondbacks. The timing of that start, while coincidentally, was certainly meaningful. Do yourself a favor and take the time to read this outstanding profile of Eflin and his dad Larry written by Tom Housenick of the Allentown Morning Call in honor of Father’s Day.