Matt Whatley (baseball)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Matt Whatley | |
|---|---|
| Free agent | |
| Catcher | |
| Born: (1996-01-07) January 7, 1996 (age 29) Claremore, Oklahoma, U.S. | |
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |
Matthew Whatley (born January 7, 1996) is an American professional baseball catcher who is a free agent.
Whatley attended Claremore High School in Claremore, Oklahoma. He received one offer to play college baseball in NCAA Division I, from Oral Roberts University.[1] He played for the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles.[2][3] In 2016, he played collegiate summer baseball in the Cape Cod Baseball League for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox.[4] In 2017, he won the Johnny Bench Award.[5][6]
Professional career
Texas Rangers
The Texas Rangers drafted Whatley in the third round, with the 104th overall selection, of the 2017 Major League Baseball draft.[7] He signed with the Rangers, receiving a $517,100 signing bonus.[8]
Whatley spent 2017 with both the rookie-level Arizona League Rangers and Low-A Spokane Indians, posting a combined .295 batting average with six home runs and 28 RBI in 44 games between the two affiliates.[9] Whatley began the 2018 season with the Down East Wood Ducks of the High-A Carolina League[10] and was reassigned to the Hickory Crawdads of the Single-A South Atlantic League at the end of the season. In 52 games between both teams, Whatley hit .179 with three home runs and 14 RBI.[11]
Whatley was assigned back to Hickory for the 2019 season,[12] hitting .234/.349./321 with four home runs, 49 RBI, and 29 stolen bases.[13][14] Whatley played in the Arizona Fall League for the Surprise Saguaros following the 2019 season.[15] Whatley was named the Texas Rangers 2019 Minor League Defender of the Year.[16] Whatley did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the Minor League Baseball season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[17]
Whatley spent the 2021 season with the Frisco RoughRiders of the Double-A Central, hitting .203/.316/.282 with four home runs and 14 RBI.[11] He split the 2022 season between Frisco and the Round Rock Express of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League, hitting a combined .228/.287/.328 with four home runs and 16 RBI.[18] In 70 games for Round Rock in 2023, he batted .203/.290/.322 with six home runs, 25 RBI, and five stolen bases. Whatley elected free agency following the season on November 6, 2023.[19]
On November 27, 2023, Whatley re-signed with the Rangers organization on a minor league contract.[20] He spent 2024 with Triple-A Round Rock, he played in 50 games and hit .199/.295/.319 with five home runs, 15 RBI, and four stolen bases. Whatley elected free agency following the season on November 4, 2024.[21]
Toronto Blue Jays
On February 5, 2025, Whatley signed a minor league contract with the Toronto Blue Jays that included an invitation to spring training.[22] He did not make an appearance for the organization before being released by Toronto on May 2.[23]
References
- ↑ Paul Suellentrop (February 1, 2017). "Oral Roberts, Long Beach State, Louisiana Tech catchers candidates for Johnny Bench Award". The Wichita Eagle. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
- ↑ Mike Brown (June 12, 2017). "MLB Draft: ORU, former Zebras catcher Matt Whatley seems bound for next level". Tulsa World. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
- ↑ Rick Heaton (May 19, 2017). "The time has come for Matt Whatley". Claremore Daily Progress. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
- ↑ "Matthew Whatley". pointstreak.com. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
- ↑ Staff Report (June 5, 2017). "ORU catcher Matt Whatley a finalist for Johnny Bench Award". Tulsa World. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
- ↑ Chase Shannon (June 29, 2017). "ORU's Whatley wins Johnny Bench Award". KAKE. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
- ↑ T.R. Sullivan (January 20, 2016). "Rangers select Matt Whatley in third round". MLB.com. Archived from the original on June 13, 2017. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
- ↑ Sam Butler (January 20, 2016). "Rangers sign eight more Draft picks". MLB.com. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
- ↑ "Matt Whatley Stats, Highlights, Bio". MiLB.com. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
- ↑ Rick Heaton (May 24, 2018). "Year two underway for Whatley, Howe, Battenfield". Claremore Daily Progress. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
- 1 2 "Matt Whatley Stats, Highlights, Bio". MiLB.com. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
- ↑ Ashley Salinas (March 27, 2019). "Crawdads Announce Opening Night Roster". MiLB.com. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
- ↑ Jim Callis (October 3, 2019). "Whatley using hot start in AFL as proving ground". MLB.com. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
- ↑ Mark Parker (September 8, 2019). "Crawdads to tangle with Legends for SAL championship". Hickory Daily Record. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
- ↑ Jim Callis, Jonathan Mayo and Mike Rosenbaum (August 28, 2019). "Arizona Fall League rosters revealed". MLB.com. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
- ↑ John Blake (September 27, 2019). "Rangers announce 2019 Minor League Award winners". MLB.com. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
- ↑ "2020 Minor League Baseball season cancelled". mlb.com. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
- ↑ World, Barry Lewis Tulsa (April 9, 2022). "Barry Lewis: Top prospects, experience lead to high expectations for Drillers". Tulsa World.
- ↑ "2023 MiLB Free Agents". baseballamerica.com. 8 November 2023. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
- ↑ "Transactions". MiLB.com.
- ↑ "Minor League Free Agents 2024". baseballamerica.com. 6 November 2024. Retrieved February 7, 2025.
- ↑ "Blue Jays invite Andrew Bash and two others to Spring Training". bluejaysnation.com. Retrieved February 7, 2025.
- ↑ https://www.milb.com/transactions/2025-05-02
External links
- Career statistics from MLB · ESPN · Baseball Reference (Minors)
- Oral Roberts Golden Eagles bio
- Matt Whatley on Twitter
|