31 Oct

championship stuff

After laboring in Triple-A in 2021 with no big league look, Jacob Waguespack opted to head for Japan to pitch in 2022. He’ll return home as a champion. The former Ole Miss standout registered three saves, including one in Sunday’s 5-4 clincher at Jingu Stadium, to help Orix defeat Yakult 4-2-1 in the Japan Series. It was the first title for Orix since 1996, when Ichiro Suzuki was the Buffaloes’ star player. Waguespack, a 6-foot-6 right-hander, went 2-6 with a 2.97 ERA and five saves in 32 games as a reliever for Orix during the regular season. A Louisiana native, he pitched at Ole Miss from 2013-15, putting up a 3.42 ERA in 40 games, and signed with Philadelphia as a non-drafted free agent after the 2015 season. He was traded to Toronto and made his MLB debut in 2019. In 27 games over two seasons, Waguespack was 5-5, 5.08. He spent the 2021 season at Buffalo, where he had good numbers (7-2, 2.86) as a starter and reliever. He became a free agent last November and signed with Orix of Japan’s Pacific League.

27 May

starting point

After taking the road less traveled into affiliated ball – signing as an undrafted free agent out of Ole Miss in 2015 – Jacob Waguespack arrived in the majors on this date — May 27 — in 2019. The Louisiana native originally signed with Philadelphia and moved to Toronto in a trade deadline deal in 2018. Despite a somewhat wobbly launch (three hits, three runs, three strikeouts in his first inning) in his MLB debut, the 6-foot-6, 235-pound right-hander fared pretty well for Toronto during several call-ups over the course of the season. Overshadowed by fellow rookies Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette and Cavan Biggio, Waguespack went 5-5 with a 4.38 ERA working primarily as a starter for a team that limped in at 67-95. After the Blue Jays added starters Hyun-Jin Ryu, Tanner Roark and Chase Anderson in the off-season, Waguespack, now 26, was seen as a bullpen piece heading into spring training this year. Toronto could be a team on the rise, and Waguespack is positioned to ride that wave.

06 Aug

rookie tales

The impact of rookies with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2019 has been something to behold. First it was Vladimir Guerrero Jr., then Cavan Biggio and now Bo Bichette. Though he hasn’t generated the kind of buzz afforded those sons of former big leaguers, Jacob Waguespack also has had a solid debut season. The Ole Miss product picked up another win on Monday – boosted by a Bichette homer and an RBI hit by Biggio – as the Blue Jays topped Tampa Bay 2-0. Waguespack allowed just four hits and one walk in six innings, pitching in front of a bunch of family and friends assembled at Tropicana Field by an uncle who lives in the area. “Warms your heart, and it takes a village, to have those people in your corner. I’m pretty humbled,” Waguespack told the Toronto Sun. Now 3-1 with a 4.00 ERA in seven MLB appearances, Waguespack doesn’t have the legacy of those other rookies, but his story is interesting just the same. The Louisiana native was drafted out of high school (37th round, 2012) by Pittsburgh but chose to play at Ole Miss, where he had a largely unsung career. He wasn’t drafted out of UM, instead signing in June 2015 as a free agent with Philadelphia. The Phillies traded the 6-foot-6, 225-pound right-hander to Toronto last July. Though he never posted any eye-opening numbers in the minors, the Blue Jays put him on their 40-man roster last fall and called him up in May. He struck out a club rookie record seven batters in his debut. P.S. Madison Central High alum Spencer Turnbull, a rookie right-hander with Detroit, returned Monday from a stint on the injured list and worked three innings vs. the Chicago White Sox, yielding two runs but fanning seven. He wasn’t involved in the decision as the Tigers lost. Again. … Drew Pomeranz, the veteran lefty out of Ole Miss, pitched a scoreless inning for Milwaukee against Pittsburgh and got his first hold in his second Brewers appearance. Traded from San Francisco last week, Pomeranz (5.54 ERA) has strung together six straight scoreless relief outings after struggling as a starter.

28 May

‘crazy journey’

He yielded hits to three of the first five batters he faced and three runs (two earned) in his first inning, but Ole Miss product Jacob Waguespack settled in nicely from there in his big league debut on Monday. Waguespack, called up on Sunday by Toronto, pitched four innings in relief at Tampa Bay and finished with seven strikeouts, most ever by a Blue Jays rookie in his debut. He allowed just two baserunners in his last three innings. “I’ve had a pretty crazy journey here,” Waguespack, who had an entourage of friends and family at the game, told mlb.com. “It’s not expected to make it this far and I’m just thankful for their support.” The 6-foot-6 Louisiana native signed with Philadelphia as a non-drafted free agent in 2015, grinded his way up the ladder to Triple-A and then was traded to Toronto last July 31 for big leaguer Aaron Loup. Waguespack was placed on the Blue Jays’ 40-man roster in November. The 25-year-old right-hander was just 2-6, 5.86 ERA in nine starts at Triple-A Buffalo when he was recalled. His career minor league ERA is 4.07. He follows Chris Ellis, Nate Lowe and Austin Riley as Mississippi-connected players to debut in MLB in 2019. P.S. Ex-Meridian Community College star Corey Dickerson, on the injured list (shoulder) for Pittsburgh since April 4, is 2-for-13 in three games on a rehab assignment at Triple-A Indianapolis. He was placed on the 60-day IL on Monday as a procedural move.

21 Nov

roster moves

Undrafted out of Ole Miss, where he was a solid if unspectacular pitcher for three years, Jacob Waguespack now finds himself on a major league 40-man roster. The 6-foot-6, 225-pound right-hander was added to Toronto’s protected roster on Tuesday and will go to the team’s big league camp for spring training. He might even contend for a spot in the Blue Jays’ rotation. Waguespack, who signed with Philadelphia as a free agent in 2015, was traded to Toronto last summer for Aaron Loup. His numbers at Triple-A Buffalo weren’t great — 2-4, 5.03 ERA — but the Jays apparently are impressed with his stuff. Over his four years in pro ball, during which he has worked as both a reliever and starter, Waguespack is 19-20 with a 3.84 ERA. He put up a 3.44 ERA in 40 games over three years in Oxford. … In other recent roster moves, former Harrison Central High star Bobby Bradley was added to Cleveland’s 40-man and ex-George County standout Justin Steele made the Chicago Cubs’ protected roster. Braxton Lee, a Pearl River Community College and Ole Miss alum from Picayune, was removed from Miami’s 40-man and designated for assignment. He had a roller-coaster 2018 campaign that started in the big leagues.