Jake Cronenworth
Introduction
Jacob John Cronenworth (born January 21, 1994) is an American professional baseball shortstop and pitcher for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in the seventh round of the 2015 Major League Baseball draft.
Amateur career
Cronenworth attended St. Clair High School in St. Clair, Michigan and played college baseball at the University of Michigan. At Michigan, he was an infielder and pitcher. He served as Michigan's closer during his career. Cronenworth was drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in the seventh round of the 2015 Major League Baseball draft.
Professional career
Tampa Bay Rays
Cronenworth made his professional debut with the Hudson Valley Renegades. He played 2016 with the Bowling Green Hot Rods and Charlotte Stone Crabs (batting a combined .282/.389/.386), 2017 with Charlotte and the Montgomery Biscuits (batting a combined .274/.364/.358), and 2018 with Montgomery and Durham Bulls (batting a combined .253/.321/.345).
Cronenworth started 2019 with Durham. During the season, he pitched in a game for the first time since college, pitching 7.1 scoreless innings with 9 strikeouts over seven games. In 2019 playing for two teams in the minor leagues he batted .329/.422/.511 with 10 home runs and 45 RBIs.
He played for the United States national baseball team in the 2019 WBSC Premier 12 tournament in November 2019. In the tournament he batted .103/.133/.241 with one home run and two RBIs in 28 at bats.
Cronenworth was added to the Rays 40–man roster following the 2019 season.
San Diego Padres
On December 6, 2019, Cronenworth and Tommy Pham were traded to the San Diego Padres in exchange for Hunter Renfroe, Xavier Edwards, and a player to be named later.