Wikipedia

Cody Bolton

Carl Donovan "Cody" Bolton (born June 19, 1998) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2023 for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Cody Bolton
Bolton with the Indianapolis Indians in 2022
Seattle Mariners – No. 67
Pitcher
Born: (1998-06-19) June 19, 1998 (age 26)
Richmond, Virginia, U.S.
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
MLB debut
April 29, 2023, for the Pittsburgh Pirates
MLB statistics
(through 2024 season)
Win–loss record1–0
Earned run average5.40
Strikeouts39
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams

Amateur career

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Bolton attended Tracy High School in Tracy, California.[1] As a senior in 2017, he went 9–2 with a 1.13 ERA, striking out 97 batters in 68 innings and was named league MVP.[2][3][4] In high school, he was 24–6 with a 1.42 ERA, helping the Bulldogs win two league titles and two division titles.[5] He committed to play college baseball at the University of Michigan and ranked as one of the top 120 high school prospects by Perfect Game.[6]

Professional career

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Pittsburgh Pirates

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The Pittsburgh Pirates drafted Bolton in the sixth round of the 2017 Major League Baseball draft.[5][7] He signed with the team, receiving a $300,000 bonus and forgoing his college commitment.[8]

Bolton made his professional debut with the Rookie-level Gulf Coast Pirates. In nine starts, he pitched to a 3.16 ERA. Bolton spent 2018 with the West Virginia Power of the Single-A South Atlantic League, going 3–3 with a 3.65 ERA in nine starts. He began 2019 with the Bradenton Marauders of the High-A Florida State League, where he was named Pitcher of the Week on May 13 and later an All-Star.[9][10][11][12] He was promoted to the Altoona Curve of the Double-A Eastern League in June.[13][14] Over 21 starts between the two clubs, Bolton went 8–6 with a 3.28 ERA, striking out 102 over 101+2⁄3 innings.[15]

Bolton was one of the Pirates top 10 prospects entering 2020 and 2021[8] but he was unable to pitch competitively in either year. The 2020 minor league season was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[16] Bolton began the 2021 season on the injured list with a knee injury and underwent surgery on his meniscus in May, forcing him to miss the whole season.[17][18]

Bolton was the Opening Night started for the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians in 2022.[19][20] He went 4-2 with a 3.09 ERA and 82 strikeouts over 75+2⁄3 innings with Indianapolis.[21] Bolton's usage changed after recovering from his knee injury. While he made 14 starts out of his 30 appearances in 2022, he never pitched more than 5 innings in an outing and did not throw more than 60 innings after June. Beginning in 2023, Bolton was a full-time reliever, occasionally making short starts as an opener.[22] Bolton began 2023 back in Indianapolis, where he made 8 relief appearances and posted a 2.38 ERA with 14 strikeouts in 11.1 innings pitched.[23]

On April 26, 2023, Bolton was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time.[24] He debuted on April 29, pitching two scoreless innings against the Washington Nationals in the second game of a doubleheader.[25] Bolton with the Pirates in seven different stints in 2023, frequently getting sent down to Triple-A.[23] He made 16 appearances for the Pirates during his rookie campaign, but struggled to a 6.33 ERA with 22 strikeouts across 21+1⁄3 innings of work.[26] Bolton's fastball had above average velocity at 95.2 miles per hour, but batters had a .378 batting average against his fastball.[27]

Seattle Mariners

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On November 2, 2023, Bolton was traded to the Seattle Mariners for cash considerations.[28] Bolton pitched on Opening Day for the Mariners in 2024, allowing a run in two innings, but he could not keep his spot on the roster.[29] He was placed on the injured list on April 8,[30] returning to the Mariners on April 21 and pitching in 11 games over the next month. He was sent down to the Tacoma Rainiers on May 23. He returned to the Mariners in June,[31] pitching in two games before staying in Triple-A for the rest of the season.[29] With the Mariners, Bolton had no decisions and a 4.34 ERA in 18+2⁄3 innings. In Tacoma, he was 1–2 with 2 saves and a 3.07 ERA in 33 games.[32] Bolton replaced his four-seam fastball for with a cutter and a sinker than had more movement but less velocity and caused more batters to swing and miss.[27]

Personal life

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Bolton's father, Scott, is a Baptist pastor and his mother, Jennifer, has been active in church activities. Bolton has two sisters, Kaitlyn and Autumn.[33] The Bolton family moved from Virginia, where Cody was born, to California in 2007.[2] His family was in attendance at his MLB debut in 2023.[18]

Bolton played quarterback and wide receiver in football as a child before committing to baseball as a 14-year-old.[2]

While in high school, Bolton said his favorite baseball players were Clayton Kershaw and Albert Pujols.[1]

One of Bolton's high school coaches brought a toilet to the team's dugout, so that players could "flush" out a poor performance.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Cody Bolton's Baseball Recruiting Profile". www.ncsasports.org. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d Kocsis, John (June 12, 2018). "Lifted in Due Time: How Cody Bolton's mental make-up turned him into one of the most dominant pitchers with West Virginia from the moment he was promoted". The Power Line. Major League Baseball. Archived from the original on June 24, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  3. ^ Hewitt, Katie Gwinn (June 13, 2017). "Jaskie Selected by Seattle in Sixth Round of MLB Draft". University of Michigan Athletics. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  4. ^ "Cody Bolton Stats, Age, Position, Height, Weight, Fantasy & News". MLB.com. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
  5. ^ a b Lawrence, Thomas (June 13, 2017). "Tracy pitcher drafted by Pittsburgh Pirates". Recordnet.com. Archived from the original on June 24, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  6. ^ "Cody Bolton Class of 2017 - Player Profile | Perfect Game USA". Perfect Game. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
  7. ^ Brownne, Bob (June 13, 2017). "Pirates pick Bolton in MLB draft". Tracy Press. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  8. ^ a b "Cody Bolton Baseball Statistics + Biography - The Baseball Cube". The Baseball Cube. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
  9. ^ "Closing out 2018: A Season in Review | Power". Milb.com. September 11, 2018. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  10. ^ Stultz, Brian (May 6, 2019). "Cody Bolton keeps on posting zeros for Bradenton Marauders". MiLB.com. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  11. ^ Dykstra, Sam (May 13, 2019). "Pittsburgh Pirates' Cody Bolton leads Minor League Pitchers of the Week". MiLB.com. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  12. ^ "Seven Marauders Named to All-Star Squad". thebradentontimes.com.
  13. ^ "Altoona avoids sweep".
  14. ^ "Pirates Promote Cody Bolton to Altoona". Pirates Prospects. June 23, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  15. ^ Post-Gazette (TNS), Jason Mackey Pittsburgh. "Trades, position changes and more 2021 resolutions for the Pirates". The Courier Express.
  16. ^ "2020 Minor League Baseball season canceled". MLB.com.
  17. ^ "Pirates' Cody Bolton: Undergoes surgery". CBSSports.com.
  18. ^ a b delos Santos, Justice (May 4, 2023). "After hurdles, Bucs pitcher makes MLB debut". MLB.com. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
  19. ^ Palencer, Ryan (April 12, 2022). "Cody Bolton Returns to the Mound After Two Years Away - Pirates Prospects". piratesprospects.com. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
  20. ^ "Pirates No. 1 Prospect, Oneil Cruz, Headlines Indy's Opening Day Roster".
  21. ^ "Cody Bolton Stats, Fantasy & News".
  22. ^ "Cody Bolton 2022 Minor Leagues Game Logs & Splits". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
  23. ^ a b "Cody Bolton 2023 Minor Leagues Game Logs & Splits". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
  24. ^ "Pirates' Cody Bolton: Officially selected from Triple-A". cbssports.com. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  25. ^ "Gameday: Pirates 16, Nationals 1 Final Score (04/29/2023)". MiLB.com. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
  26. ^ "Pirates Trade Cody Bolton to Mariners in Slew of Roster Moves". pittsburghbaseballnow.com. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  27. ^ a b "Cody Bolton Stats: Statcast, Visuals & Advanced Metrics". baseballsavant.com. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
  28. ^ "Mariners Acquire Cody Bolton From Pirates". MLB Trade Rumors. November 2, 2023.
  29. ^ a b "Cody Bolton 2024 Minor Leagues Game Logs & Splits". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
  30. ^ "Mariners RHPs Bolton, Snider land on IL". ESPN.com. April 8, 2024. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
  31. ^ "Mariners Recall RHP Cody Bolton from Triple-A Tacoma". From the Corner of Edgar & Dave. Seattle Mariners. June 14, 2024. Retrieved November 26, 2024 – via Medium.
  32. ^ "Cody Bolton Minor Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
  33. ^ "Our Pastor". Oakland Baptist Church. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
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