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Jered David Weaver (born October 4, 1982 in
Northridge, California), is a Major League Baseball
starting pitcher with the Los Angeles Angels of
Anaheim.
Jered attended college at Long Beach State
University where he was the 2004 College Baseball's
Dick Howser Trophy winner as the national collegiate
baseball player of the year. He also won college
baseball's top pitching honor, the Roger Clemens
Award. He was also named first-team All-American by
Baseball America in 2004 as a starting pitcher.
Weaver went 37-9 at Long Beach State and was 15-1,
with a 1.62 ERA in his last season with 213
strikeouts and just 21 walks in 144 innings.
Younger brother of Seattle Mariners pitcher Jeff
Weaver, Jered was drafted in the 1st round (12th
pick overall) by the Angels in 2004. He and his
agent, Scott Boras (who also represents the elder
Weaver), held out until the end of May 2005 to sign
which resulted in Jered getting a $4 million dollar
signing bonus (which was actually much less than
what they were originally looking for).
Jered was on the fast track to the Major Leagues
just like his brother Jeff was, spending just over
one month in single A before being promoted to AA.
His minor league stats after less than one season
include 7 wins, a 3.91 ERA, and 95 strikeouts over
76 innings.
He made his MLB debut on Saturday, May 27, 2006,
starting against the Baltimore Orioles. He pitched
seven shutout innings, striking out five, and
earning the victory. This was followed with three
more consecutive victories. Despite his success,
when Bartolo Colón returned from the disabled list,
Weaver was bumped out of the rotation and sent back
down to the minors. He was recalled to the majors on
June 30, 2006, when the Angels designated his
brother, Jeff, for assignment.
After receiving nine wins without a loss at the
start of his Major League career, tying the American
League record set by Whitey Ford in 1950, Jered
recorded his first loss on August 24, 2006 when he
lost to the Boston Red Sox, despite allowing only
one earned run in seven innings pitched, a home run
to David Ortiz. He lost his second consecutive game
to the Seattle Mariners on August 26, 2006, in which
he gave up back-to-back home runs to begin the first
inning and surrendered five earned runs in 4 2/3
innings.
He has an exceptionally straight fastball which he
can control very well, as well as a changeup, slider
and a curveball. He also throws sidearm occasionally
for a strikeout or to fool hitters. |