Jake Kalish

Jacob Louis Kalish (born July 9, 1991) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Kalish was drafted by the Royals in the 32nd round of the 2015 Major League Baseball draft. He played for Team Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic and the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

Early years Kalish was born in Red Bank, New Jersey, to Steve and Eileen Plata Kalish, and is Jewish.

Kalish was a pitcher at Red Bank Regional High School in Little Silver, New Jersey, from which he graduated in 2010. As a switch-hitter for George Mason, Kalish batted .301 in 39 games as a senior in 2015, and started 13 games in which he had a 3.44 ERA and 77 strikeouts (2nd in the Atlantic-10 Conference) in innings.

In his first professional season, Kalish pitched for the Arizona League Royals of the Rookie Arizona League and the rookie-level Burlington Royals of the Rookie Advanced Appalachian League, going a combined 3–3 with a 2.67 ERA, as he kept batters to a .202 batting average. That season he was an MILB.com Kansas City Organization All Star, and named the organization's best relief pitcher. In August 2017, pitching for the Omaha Storm Chasers of the Pacific Coast League Kalish made his second-ever start in Triple-A, against three-time Cy Young Award winner and former MVP Clayton Kershaw, who was in the minors for a rehab start. Kalish outdueled Kershaw with eight strikeouts and two walks in seven shutout innings. In three starts for Omaha, he was 1–0 with a 2.35 ERA, striking out 16 in 15.1 innings. He was named Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Week for the week ended July 22. In 2019 he pitched three games for the Naturals, and 24 games for the Storm Chasers. In 2021, Kalish made 30 appearances for Triple-A Omaha, but struggled greatly to a 3-6 record and 6.94 ERA with 106 strikeouts in 96.0 innings pitched across 30 appearances. He elected free agency following the season on November 7, 2021.

Los Angeles Angels On March 19, 2022, Kalish signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Angels. He pitched for the Triple–A Salt Lake Bees of the Pacific Coast League, and was 10-2 (his 10 wins tied for the league lead) with a 2.87 ERA (7th in the league) in 23 games (11 starts) covering innings in which he walked only 19 batters (2.0 walks per 9 innings; 4th), 3.79 strikeouts/walk (7th), and a 1.134 WHIP (7th).

In his minor league career through 2022, Kalish was 37–35 with a 4.13 ERA and 577 strikeouts.

Uni-President Lions On February 2, 2024, Kalish signed with the Uni-President Lions of the Chinese Professional Baseball League. He pitched only for the Lions' farm team, logging a 2.30 ERA and 1.16 WHIP across innings pitched. Kalish was released by the Lions on August 8.

On June 21, 2025, Kalish announced his retirement from professional baseball via Instagram.

World Baseball Classic Kalish pitched for Team Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic in March 2017, twice facing Team Netherlands.

Kalish pitched for Team Israel in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.