Josh Fields

Joshua David Fields (born August 19, 1985) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros and Los Angeles Dodgers.

Amateur career

High school Fields attended Prince Avenue Christian School in Bogart, Georgia. His junior season in 2003 he was 10–1 with 114 strikeouts in innings pitched and also batted .632 with 18 homers and 53 RBI, earning him the Athens Banner-Herald Northeast Georgia Player of the Year honors. The following season, he ranked 36th in Baseball America's Top 100 Prep Prospects list while having a 6–0 record and 1.25 ERA with 80 strikeouts in 36 innings. He also batted .500, scored 35 runs and was successful in 31 of 32 stolen base attempts to win team MVP honors. He was selected to the Southeastern Conference All-Freshman team and made school history when he struck out the first eight batters he faced against Winthrop on May 18.

In his junior season in 2007, Fields appeared in 26 games with a 1–6 record, 4.46 ERA, 45 strikeouts and seven saves. He did not sign and chose to return to school for his senior season.

As a senior in 2008, Fields was 3–2 with a 3.38 ERA, 63 strikeouts and 18 saves in 36 games. Fields was honored as SEC Pitcher of the Year, 1st team All-SEC, 1st Team All-American and won the Stopper of the Year Award.

Professional career

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners selected Fields in the first round, with the 20th overall pick, in the 2008 Major League Baseball draft. He agreed to terms with the Mariners on February 13, 2009, after a lengthy negotiation period between the team and his advisor, Scott Boras. His eventual signing bonus was $1.75 million. He made his professional debut with the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx of the Southern League on April 9, allowing three runs while retiring only two batters. despite being shut down in May for a brief period with a "dead arm" that was attributed to his long layoff between the draft and signing. After the season, he was assigned to the Peoria Javelinas of the Arizona Fall League, where he allowed only two earned runs in 11 innings where he allowed 10 earned runs in 13 innings of work. The Red Sox assigned him to the Portland Sea Dogs of the Eastern League, where he pitched innings in nine games and allowed six earned runs. He was promoted to the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox of the International League on August 5, where he pitched scoreless innings over 10 games. He made his major league debut on April 2, 2013, against the Texas Rangers. He faced one batter, Craig Gentry, in the top of the eighth inning and struck him out swinging. He recorded his first major league win on July 23 against the Oakland Athletics with one scoreless inning of relief and his first save on August 5 against the Red Sox. Overall, he appeared in 41 games, pitched 38 innings and was 1–3 with a 4.97 ERA and five saves. In 23 games for the Grizzlies, he allowed only five runs in innings for a 1.65 ERA. In 22 games, he pitched innings and allowed only six earned runs for a 2.79 ERA. He did not allow any runs in innings in the playoffs for the Dodgers. He signed a $1.05 million contract for 2017, avoiding salary arbitration.

Fields struggled with his fastball velocity in spring training in 2017 and was optioned to the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers to begin the season. However, he was added to the active roster a few days later when Rich Hill was placed on the disabled list. He pitched in 57 games for the Dodgers and was 5–0 with a 2.84 ERA. In two appearances in the 2017 NLCS vs the Cubs, he retired Javier Báez on a flyball to center field in Game Two and Kris Bryant on a ground-out to second base in Game Four. Fields made one appearance in the 2017 World Series against the Astros. In Game Two, he entered the game in the top of the 10th inning and allowed back-to-back home runs to Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa followed by a double to Yuli Gurriel. He was removed from the game without recording an out.

Fields signed a one-year, $2.2 million, contract with the Dodgers for 2018, avoiding arbitration. He made 45 appearances with the Dodgers in 2018, with a 2.20 ERA but did not make the Dodgers post-season roster. He was released three days later.

Milwaukee Brewers On March 20, 2019, Fields signed a minor league contract with the Milwaukee Brewers. In eight appearances for the Triple-A Nashville Sounds, he struggled to an 8.22 ERA with five strikeouts and three saves across innings pitched. Fields opted out of his contract and became a free agent on April 30.

Texas Rangers On May 10, 2019, Fields signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers, and was assigned to the Nashville Sounds. With a 5.82 ERA and 19 strikeouts over 17 innings, he was released on June 29.