Dec. 11, 2015
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Former San José State pitcher Zack Jones was selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the major league portion of the 2015 MLB Rule 5 Draft on Thursday.
Jones, a right-handed reliever with a power fastball, must remain on the Brewers’ big-league roster for the entire 2016 season or be offered back to his former club, the Minnesota Twins.
“So thankful for the support & opportunities the Twins gave me; but so excited to see what the future holds with the ‪Brewers!!,” Jones tweeted Thursday.
Per MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy, Brewers pro scouting director Zack Minasian described Jones as "A pure power arm. He'll blow guys away with his fastball. … We're buying a big, big fastball and we'll see what he can do."
Jones posted a 4.18 ERA with 68 strikeouts in 51.2 innings last season with the Twins’ Class A and Double-A affiliates. For his career, he owns a 9-7 win-loss record and a 2.82 ERA with 186 punchouts in 130.2 frames and has notched 33 saves.
Minnesota selected Jones in the fourth round (130th overall) of the 2012 MLB First-Year Player Draft following his three-year career at San José State. He finished the 2012 season with the Spartans as the team leader in strikeouts with 60. He had a 3.5-to-1 strikeouts-to-walks ratio and averaged 10.00 strikeouts per nine innings during his 19 appearances on the mound. Jones also led the Spartans with seven saves and pushed his school-record career total to 22.