Jared James Walsh, a professional baseball first baseman and outfielder with the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball, was born on July 30, 1993.
Walsh played with the Orem Owlz and Arizona League Angels during his first professional season.
He played in 2016 for the Burlington Bees, 2017 for the Inland Empire 66ers and Mobile BayBears, and 2018 for the Salt Lake Bees, Inland Empire, and Mobile. In 2018, he also pitched as a reliever in eight games.
In 2019, the Angels welcomed Walsh to spring training where they used him as a two-way player.
He went back to Salt Lake City to start 2019. He got promoted to the major leagues on May 15, 2019, when his contract was chosen. That day, he made his major league debut against the Minnesota Twins, going 3 for 4.
With a walk-off bloop RBI single against the Texas Rangers on May 26, Walsh earned his first career RBI. Walsh batted.293/.324/.646 in 2020 despite only appearing in 32 games, placing second on the club in home homers.
Considering Walsh’s performance as a first baseman the previous season, Angels manager Joe Maddon stated that the team did not want to have Walsh pitch and were instead opting to concentrate on his hitting and defense.
In order to give Walsh more playing time and capitalize on his performance from the previous season, the Angels dismissed first baseman and designated hitter Albert Pujols in May 2021.
Walsh’s breakthrough year was 2021, when he hit.277/.340/.509 with 29 home runs and 98 RBIs in 144 games, earning him a spot on the American League All-Star team. He had the lowest big league on-base percentage (.208) against left-handed pitchers, though.
When Was Jared Walsh Draft?
Jared Walsh was drafted by the Angels in 2019. He went back to Salt Lake City to start 2019. He got promoted to the major leagues on May 15, 2019, when his contract was chosen. That day, he made his major league debut against the Minnesota Twins.