| Ben Casparius | |
| Team: | Los Angeles Dodgers |
| Number: | 78 |
| Position: | Pitcher |
| Birth Date: | 11 February 1999 |
| Birth Place: | Westport, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Bats: | Right |
| Throws: | Right |
| Debutleague: | MLB |
| Debutdate: | August 31 |
| Debutyear: | 2024 |
| Debutteam: | Los Angeles Dodgers |
| Statleague: | MLB |
| Statyear: | 2024 season |
| Stat1label: | Win–loss record |
| Stat1value: | 2–0 |
| Stat2label: | Earned run average |
| Stat2value: | 2.16 |
| Stat3label: | Strikeouts |
| Stat3value: | 12 |
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| Awards: |
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Benjamin Keith Casparius (born February 11, 1999) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB).
Casparius attended Staples High School in Westport, Connecticut, where he set the state's all-time hits record and led them to a state title in 2017 while being awarded as the Connecticut Gatorade Player of the Year. He played college baseball at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for two years, where he was a two-way player. As a freshman he had a 1.69 ERA in 10 pitching appearances while collecting 18 hits and 15 RBI and helping them to a berth in the College World Series.[1] The following season, he struggled a bit at the plate so the Tar Heels asked him to concentrate on pitching where he had a 4.41 ERA in 12 outings.[2] After the season, he played collegiate summer baseball in both the Cape Cod League with the Falmouth Commodores,[3] and in the New England Collegiate Baseball League.[4]
He transferred to the University of Connecticut Huskies in 2020, but was denied a waiver and had to sit out his junior season, which wound up being cancelled anyway by the COVID-19 pandemic.[5] He played instead in the Futures Collegiate Baseball League for the New Britain Bees[4] and hoped to be selected in the 2020 MLB draft but because of its shortened length he was not chosen and opted to play for the Huskies in 2021.[5] [6] In 15 starts he was 8–5 with a 4.03 ERA.[4]
Casparius was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the fifth round of the 2021 Major League Baseball draft,[7] and signed for a $247,500 bonus on July 26.[8]
Casparius spent his first professional season with the Arizona Complex League Dodgers and Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, pitching in five games and allowing two earned runs in six innings.[4] He pitched 2022 with Rancho Cucamonga and the Great Lakes Loons, pitching innings in 27 games (16 starts) for a 6.42 ERA.[4] The following season, with Great Lakes and the Tulsa Drillers he made 26 appearances (21 starts) and was 6–7 with a 5.27 ERA.[4] [9] After the 2023 season, Casparius pitched in the Arizona Fall League for the Glendale Desert Dogs.[10] He started 2024 with Tulsa, making five starts with a 3.32 ERA[4] before being promoted to the Triple-A Oklahoma City Baseball Club.[11] In 16 games (14 starts) at AAA, he was 4–3 with a 3.36 ERA.[4]
Casparius was promoted to the major leagues for the first time on August 18, 2024,[12] but was optioned back to Oklahoma City on August 21, without appearing in a major league game.[13] Casparius was promoted to the major leagues for a second time on August 31[14] and made his debut that day in relief against the Arizona Diamondbacks, working a scoreless inning of relief to pick up his first career win.[15] His first strikeout was of Nolan Jones of the Colorado Rockies on September 22.[16] He pitched a total of innings in three games, with two wins, nine hits and two runs allowed with 12 strikeouts.[17]
After initially being left off the postseason roster, Casparius was added to the roster midway through the Division Series when Michael Grove suffered an injury,[18] though he did not pitch in the series.[17] He did pitch scoreless innings in the National League Championship Series, picking up the win in the clinching sixth game.[19] In the 2024 World Series against the New York Yankees, Casparius started the fourth game, allowing one run on one hit and three walks in two innings.[20] It was his only appearance in the series, which the Dodgers won in five games.[21]