| Josh Lester | |
| Team: | Kansas City Royals |
| Position: | Utility infielder |
| Birth Date: | 17 July 1994 |
| Birth Place: | Columbus, Georgia, U.S. |
| Bats: | Left |
| Throws: | Right |
| Debutleague: | MLB |
| Debutdate: | September 5 |
| Debutyear: | 2022 |
| Debutteam: | Detroit Tigers |
| Statleague: | MLB |
| Statyear: | 2023 season |
| Stat1value: | .148 |
| Stat2label: | Home runs |
| Stat2value: | 0 |
| Stat3label: | Runs batted in |
| Stat3value: | 4 |
| Teams: | |
Joshua Benjamin Lester (born July 17, 1994) is an American professional baseball utility infielder in the Kansas City Royals organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers and Baltimore Orioles.
A native of Columbus, Georgia, Lester was part of the Columbus team that won the 2006 Little League World Series.[1] After the win he was interviewed by ESPN's Erin Andrews and was in tears.[2] Lester attended Columbus High School and the University of Missouri, where he played college baseball for the Missouri Tigers. In 2014, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[3]
The Detroit Tigers selected Lester in the 13th round, with the 400th overall selection, of the 2015 Major League Baseball draft, and he signed.[4] After signing, he played for the rookie–level Gulf Coast Tigers, Low–A Connecticut Tigers and the Single–A West Michigan Whitecaps, hitting .224 across 49 total games. In 2016, Lester split the year between Connecticut and West Michigan, playing in 79 games and slashing .262/.328/.369 with 2 home runs and 28 RBI.[5]
In 2017, Lester played for West Michigan and the High–A Lakeland Flying Tigers. He played in a total of 110 games, batting .272/.306/.439 with 13 home runs and 66 RBI.[6] Lester spent the 2018 season with the Double–A Erie SeaWolves, playing in 127 contests and hitting .259/.346/.455 with career–highs in home runs (21) and RBI (75).[7] In 2019, Lester played in 106 games for Double–A Erie, hitting .223/.290/.414 with 17 home runs and 54 RBI. He was promoted to the Triple–A Toledo Mud Hens late in the year, and hit .216 with 7 home runs and 13 RBI in 18 games.[8]
Lester did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[9] He returned to action in 2021, and split the year between Double–A Erie and Triple–A Toledo. In 109 games, he accumulated a .263/.324/.587 batting line with 32 home runs and 78 RBI.[10] Lester returned to Toledo for the 2022 season, playing in 145 games and hitting .246/.311/.469 with 29 home runs and a career–high 99 RBI.[11]
On September 4, 2022, Lester was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time following an injury to Miguel Cabrera.[12] He made his Major League debut the next day. In two games for Detroit, Lester went 0–for–5 with 3 strikeouts.[13] He was removed from the 40-man roster and sent outright to Triple-A on November 9, 2022.[14] He elected minor–league free agency following the next day.[15]
On December 6, 2022, Lester signed a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles organization.[16] He was assigned to the Triple-A Norfolk Tides to begin the 2023 season, where he played in 52 games and hit .282/.339/.549 with 14 home runs and 50 RBI. On June 3, 2023, Lester had his contract selected to the major league roster after Danny Coulombe was placed on the bereavement list.[17] On June 4, Lester recorded his first career hit, a two–run single off of San Francisco Giants starter Anthony DeSclafani.[18] In 11 games for Baltimore, he batted .182/.217/.182 with no home runs and 4 RBI. On July 19, Lester was designated for assignment by the Orioles following the acquisition of Shintaro Fujinami.[19] He cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple–A Norfolk on July 26.[20] On October 4, Lester elected free agency.[21]
On February 18, 2024, Lester signed a minor league contract with Kansas City Royals.[22] He was assigned to Double–A Northwest Arkansas Naturals to start the season. Lester was batting a .295 average with five home runs. On June 11, 2024 Lester was promoted to Triple–A Omaha Storm Chasers.