| Ross Stripling | |
| Team: | Free agent |
| Position: | Pitcher |
| Birth Date: | 23 November 1989 |
| Birth Place: | Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Bats: | Right |
| Throws: | Right |
| Debutleague: | MLB |
| Debutdate: | April 8 |
| Debutyear: | 2016 |
| Debutteam: | Los Angeles Dodgers |
| Statyear: | 2024 season |
| Statleague: | MLB |
| Stat1label: | Win–loss record |
| Stat1value: | 40–54 |
| Stat2label: | Earned run average |
| Stat2value: | 4.17 |
| Stat3label: | Strikeouts |
| Stat3value: | 741 |
| Teams: | |
| Awards: | |
Thomas Ross Stripling (born November 23, 1989) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Toronto Blue Jays, San Francisco Giants and Oakland Athletics.
Stripling played college baseball at Texas A&M University before the Dodgers selected him in the fifth round of the 2012 MLB draft. He made his MLB debut with the Dodgers in 2016, and was an All-Star in 2018.
Stripling played high school baseball at Carroll High School in Southlake, Texas.[1] In baseball, he did not pitch until a broken leg prior to his senior season in 2008 left him unable to play in the infield, and as a pitcher he was 14–0 with a 1.60 ERA, as in 107 innings he led the Dallas/Fort Worth area with 156 strikeouts.[1] He was named first-team all-state, and a member of the North Texas all-star team.[1] He also played basketball for the school as a forward, and football as a wide receiver, winning the Texas 5A state title and the national championship.[1] Scholastically, he graduated summa cum laude and 11th in his class of 600+.[1]
Stripling enrolled at Texas A&M University and played college baseball for the Texas A&M Aggies. In 2011, he led the country in wins and was 14–2 with a 2.29 ERA in 24 games (16 starts) in which he threw 125.2 innings with 113 strikeouts (third in the Big 12 Conference), with an 0.867 WHIP (fourth), 6.5 hits/9 innings (ninth), 1.3 walks/9 innings (second), and 6.28 strikeouts/walk (third).[1] [2] He threw a no-hitter for the Aggies against San Diego State on May 12, 2012.[3] He was named an All-American by the American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings First Team, Collegiate Baseball (Third Team), and College Baseball Insider (Honorable Mention), as well as a third team Capital One Academic All-American and first team Academic All-Big 12.[1]
Stripling was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the ninth round of the 2011 Major League Baseball draft, but he did not sign.[4] Returning to Texas A&M for his senior year in 2012, he finished the year second in the conference in wins with a 10–4 record and a 3.08 ERA in 16 starts covering 125.2 innings in which he struck out 120 batters (third in the Big 12 Conference), with an 0.987 ERA (eighth), 1.4 walks/9 innings (fourth), and a 6.32 strikeout/walk ratio (second).[5] [6]
The Los Angeles Dodgers selected Stripling in the fifth round of the 2012 Major League Baseball draft, and he signed for a signing bonus of $130,000.[7] [8] He was promoted to Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts in May 2013[9] and was selected to the mid-season Southern League All-Star Game.[10] He finished the season 6–4 with a 2.78 ERA in 21 games (16 starts).[11]
Stripling was given a non roster invitation to spring training in 2014, but came down with a sore arm after his first game action. He turned out to have a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow. He underwent Tommy John surgery, causing him to miss the entire season.[12] He rejoined the Double–A Tulsa Drillers during mid-season in 2015 and finished 3–6 with a 3.88 ERA in 14 starts.[11] On November 20, 2015, the Dodgers added Stripling to their 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.[13]
Stripling made the Dodgers' Opening Day roster for 2016 as the fifth starter.[14] After several injuries to established pitchers, he beat out other Dodgers prospects to make the roster.[15]
In his major league debut, against the San Francisco Giants on April 8, 2016, Stripling pitched innings without giving up a hit but was removed for a relief pitcher after throwing 100 pitches. He struck out four and walked four, one of whom scored against the relief pitcher.[16] He picked up his first major league win against the St. Louis Cardinals on May 13, 2016.[17] Stripling appeared in 22 games and made 14 starts for the Dodgers with a 5–9 record and 3.96 ERA in 100 innings.[18] He also appeared in relief in five post-season games for the Dodgers, allowing five runs in innings.[18]
Stripling became a key member of the bullpen in 2017 and picked up his first save on May 27, 2017, with three scoreless innings of relief against the Chicago Cubs.[19] He appeared in 49 games for the Dodgers that season, including two starts, and was 3–5 with two saves and a 3.75 ERA in innings in which he struck out 74 batters.[18] Stripling pitched three scoreless innings over five games in the postseason, including appearances in three games of the 2017 World Series.[18]
Coming into the 2018 season and without a clear pathway to becoming a starting pitcher he, again, began to explore the idea of starting for another team but injuries to starting pitchers in April thrust him into a starting role after 15 innings of relief. After a bullpen session with pitching coach Rick Honeycutt, he developed a hard curveball to add to his arsenal giving him a new look and making him one of the National League's ERA leaders at the break, earning him an All-Star nod for the first time in his career, replacing Miles Mikolas on the team, who was scheduled to pitch the Sunday prior to the All-Star Game.[20] Stripling wound up pitching in 33 games for the Dodgers in 2018, including 21 starts, and was 8–6 with a 3.02 ERA in 122 innings with 22 walks (1.6 walks per 9 innings) and 136 strikeouts, and a strikeout/walk ratio of 6.18.[18] His walk rate was in the lowest 4% among major league pitchers.[21]
In 2019, he again alternated between starting and relieving, appearing in 32 games (15 starts), and was 4–4 with a 3.47 ERA and 93 strikeouts in innings.[18] He had a ratio of 4.65 strikeouts/walk.[18]
Stripling agreed with the Dodgers on a one-year, $2.1 million, contract for 2020, avoiding arbitration.[22] In early 2020, Stripling and Joc Pederson were nearly traded to the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for Luis Rengifo, but the trade fell through.[23] In seven starts for the Dodgers in the pandemic-abbreviated season of 2020, Stripling was 3–1 with a 5.61 ERA in innings.[18]
On August 31, 2020, Stripling was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for Kendall Williams and another player to be named later (Ryan Noda).[24] With the 2020 Toronto Blue Jays, Stripling appeared in five games, compiling a 0–2 record with 6.32 ERA and 13 strikeouts in innings pitched.[18] Between the two teams, he was 3–3 with a 5.84 ERA in 12 games (9 starts) in which he threw innings and struck out 40 batters.[25] His former team, the Dodgers won the World Series that season, and gave Stripling a World Series ring the following August.[26]
In 2021, he recorded a 5–7 record with a 4.80 ERA and 94 strikeouts along with 30 walks in innings in 24 games (19 starts).[25]
On August 17, 2022, Stripling had a perfect game going against the Baltimore Orioles, before it was broken up on his first pitch of the seventh inning. This was the second time in four days that a perfect game was pitched against the Orioles through six or more innings.
In 2022, he was 10–4 with a 3.01 ERA in 32 games (24 starts) covering a career-high innings, in which he gave up 20 walks (1.3 walks/9 innings) and struck out 111 batters.[25] He had a WHIP of 1.020, and a strikeout/walk ratio of 5.55.[25] His walk rate was in the lowest 2% among major league pitchers.[21]
On December 13, 2022, Stripling signed a two-year $25 million contract with the San Francisco Giants, with an opt-out after the 2023 season.[27] [28] He went on the injured list in August with a 5.29 ERA over 19 games pitched, 11 of them starts.[29] Stripling finished the season with a 0-5 record and a 5.36 ERA and did not opt out of the $12.5 million salary for the 2024 season.[30]
On February 2, 2024, the Giants traded Stripling and cash considerations to the Oakland Athletics in exchange for Jonah Cox.[31] [32] On August 14, after struggling to a 2–11 record and 5.72 ERA in 14 starts for Oakland, Stripling was moved to the bullpen.[33]
Stripling married his longtime girlfriend, Shelby Gassiott, on November 11, 2017.[34] They live in Houston during the offseason.[35]
Stripling earned a bachelor's degree in finance from Texas A&M, and is a FINRA-licensed stockbroker and investment advisor.[36] He passed the Series 7 exam in 2016 and the Series 66 exam in 2017.[37] On January 31, 2019, Stripling appeared on Fox Business Network and contributed commentary regarding the markets before fielding questions regarding his major league debut and baseball analytics.[38] He trades stocks regularly, even during the baseball season.[39]