Quick Facts
Biography
Jonathan Richard Harris (born October 16, 1993) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Toronto Blue Jays organization. He played college baseball at Missouri State University, and was drafted by the Blue Jays in the first round of the 2015 Major League Baseball draft.
High school and college
Harris attended Hazelwood Central High School in St. Louis, Missouri. He was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 33rd round of the 2012 Major League Baseball draft but did not sign and played college baseball at Missouri State University. As a freshman in 2013, Harris started 13 games going 8–2 with a 3.87 earned run average (ERA) and 61 strikeouts. As a sophomore, he appeared in 15 games with 11 starts. He went 3–5 with a 3.16 ERA, 66 strikeouts and two saves. After the 2014 season, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod Baseball League. As a junior at MSU, he went 8–2 with a 2.45 ERA with 116 strikeouts in 15 starts.
Professional career
Harris was considered one of the top prospects for the 2015 Major League Baseball draft. The Toronto Blue Jays selected Harris in the first round, with the 29th overall selection, of the draft. He signed with Toronto on June 15, 2015. Harris played the entire 2015 season with the Short Season-A Vancouver Canadians, where he posted a 6.75 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 36 innings pitched. He was assigned to the Class-A Lansing Lugnuts to open the 2016 minor league season. Harris was named an Eastern Division All-Star for Lansing on June 7. He made 16 starts for Lansing, posting an 8–2 record, 2.23 ERA, and 73 strikeouts in 84⁄3 innings before being promoted to the Advanced-A Dunedin Blue Jays in mid July. Harris would make eight starts for Dunedin, and pitch to a 3–2 win–loss record, 3.60 ERA, and 26 strikeouts in 45 innings.
Harris played the entire 2017 minor league season for the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats. He made 26 starts and posted a 7–11 record, 5.41 ERA, and 113 strikeouts in 143 innings pitched. On January 24, 2018, the Blue Jays invited Harris to spring training.