Zach Eflin

Zachary Eflin (born April 8, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut on June 14, 2016.

Eflin attended Paul J. Hagerty High School in Oviedo, Florida. In his senior year, Eflin had a 0.51 earned run average (ERA) and 59 strikeouts in 43 innings pitched. Eflin committed to attend the University of Central Florida (UCF) on a college baseball scholarship. Following his high school career, the San Diego Padres selected Eflin in the first round, with the 33rd overall selection, of the 2012 Major League Baseball draft. Rather than enroll at UCF, Eflin signed with the Padres, receiving a $1.2 million signing bonus.

Eflin began his professional career in the Arizona League, pitching to a 7.71 ERA in four appearances. His performance was hampered by mononucleosis. He pitched for the Fort Wayne TinCaps of the Class A Midwest League in 2013. His 2.73 ERA led the league. In 2014, Eflin pitched for the Lake Elsinore Storm of the Class A-Advanced California League, and finished the season with a 10–7 win–loss record and a 3.80 ERA.

On December 18, 2014, the Padres traded Eflin, Joe Wieland, and Yasmani Grandal to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for Tim Federowicz, Matt Kemp, and cash. The Dodgers then traded Eflin, along with Tom Windle, to the Philadelphia Phillies for Jimmy Rollins. The Phillies invited Eflin to spring training in 2015 as a non-roster player. Eflin spent the 2015 season with the Reading Fightin Phils of the Class AA Eastern League, and pitched to a 8-6 record and a 3.69 ERA. He received another invitation to spring training in 2016. Eflin began the 2016 season with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs of the Class AAA International League, and was named the league's pitcher of the week on April 18.

Eflin made his major league debut on June 14, 2016, allowing eight earned runs by the Toronto Blue Jays in  2 ²⁄₃ innings on nine hits, three of which were home runs. Eflin's game score of five was the sixth-worst debut in major league history, and worst in Phillies franchise history. Eflin rebounded with two complete games in the month of July, including a shutout of the Pittsburgh Pirates on July 22. The Phillies placed Eflin on the disabled list on August 9 due to patellar tendinopathy in both knees, and he underwent season-ending knee surgery ten days later.

Eflin began the 2017 season on the 10-day disabled list in an effort to continue recovery from both knees. He was activated on April 11, and optioned to Triple-A.

Eflin's father, Larry, played college football for Temple University. His paternal grandfather is a pastor. Zach has three older sisters, Candace, Brittany and Ashley. Candace was deprived of oxygen at birth, and developed intellectual disabilities. Ashley died of leukemia in 1995. Following Ashley's death, Eflin's mother developed alcoholism. Baseball served as an escape from his troubled home life.