| Jake Cousins | |
|---|---|
| New York Yankees – No. 61 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: (1994-07-14)July 14, 1994 (age 30) Park Ridge, Illinois, U.S. | |
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| June 21, 2021, for the Milwaukee Brewers | |
| MLB statistics (through 2024 season) | |
| Win–loss record | 5–2 |
| Earned run average | 2.78 |
| Strikeouts | 125 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| |
Jake Owen Cousins (born July 14, 1994) is an American professionalbaseballpitcher for theNew York Yankees ofMajor League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball for theUniversity of Pennsylvania. He has previously played in MLB for theMilwaukee Brewers. Cousins was selected by theWashington Nationals in the 20th round of the2017 MLB draft, and he made his MLB debut in 2021.
Cousins grew upSt. Charles, Illinois, and attendedWheaton Academy. In high school, he lettered four times in baseball, including for the school's 2012 league champion baseball team, and twice in basketball for the school's two-time league championship team.[1]
He attended theUniversity of Pennsylvania and playedcollege baseball for thePenn Quakers for four seasons. As a senior, Cousins had a 7–2win–loss record with a 3.15earned run average (ERA) and was named unanimous first team All-Ivy League. His all-time collegiate career record was 20–7 with a 2.91 ERA.[2] In 2015, he playedcollegiate summer baseball for theHarwich Mariners of theCape Cod Baseball League, pitching seven innings.[3]
TheWashington Nationals selected Cousins in the 20th round, 613th overall, of the2017 Major League Baseball draft.[4] He made his professional debut with theGCL Nationals in 2017, and also played with the Low-AAuburn Doubledays, accumulating a 2–2 record and 2.48 ERA in 18 appearances. He only played in 7 games for the GCL Nationals in 2018, posting a 4.09 ERA in 11.0 innings of work. On March 27, 2019, Cousins was released after suffering an injury.[5]
On May 24, 2019, Cousins signed with theSchaumburg Boomers of the independentFrontier League. Cousins made 15 relief appearances for the Boomers and had a 0.47 ERA with 18 strikeouts.[citation needed]
TheMilwaukee Brewers purchased Cousins' contract from Schaumburg on July 17, 2019.[6] After signing with the Brewers, Cousins was assigned to theArizona League Brewers Blue before being promoted to theSingle–AWisconsin Timber Rattlers. In 14 games between the AZL Brewers and Wisconsin, Cousins posted a cumulative 3–0 record and 1.91 ERA with 39 strikeouts in 28.1 innings of work. After the 2020 minor league season was canceled, he returned to independent baseball with permission from the Brewers and signed with theChicago Dogs of theAmerican Association of Professional Baseball on July 19, 2020.[7] Cousins made 15 appearances with Chicago and finished the season with a 3.38 ERA.[8] He began the 2021 season with theDouble-ABiloxi Shuckers and was promoted to theTriple-ANashville Sounds after eight appearances.[9]
On June 21, 2021, Cousins was selected to the40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time. Cousins had logged a 2.55 ERA in 16 games between Biloxi and Nashville prior to his call-up.[10] He made his MLB debut that day, pitching two scoreless innings of relief against theArizona Diamondbacks. In the game, he notched his first career strikeout, punching out Diamondbacks catcherStephen Vogt, one of 5 K's on the night. On July 7, Cousins earned his first career win after pitching a scoreless inning in relief against theNew York Mets.[11] Cousins did not allow an earned run until his 18th pitching appearance.[12]
On June 2, 2022, Cousins was placed on the 60-day injured list with anulnar collateral ligament injury in his right elbow. He had turned downTommy John surgery and received a platelet-rich plasma injection a few weeks earlier.[13] He was activated off of the injured list on August 23 and optioned to Triple–A Nashville.[14]
Cousins was optioned to Triple-A Nashville to begin the 2023 season.[15] In 9 games for Milwaukee, he worked to a 4.82 ERA with 7 strikeouts in9+1⁄3 innings of work.
On July 31, 2023, Cousins was claimed off waivers by theHouston Astros.[16] He struggled to a 9.00 ERA in 8 appearances for the Triple–ASugar Land Space Cowboys prior to beingdesignated for assignment on August 29.[17] Cousins cleared waivers and was sent outright to Sugar Land on September 1.[18] He elected free agency following the season on November 6.[19]
On December 5, 2023, Cousins signed a minor league contract with theChicago White Sox.[20] On March 31, 2024, the White Sox traded Cousins to theNew York Yankees in exchange for cash considerations.[21] The following day, the Yankees selected him to the major league roster.[22]
On August 13 against theChicago White Sox, Cousins recorded his first career save in a 4-1 Yankees win.[23]
Cousins married his high school sweetheart Kelsey Ridderhoff on December 16, 2017, in Beach Park, Illinois. Jake is a cousin ofNational Football League quarterbackKirk Cousins.[24] Jake grew up a fan of theChicago Cubs.[citation needed]