| Justin Slaten | |
|---|---|
| Boston Red Sox – No. 63 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: (1997-09-15)September 15, 1997 (age 27) Longview, Texas, U.S. | |
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| March 30, 2024, for the Boston Red Sox | |
| MLB statistics (through March 30, 2025) | |
| Win–loss record | 6–2 |
| Earned run average | 2.84 |
| Strikeouts | 59 |
| Teams | |
| |
Justin Michael Slaten (born September 15, 1997) is an American professionalbaseballpitcher for theBoston Red Sox ofMajor League Baseball (MLB). Slaten made his MLB debut in 2024.
Slaten attendedHallsville High School inHallsville, Texas.[1] As a senior, Slaten went 6–5 with a 1.49earned run average (ERA) and 105 strikeouts in 75innings pitched.[2] Undrafted out of high school, he attended TheUniversity of New Mexico to playcollege baseball for theNew Mexico Lobos. In his freshman season of 2017, Slaten went 2–2 with a 3.71 ERA and 27 strikeouts over33+2⁄3 innings. He struggled in his sophomore of 2018 to a 2–9 record with a 7.02 ERA over66+2⁄3 innings. During the summer of 2018, Slaten played for theEau Claire Express of theNorthwoods League, going 7–1 with a 1.58 ERA and 70 strikeouts over 57 innings.[3] In his junior season of 2019, Slaten went 5–5 with a 2.51 ERA and 98 strikeouts over82+1⁄3 innings.[4]
TheTexas Rangers selected Slaten in the third round of the2019 MLB draft and he signed with them.[5][6] Slaten split his professional debut season of 2019 between theAZL Rangers of theRookie-levelArizona League and theSpokane Indians of theLow–ANorthwest League, going a combined 0–2 with a 6.06 ERA and 22 strikeouts over16+1⁄3 innings.[7] He did not play in 2020 due to the cancellation of theMinor League Baseball season because of theCOVID-19 pandemic. He spent the 2021 season with theHickory Crawdads of theHigh-A East, going 4–8 with a 6.01 ERA and 110 strikeouts over82+1⁄3 innings.[8]
Slaten spent the 2022 season with theFrisco RoughRiders of theDouble-ATexas League, going 1–6 with a 6.93 ERA and 64 strikeouts over50+2⁄3 innings.[9] Slaten returned to Frisco to open the 2023 season, going 4–3 with a 3.16 ERA and 76 strikeouts over51+1⁄3 innings.[10][11] He was promoted to theRound Rock Express of theTriple-APacific Coast League in September and posted a 1–0 record with a 1.08 ERA over8+1⁄3 innings. Following the 2023 season, Slaten played for theSurprise Saguaros of theArizona Fall League.[12]
On December 6, 2023, theNew York Mets chose Slaten with the seventh selection in theRule 5 draft,[13] and traded him to theBoston Red Sox in exchange for minor-league left-handed pitcher Ryan Ammons and cash considerations.[14] Slaten was added to Boston'sOpening Day roster,[15] and made his major-league debut on March 30.[16]