Jaron Long (born August 28, 1991) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. Prior to playing professionally, Long played college baseball for Chandler-Gilbert Community College and Ohio State University.
| Jaron Long | |
|---|---|
| Arizona Diamondbacks – No. 81 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: (1991-08-28) August 28, 1991 (age 30) Scottsdale, Arizona | |
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |
Long attended Cactus Shadows High School in Cave Creek, Arizona. He played baseball as a pitcher and an infielder, but did not make his school's varsity team until he was a senior.[1][2] In 2010, The Arizona Republic named Long as an honorable mention on their All-Class 4A baseball team.[3] No colleges in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I offered him a scholarship.[1] After he graduated, Long enrolled at Chandler–Gilbert Community College, and played college baseball for the Chandler–Gilbert Coyotes.[4] As a freshman, Long pitched to a 1.62 earned run average (ERA) in 50 innings, though a broken wrist ended his season prematurely. After he recovered, he participated in collegiate summer baseball, playing for the East Texas Pumpjacks of the Texas Collegiate League.[5]
After his freshman year, he transferred to Ohio State University to play for the Ohio State Buckeyes baseball team, a Division I program. Long began his Buckeyes career as a relief pitcher, but was moved into the starting rotation.[5] As a sophomore, Long led the Buckeyes with a 2.66 ERA, the sixth-best ERA among pitchers in the Big Ten Conference, and the fourth most innings pitched. Long was named to the All-Big Ten's first team.[6][5] That summer, he played for the Bourne Braves of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[5][7] In his junior year, Long developed warts on his pitching hand, which prevented him from throwing his changeup.[4] He had a 4.02 ERA, and went undrafted in the 2013 MLB Draft.[5] Pitching again for the Bourne Braves in the summer of 2013, he was named a league all-star and his 0.30 ERA led the league.[6][8][9] New York Yankees' amateur scouting director Damon Oppenheimer noticed Long and in August 2013, Long signed with the Yankees as an undrafted free agent.[4]
After Long signed with the Yankees, he appeared in six games as a relief pitcher with the Gulf Coast Yankees of the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League and Tampa Yankees of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League at the end of the 2013 season. In 2014, he reported to spring training,[4] and was assigned to the Charleston RiverDogs of the Class A South Atlantic League.[10] In 11 appearances, which included four games started, Long had a 1.64 ERA for Charleston. For the week of May 26 – June 1, he was named the league's Pitcher of the Week.[11] On June 5, he was promoted to Tampa.[12] After six appearances for Tampa, in which he compiled a 2.77 ERA, he was promoted to the Trenton Thunder of the Class AA Eastern League.[13] Over the whole season, Long pitched in 28 games (18 starts) and had a 12-5 record, 2.18 ERA, 122 strikeouts, 22 walks, and a shutout in 144.1 innings pitched.[14]
Long was released by the Yankees in April 2016. He signed a minor league deal with the Washington Nationals and spent the 2016 season pitching for the Nationals' AA and AAA clubs.[15] He finished the 2016 season with a 5-6 record and a 3.20 ERA.[16] On November 27, 2017, Long resigned a minor league deal with the Nationals, who invited him to spring training.[17] He elected free agency on November 2, 2018.
On December 14, 2018, Long signed a minor league deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks.[18] He was released on March 21, 2019.
Jaron is currently a Certified Major League Baseball Player Agent for Scott Boras Corporation.
Long is the youngest of three children.[6] His father, Kevin Long, is the current hitting coach of the Philadelphia Phillies and former hitting coach of the Washington Nationals, New York Yankees and New York Mets.[4][6] Kevin, who then was playing and coaching in the minor leagues, insisted that his son not pitch while he was young or throw a breaking ball until he was 16 years old.[6] As a teenager, Long served as a batboy for the Yankees.[1]
Long returned to Ohio State to graduate in December 2013.