Jeremy Baltz
Jeremy Michael Baltz (born September 17, 1990) is a professional baseball outfielder who is currently a free agent.
He attended Vestal High School, out of which he was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 45th round of the 2009 Major League Baseball Draft.[1] He did not sign. He then attended St. John's University[2] from 2010 to 2012. At St. John's, he was named Collegiate Baseball Newspaper's Freshman Player of the Year after hitting .396 with 24 home runs, 85 RBI, a .482 on-base percentage and a .771 slugging percentage in 63 games. Other honors he received include NCBWA National Freshman Hitter of the Year, NCBWA, Louisville Slugger and Baseball America Freshman All-American, Baseball America First Team All-American and ABCA, Louisville Slugger and NCBWA Second Team All-American.[3] He won Big East Rookie of the Year honors, joining Rich Aurilia and Mike Maerten as the only two St. John's players to do so.[4] He also had a rare four home run game that year.[5]
He never posted such numbers for the school again, with his subsequent slash lines being .311/.444/.483 and .344/.431/.531. The San Diego Padres took him in the second round of the 2012 Major League Baseball Draft. He had been ranked the #31 prospect going into the draft by College Baseball Daily.
He played in the Padres system until 2015. In 2013, he was a Mid-Season All-Star and a MiLB.com Organization All-Star, hitting .293/.348/.481 with 15 home runs and 87 RBI in 110 games. In 2014, he hit 12 home runs and had 57 RBI, despite posting a batting average of .241. On May 27, 2015, the Padres released him.[6][7]