Robert Stock (baseball)
Robert Anthony Stock (born November 21, 1989) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Doosan Bears of the KBO League. He was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the second round of the 2009 MLB draft. Stock made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut in 2018 with the San Diego Padres, and has also played in MLB for the Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, and New York Mets. Listed at and , he throws right-handed and bats left-handed. Early life. Stock was born in Bellevue, Washington, grew up in Agoura Hills, California and Westlake  Village, California. He is Jewish, and grew up attending temple and Hebrew school. His parents are Gregg (an engineer) and Randi Stock. He has two brothers, Richard (also a professional baseball player, who has played in the Cleveland Indians organization, as well as in the independent American Association of Independent Professional Baseball and Can-Am League) and Jacob, and two sisters, Sasha and Sabina. As a 12-year-old, Stock was throwing an fastball. In 2002, he threw a no-hitter to lead Agoura to an 11–1 victory over Taiwan in the Pony Baseball's Bronco League World Series (ages  11–12) championship game. "Baseball America" rated him as the best baseball player of his age in the country when he was 13 years old in 2003 and again in 2004 and 2005. Stock played for the United States junior national baseball team in 2004 (as the team's youngest player ever and number one pitcher) and 2005. Amateur career. Stock attended Agoura High School in Agoura Hills, and played for the school's Agoura High Chargers baseball team as a cleanup-batting catcher and a pitcher. In 2003, his sophomore season, he had a .405 batting average with eight home  runs, and as a pitcher, he had a 5–1 win–loss record with a 2.85 earned run average (ERA). as batters hit .190 against him. In 2004, his junior year, he batted .456 with six home runs and 25 runs batted in (RBIs) and caught 70 percent of would-be basestealers. He also had a 5–3 win–loss record and a 2.69 earned run average (ERA) as a pitcher, as his fastball reached and batters hit .218 against him. He was named "Baseball America"s 2005 Youth Player of the Year at 15 years of age (the first time the award  was won by a high school underclassman), "Los Angeles Times" Player of the Year, and All-California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) First Team as he developed a reputation for hitting 400-foot home runs with wood bats. He graduated from Agoura a year early, an honor student with a 3.8 GPA and a 1410 SAT score. Stock passed up what some felt was a certain first-round selection in the 2007 MLB draft, to instead enroll a year early at the age of 16, in the University of Southern California (USC) in its Resident Honors Program, which allows 30 high school  students to enroll a year early, the first athlete to do so in USC history. He began college while he was still wearing braces. He played college baseball for the USC Trojans as a catcher and a pitcher. In three years at USC, Stock had a .263 career batting average, threw out 33.8% of baserunners, and as a pitcher (and sometimes closer, sometimes starter) was 8–7 with a 3.38 ERA and nine saves as opponents batted .228 against him. In the summers of 2007 (as the youngest player in the league) and 2008 he played for the Cotuit Kettleers of  the Cape Cod Baseball League, where both seasons he was an All Star. Professional career. St. Louis Cardinals. The St. Louis Cardinals selected Stock in the second round, with the 67th overall selection, of the 2009 MLB draft, and he signed for a $525,000 signing bonus. In 2009, as a 19-year-old he was both a Topps Short-Season/Rookie All-Star and an Appalachian League All-Star at catcher, as he batted .322/.386/.550 with 7 home runs (tied for third among 2009 Cardinals draft picks) for the Johnson City Cardinals. "Baseball America" rated him the 10th-best  prospect in the Cardinals organization. He played as a catcher until 2011, batting .241 in 680 at bats. In 2012 with the Single-A Quad Cities River Bandits, Stock pitched in 38 games, recording a 5-2 record and 4.56 ERA. In 2013, the Cardinals transitioned Stock into a full-time pitcher. In 2013, with the Peoria Chiefs in the Midwest League he was 0–1 with a 2.30 ERA, and with the Palm Beach Cardinals in the Florida State League he was 2–0 with a 4.37 ERA. He pitched to a 2-3 record and 4.12 ERA in 35 games  split between Peoria and Palm Beach in 2014. The Cardinals released him on December 20, 2014. Houston Astros and Pittsburgh Pirates. On March 9, 2015, Stock signed a minor league deal with the Houston Astros organization. He was released by the club on March 31, 2015. On May 4, 2015, Stock signed a minor league deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. He finished 2015 in the Pirates minor leagues, playing for the GCL Pirates, Bradenton Marauders, and Altoona Curve. He elected free agency on November 6, 2015. New Jersey Jackals. In 2016, Stock signed to play for the New Jersey  Jackals of the Can-Am League, an independent baseball league, for whom he was 1–2 with a 2.85 ERA in 60 innings over 52 games (a league record). He said he never thought about quitting, not when he was released or even when he was playing independent baseball in New Jersey. Stock said: “Mostly because what else is there that’s better than playing baseball? I played a year of independent baseball, and that’s about as low on the totem pole as you can get but it was one of the best times I’ve had playing baseball. There  was no thought about stopping." He recalled that "One offseason, I was living in my parents' basement and I was playing video games and my mother said, 'Go out and do something," and I said, 'Mom, relax. I'm going to play in the Major Leagues someday.'" Cincinnati Reds. Stock signed with the Cincinnati Reds organization on March 21, 2017. Between the High-A Daytona Tortugas and the Double-A Pensacola Blue Wahoos, Stock was 9–5 with a 2.82 ERA in 70 innings in 41 games. He elected free agency on November 6, 2017. San Diego Padres. The San Diego  Padres signed Stock before the 2018 season on November 27, 2017, with a non-roster invitation to spring training included. In spring training, his fastball reached 100 mph. Stock began the 2018 season playing for the San Antonio Missions of the Class AA Texas League, and received a midseason promotion to the El Paso Chihuahuas of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League. Between the two teams in 2018, before he was called up to the major leagues, he was 1–0 with 9 saves and a 1.69 ERA in 32 relief appearances over innings, in which he gave up 22 hits  and struck out 42 batters (averaging 10.2 strikeouts per 9 innings). The San Diego Padres promoted Stock to the major leagues on June 24, 2018, and he made his major league debut that day at 28 years of age, nine years after he was drafted as a catcher. For the 2018 season he was 1–1 with a 2.50 ERA in 32 relief appearances over innings, in which he struck out 38 batters. He threw 11 of the 12 fastest pitches by San Diego pitchers in 2018. In 2018, he had the second-lowest swing rate for his in-strike-zone  sliders of any pitcher in baseball (43.1%), behind only Aroldis Chapman (42.5%). In the minor leagues in 2019, pitching 25 games for the El Paso Chihuahuas in the Class AAA Pacific Coast League and 2 games for the AZL Padres in Arizona League, he was a combined 3-0 with a 3.86 ERA as he struck out 45 batters in innings (averaging 13.4 strikeouts per 9 innings). In 2019 with the Padres, Stock was 1–0 in ten relief appearances with a 10.13 ERA, as he struck out 15 batters in innings (averaging 12.7 strikeouts per 9 innings). On April 1 , 2019, Stock threw a fastball that was timed at , the second-fastest pitch Statcast had ever recorded for a Padre (behind only a pitch by Jose Dominguez in 2016). Later in the season he was timed at . He regularly reaches with his fastball. His season ended three months early, as he suffered a right biceps strain. During the season, he threw a four-seam fastball that averaged 98 mph, an 83 mph slider, and an 85 mph changeup. On October 30, 2019, Stock was claimed off waivers by the Philadelphia Phillies. He was designated for assignment on July 23, 2020 . Boston Red Sox. On July 26, 2020, Stock was claimed off waivers by the Boston Red Sox. He made his first appearance for the Red Sox on August 11, pitching a scoreless innings against the Tampa Bay Rays. He was optioned to, and recalled from, Boston's alternate training site several times during August and September. Overall with the 2020 Red Sox, Stock appeared in 10 games, all in relief, compiling an 0–1 record with 4.73 ERA and 14 strikeouts in innings pitched. On November 25, 2020, Stock was designated for assignment. Chicago Cubs. On December 2, 2020, Stock was  claimed off waivers by the Chicago Cubs. On February 28, 2021, Stock was designated for assignment by the Cubs. On March 3, Stock cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A and invited to Spring Training as a non-roster invitee. On June 16, Stock was selected to the active roster. Stock was optioned to Iowa on June 17 after allowing 5 runs in 4 innings against the New York Mets, struggling with command and walking 6. On June 20, Stock was designated for assignment by Chicago. New York Mets. On June 22, 2021, Stock was claimed off waivers by  the New York Mets and optioned to the TripleA Syracuse Mets. On July 7, 2021, Stock started the second game of a double-header against the Brewers for the Mets, pitching the first four innings. Stock was placed on the 60-day injured list on July 23 after suffering a right hamstring strain. Stock made 3 starts for the Mets, going 0-2 with an 8.00 ERA and 9 strikeouts. On October 29, Stock elected free agency. Doosan Bears. On January 4, 2022, Stock signed a one-year, $700,000 contract with the Doosan Bears of the KBO League. Personal  life. Stock is married to Sara Stock (nee Krutewicz), whom he met on a blind date when she was on spring break in Palm Beach during the same time that Stock was in the area for Cardinals spring training.