Best known for his pitching, Jacob deGrom began his collegiate career at Stetson as an infielder before seeing valuable time on the mound during his junior season with the Hatters in 2010.
That season, he pitched in 17 games, 12 as a starter, posting a 4-5 record with a 4.48 ERA to go along with a pair of saves. He had 56 strikeouts in 82.1 innings of work and currently ranks first in Stetson history with 1.73 walks per nine innings. deGrom's lone career home run at Stetson came in the 2010 ASUN Championship against ASUN Pitcher of the Year Chris Sale of FGCU.
deGrom was selected in the ninth round (272nd overall) of the 2010 MLB Amateur Draft by the New York Mets. He made his MLB debut for the Mets on May 15, 2014 in a start against the New York Yankees, pitching seven innings and allowing just one run with six strikeouts; he also recorded his first career hit in the game.
He went on to post a 9-6 record with a 2.69 ERA that season to earn the National League Rookie of the Year award.
A three-time MLB All-Star selection (2015, 2018-19), deGrom won a career-best 15 games in 2017 and led all of baseball with a 1.70 ERA in 2018 to earn his first NL Cy Young Award. He became the 10th player in MLB history to win the award in back-to-back seasons after claiming the honor again in 2019 with an 11-8 record, 2.43 ERA and a league-high 255 strikeouts.
In 2020, deGrom finished third in the voting for NL Cy Young, falling just short of a third-straight award. He led the NL with 104 strikeouts and 13.76 K/9 average. His 2.38 ERA was the fourth-best mark in the league and hecame the fourth Mets pitcher to lead the league in strikeouts in two consecutive seasons, joining Tom Seaver (1970-71 and 1975-76), Dwight Gooden (1984-85) and David Cone (1990-91).
He owns one of the best first-half performances in a season in major league history during the 2021 campaign, but then spent the entire second half on the Injured List with right forearm tightness. deGrom's 1.08 ERA before the All-Star break was the second-best ever, behind only Bob Gibson's 1.06 ERA in his historic 1968 season. His 0.55 first-half WHIP was the best ever.
deGrom headed to the Texas Rangers for the 2023 season as the 6-foot-4 right-hander missed a portion of last season but went 5-4 with a 3.08 ERA in 11 starts. He fanned 102 batters in 64.1 IP, but looks to take a step forward in Texas.