John Jaso

John Jaso
Jaso with the Pirates in spring training 2016
Pittsburgh Pirates – No. 28
First baseman / Catcher
Born: (1983-09-19) September 19, 1983 (age 33) Chula Vista, California
Bats: Left Throws: Right
MLB debut
September 6, 2008, for the Tampa Bay Rays
MLB statistics (through 2016 season)
Batting average	.264
Home runs	45
Runs batted in	246
Teams
Tampa Bay Rays (2008, 2010–2011) Seattle Mariners (2012) Oakland Athletics (2013–2014) Tampa Bay Rays (2015) Pittsburgh Pirates (2016–present)
Career highlights and awards
Hit for the cycle on September 28, 2016

John Edward Jaso (/ˈdʒeɪsoʊ/; born September 19, 1983) is an American professional baseball first baseman for the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB). Jaso has mostly served as a designated hitter and catcher throughout his career, but has since stopped catching due to concussion issues. He previously played for the Tampa Bay Rays, Seattle Mariners and the Oakland Athletics.

Born in Chula Vista, California, Jaso graduated from McKinleyville High School in McKinleyville, California, in 2001. Jaso then attended Southwestern College, a community college in Chula Vista, California.

Jaso was originally drafted by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 12th round (338th overall) of the 2003 Major League Baseball Draft.

Jaso began his professional career playing for the Low Single-A Hudson Valley Renegades for two seasons from 2003 to 2004. He had a .221 batting average in 2003, but improved to .302 in 2004 and was also a postseason All-Star for that season. He took the next step in 2005, playing for the Single-A Southwest Michigan Devil Rays. He had a .307 batting average and had 14 home runs, his most of any season to date. Also, he was a midseason and postseason All-Star. In 2006, he took another step, playing for the High Single-A Visalia Oaks and his season included being named to the midseason All-Star team. In 2007, he played for the Double-A Montgomery Biscuits. His .316 batting average was second in the Southern League, on-base percentage of .408 was third among league leaders and a slugging percentage of .484 was good enough for sixth in the league. His best minor league season included being named to the midseason and postseason All-Star team and was also Topps Southern League Player of the Month for August. Baseball America and Topps also named him as a Double-A All-Star after the season.