Mickey Jannis

Sometimes, a Moonlighter finds a role and sometimes a Moonlighter needs to make a role. While the average Joe can’t even come close, a 5’9 righty who throws around 90 is a dime-a-dozen in professional baseball. This week’s Moonlighter created a role for himself that got him into a major league bullpen. Just like his knuckleball, Jannis’s career took a less than traditional path to his MLB debut.

Mickey Jannis was drafted in the 44th round of the 2010 draft by the Tampa Bay Rays. Jannis had two separate community college stints, before starting 26 games for Cal State Bakersfield in 2009 and 2010. Jannis notched 126 strikeouts for the Roadrunners and pitched well enough to earn a shot. After being the 1331st selection in 2010, Jannis was sent across the country to play for the Princeton (WV) Rays in Rookie ball. He spent the 2011 season split between New York and Florida in low and high-level A. 

Jannis then went on to spend 2012-2015 in independent ball playing for various clubs. It was during this time that he reinvented himself as a knuckleballer. It was a pitch he had in his arsenal but he decided that his future in the MLB wasn’t going to come on the back of his fastball or slider. R.A. Dickey was having success and Jannis saw his opportunity to be a hard-throwing knuckleballer. 

After finding success with the Long Island Ducks, his contract was purchased by the Mets. Jannis was pitching in Triple-A Las Vegas and Syracuse Mets by 2018 and 2019. In June of 2021 Mickey Jannis made his major league debut for the Baltimore Orioles. Currently, Jannis is playing independent ball for the Chicago Dogs and looking for his next shot. And if Mickey Jannis has shown us anything so far, it would be a surprise if he continues that unpredictable route right back into the show.

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