Sod Poodles Pitcher Drey Jameson Awarded Rawlings Gold Glove

AMARILLO, Texas – Sod Poodles pitcher Drey Jameson was one of nine minor league players to be awarded the 2021 Rawlings Gold Glove Award by Minor League Baseball and Rawlings Sporting Goods for their defensive excellence throughout the 2021 season. The announcement was made on MLB Network during their broadcast of the 2021 Defensive Awards earlier tonight.

Jameson, 24, appeared in 21 games between Double-A Amarillo and High-A Hillsboro in his first full professional season. He successfully fielded 23 of 24 defensive opportunities (.958) over his 110.2 innings with 19 assists, four putouts, and helped turn two double plays.

“We are very proud of Drey and the all-around season that he had,” said Arizona Diamondbacks Director of Player Development Josh Barfield. “He’s not just a gifted pitcher but also a tremendous athlete and this award further validates all of the hard work he put in during both the off-season and regular season.”

The right hander began the year as the D-backs No. 22 rated prospect by MLB Pipeline and climbed to No. 17 by the end of the season. After making his Double-A debut on August 5, Jameson led the Double-A Central in strikeouts (68), batting average against (.225), and was third with 46.1 innings pitched. His 68 strikeouts tied for the most in all Minor League Baseball from August 1 through the end of the Double-A season on September 19. The Indiana native was selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks with the 34th overall selection in the 2019 MLB Draft out of Ball State University (Muncie, IN).

Jameson becomes the first pitcher in Amarillo professional baseball history to earn the honor and joins outfielder Jim Howarth as the only players from an Amarillo franchise to win a Minor League Gold Glove Award. Howarth had a .997 fielding percentage for the 1970 Amarillo Giants.

Jameson will be presented with his Rawlings Gold Glove Award during the 2022 season.