WESTBROOK Jamie

General
CLUB JOURNEY
He was selected by his hometown team, the Arizona Diamondbacks, in the fifth round, 150th overall pick, of the 2013 MLB Draft. From 2013 to 2019 he played in more than 750 games for the Diamondback's minor league affiliate teams, mostly at Double-A and Triple-A level. He became a free agent in late 2019, and in early 2020 was signed to a minor league contract by the San Francisco Giants. In late 2020 he was assigned to the Milwaukee Brewers and played in 2021 for the Brewers' minor league affiliates the Nashville Sounds and Biloxi Shuckers. He believes he was getting close to a major league call up at the time the COVID-19 pandemic hit. "Everything was looking up at that moment. I was feeling good about making it to that next level, but then everything just got out of control. I was pretty numb when I found out. It didn't really feel real. It still doesn't feel real to me at times. But all I can do is keep playing and hopefully be ready for the next opportunity." (azsnakepit.com, 28 Jul 2020; mlb.com, 01 Jul 2021)

HEIGHT AND POWER
At 175cm, he is relatively short for a baseball player, but has looked to players like Dustin Pedroia, at 173cm tall, for inspiration. "When you see Pedroia, it's like, 'Man, that guy's small!' But I don't think he feels small. It's weird. I know I'm shorter than most people, but when I'm out here I don't feel small. I didn't even realise I was short until I got to high school. I swing hard and I see what happens. That's my approach. I don't really see a lot of pitches. If it's there, I'm going to hack. I'm not 250lbs. I'm not six-foot-five, but I swing the bat pretty hard. I try to be an aggressive hitter and drive the ball. I'm trying to do damage every time I hit. Defensively, I play multiple positions, so I'm trying to be versatile as I can be to help the team win." (azsnakepit.com, 28 Jul 2020; azsnakepit.com, 18 May 2018; eastvalleytribune.com, 17 Apr 2012)