Topic: Jesse Litsch

Jesse Allen Litsch (born March 9, 1985, in Pinellas Park, Florida) is an American pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball. He is 6 ft 1 in tall and weighs 225 pounds.

Formerly a batboy for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, he was drafted in the 24th round by the Toronto Blue Jays in 2004. He had a career 3.49 ERA, primarily as a starter in 43 games over 234.1 IP during his first two years in the minor leagues. He then started the 2007 season with the AA New Hampshire Fisher Cats where he posted a 5–1 record and a 0.96 ERA over 6 starts. He allowed 22 hits in 37.2 IP of work, striking out 28 while walking only 7.

On May 15, 2007, Litsch made his Major League debut with the Blue Jays, filling in for the injured Roy Halladay. Over 8.2 innings (the most innings pitched by any Blue Jay in his debut), Litsch allowed only 4 hits, with 2 walks and 1 run while recording an amazing 21 of his 26 outs via groundouts. Litsch became the first Jays pitcher to win his debut since Gustavo Chacin beat the New York Yankees on September 20, 2004. As a result of his performance, Litsch earned three more starts with the Jays. He was demoted back to AA after posting a 0–3 record with a 19.62 ERA in those three starts.