Jeff Karstens

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**Jeff Karstens**

New York Yankees — No. 58
Starting Pitcher
Born: September 24, 1982 (1982-09-24) (age 25) San Diego, California
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
Major League Baseball debut
August 22, 2006 for the New York Yankees
Selected MLB statistics (through 2007)
Record	3-5
ERA	11.05
Strikeouts	21
Teams
New York Yankees (2006-present)

Jeffrey Wayne Karstens (born September 24, 1982 in San Diego, California) is a right-handed starting pitcher for the New York Yankees.

1 Baseball career
2 References
3 External links

[edit] Baseball career

[edit] High school

He attended Mount Miguel High School in Spring Valley, California. In his Senior Season, he was the team's Most Valuable Player, a First-Team All-Conference Honors selection, and a Second-Team All-San Diego selection. In his senior year, he posted an 8-2 record with a 2.99 ERA.

Karstens was drafted in the 19th round of the 2003 Amateur Draft by the New York Yankees.

[edit] Minor leagues

He played the 2005 season with the Yankees' Double-A affiliate, the Trenton Thunder, posting a 12-11 record with a 4.15 ERA and 147 strikeouts. He led his team in wins with 12 (3rd most in the league), in Games started with 27 (2nd in the league), and in innings pitched with 169 (4th in the league).^[1].

Karstens started the 2006 season with the Yankees AAA affiliate, the Columbus Clippers. He struggled, posting an 0-5 record with a 9.85 ERA. This resulted in his demotion to AA Trenton.

At Trenton, he went 6-0 with a 2.31 ERA. His success was rewarded with a trip back to Columbus, and he never looked back, compiling a 5-0 record with a 1.85 ERA. Then, he got his big break.

[edit] Major leagues

Karstens was called up from AAA Columbus on August 19, 2006. Three days later, he made his Major League debut for the Yankees on August 22, against the Seattle Mariners. He went 5⅔ innings, allowing three earned runs on six hits and two walks for a no-decision in a 6-5 loss. He struck out two and gave up two home runs^[2].

On August 27, 2006, he went 6.0 innings giving up 6 hits and 3 Earned Runs in an 11-8 win against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. In that outing Karstens walked 2, struck out 1, and earned his first career Major League victory.

In Spring Training prior to the 2007 season, Jeffrey had an outstanding performance. The first nine innings he pitched were the equivalent of a nine inning shutout. Following that he had a poor four run outing yet he was still considered a darkhorse to make the rotation. The most probable situation would be that he starts the season as the long reliever with an occasional spot start.

Karstens was shut down due to elbow tendinitis and placed on the 15 day disabled list to start the season, allowing Darrell Rasner to take his spot in the rotation, which he earned after a hamstring injury to staff ace Chien-Ming Wang. After injuries to Yankees starters Mike Mussina and Carl Pavano, he was activated to join the Yankees 25-man roster.^[3].

On April 28, 2007, in a game against the Boston Red Sox, Karstens was struck in the leg by a line drive off the bat of Boston shortstop Julio Lugo, the first batter of the game.^[4] He faced only one more batter before being taken out.^[5] It was later reported that Karstens fractured his fibula and was placed on the 15-day disabled list. He was later moved to the 60-day disabled list, and then activated on August 1.

On August 14, 2007, Karstens gave up 5 earned runs in only 3 innings, raising his season ERA to 11.20. The next day, he was optioned back to the Minor Leagues. He was reactivated on September 9.

Karstens began the 2008 season on the 15-day disabled list.