JACKSONVILLE (www.sportsdayjax.com) – Former Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp infielder Jacob Amaya made his MLB debut Sunday for the Miami Marlins against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park.
Amaya is the 971st player to don both a Jacksonville uniform and play in the major leagues, including the 133rd former Jumbo Shrimp. The history of Minor League Baseball in Jacksonville dates back to 1904.
Amaya started the game at shortstop and hit ninth for the Marlins, going 1-for-3 with an RBI, stolen base and run scored. He was lifted for Joey Wendle as a defensive substitution in the bottom of the seventh.
An 11th-round pick by the Dodgers in 2017 out of South Hills High School (West Covina, Calif.). Amaya spent time with the Arizona League Dodgers in 2017. He spent the 2018 season with both Rookie League Ogden and Low-A Great Lakes.
In 2019, he started with Low-A Great Lakes before being promoted to High-A Rancho Cucamonga, where he spent the final 21 games of the season.
After struggling with Double-A Tulsa in 2021, batting a career-low .216, he tore up the Texas League in 2022, slashing .264/.370/.500 with nine homers and 26 RBIs in 49 games. That earned him a promotion to Triple-A Oklahoma City, where he continued his hot hitting with eight homers and 45 RBIs while batting .259/.368/.381 in 84 games.
The Marlins traded for Amaya during the 2022 offseason in exchange for SS Miguel Rojas. Currently rated by MLB Pipeline as the No. 9 prospect in the Marlins system, Amaya was fourth on the Jumbo Shrimp in batting average (.278), first in hits (59), second in total bases (100), tied for third in doubles (10), fourth in home runs (9) and tied for sixth in OPS (.818).
Amaya is the fourth Jumbo Shrimp alumnus this season to make his major league debut, following infielder/outfielder Xavier Edwards (May 2, Marlins), right-hander George Soriano (April 16, Marlins) and right-hander Jeff Lindgren (April 3, Marlins). Fifteen former Jumbo Shrimp debuted in the majors during the 2022 campaign.