Landon Sims
| Landon Sims | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona Diamondbacks | |||||||||||||||
| Pitcher | |||||||||||||||
| Born: January 3, 2001 Lawrenceville, Georgia, U.S. | |||||||||||||||
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |||||||||||||||
Medals
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Landon Thomas Sims (born January 3, 2001) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization.
Amateur career
[edit]Sims attended South Forsyth High School in Cumming, Georgia, where he played on the football team as a safety and on the baseball team as a pitcher.[1] As a sophomore in 2017, he went 6-2 with a 2.10 ERA and 58 strikeouts over fifty innings.[2] As a junior, he won ten games while pitching to a 0.90 ERA over 62 innings.[3] Sims went unselected in the 2019 Major League Baseball draft and enrolled at Mississippi State University to play college baseball.
Sims made seven appearances as a freshman on the Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball team in 2020 and compiled a 3.46 ERA before the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[4] In 2021, he became the team's closer.[5][6][7] For the season, he made 25 relief appearances and went 5-0 with a 1.44 ERA, 100 strikeouts, 15 walks and 13 saves over 56+1⁄3 innings.[8] Sims, alongside Will Bednar, threw a combined one-hitter against the Vanderbilt Commodores in the final game of the 2021 College World Series, leading the Bulldogs to their first ever championship.[9] He was named to the USA Baseball National Collegiate Team after the season.[10] Sims entered the 2022 season as a top prospect for the upcoming draft.[11] For the season, he moved into the starting rotation.[12][13] He was named the team's Opening Day starter and pitched seven innings in which he gave up one earned run, seven hits, no walks, and 13 strikeouts in a 3-0 loss to Long Beach State.[14][15] On March 4, in a game against the Tulane Green Wave, Sims was removed in the fourth inning due to a right arm injury.[16] On March 14, it was announced that he had torn his ulnar collateral ligament and would undergo Tommy John surgery, forcing him to miss the remainder of the season.[17] Over 15+2⁄3 innings pitched in 2022, he compiled a 1.15 ERA and 27 strikeouts.[18]
Professional career
[edit]Sims was selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks with the 34th overall selection of the 2022 Major League Baseball draft.[19] He signed with the team for $2.35 million.[20]
Sims made his professional debut in 2023 during a rehab assignment with the Arizona Complex League Diamondbacks, and was later assigned to the Visalia Rawhide.[21] Over 24+1⁄3 innings pitched during the season, he went 0-4 with a 5.47 ERA and 28 strikeouts.[22] He was assigned to Visalia to open the 2024 season.[23]
References
[edit]- ^ Frazer, Ian (July 17, 2017). "THE GRIND: South Forsyth's Sims balances promising baseball career with football". Forsyth County News.
- ^ Askeland, Kevin (July 13, 2017). "MaxPreps 2017 Underclass All-American Baseball Teams". MaxPreps.
- ^ Dahn, Jeff (July 9, 2018). "TE 17u's Sims comes out firing". Perfect Game.
- ^ Roberts, David (July 30, 2021). "'I want to win': Sims' lifelong tenacity helps fuel champion Bulldogs". Forsyth County News.
- ^ Schinzel, Gene (June 27, 2021). "'Thank God he's on our team': Mississippi State's Landon Sims is one of nation's best closers". Omaha World-Herald.
- ^ Horka, Tyler. "3 stats to know about Mississippi State baseball pitcher Landon Sims". The Clarion-Ledger.
- ^ Horka, Tyler. "'Absolute Bulldog': How Landon Sims became a shutdown closer for Mississippi State baseball". The Clarion-Ledger.
- ^ Sokoloff, Jon (November 4, 2021). "Mississippi State star pitcher Landon Sims cashes in". WCBI-TV.
- ^ "Mississippi State throws combined one-hitter against Vanderbilt to win first College World Series title". ESPN. June 30, 2021.
- ^ Avento, Joe (July 3, 2021). "Collegiate National Team heading for area ballparks". Kingsport Times-News.
- ^ Schusterman, Jordan (February 17, 2022). "Storylines, MLB draft prospects to watch in 2022 college baseball". Fox Sports.
- ^ Kostka, Andy. "'Pretty special spot': How Landon Sims has prepared to be Mississippi State baseball's ace". The Clarion-Ledger.
- ^ DeRosa, Theo (February 8, 2022). "Mississippi State baseball: Landon Sims set to lead 'unproven' rotation into 2022 season". The Commercial Dispatch.
- ^ Kostka, Andy (February 18, 2022). "Landon Sims shines but Mississippi State baseball drops season opener to Long Beach State". The Clarion-Ledger.
- ^ DeRosa, Theo (February 19, 2022). "Landon Sims' first start just what Mississippi State needed in opening series". The Commercial Dispatch.
- ^ DeRosa, Theo (March 4, 2022). "Breaking: Landon Sims leaves Mississippi State baseball game at Tulane with apparent arm injury". The Commercial Dispatch.
- ^ DeRosa, Theo (March 14, 2022). "Breaking: Mississippi State pitchers Landon Sims, Stone Simmons out for season with torn UCL". The Commercial Dispatch.
- ^ Anderson, RJ (March 14, 2022). "Mississippi State's Landon Sims, possibly top college arm in MLB draft, out for year with elbow injury". CBS Sports.
- ^ "Diamondbacks' Landon Sims: Drafted by D-backs".
- ^ "MLB Draft Tracker". MLB.com.
- ^ "Diamondbacks' Landon Sims: Cleared to rejoin Single-A squad". CBSSports.com. 2023-07-27. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
- ^ "Diamond Dawgs in the Minor League: Season Wrap Up". 247Sports. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
- ^ "Here's where the D-backs' Top 30 prospects are starting the season". MLB.com. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
External links
[edit]- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference (Minors)