Marcus Stroman

Stroman’s Height is listed at 5 ft, making him one of only six pitchers shorter than 5 ft to make a start at the MLB level in the 21st century.

Stroman attended Duke University, and played college baseball for the Duke Blue Devils.

Marcus Earl Stroman (born May 1, 1991) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB).

He has previously played in MLB for the Toronto Blue Jays, New York Mets, and Chicago Cubs.

Stroman was born in Medford, New York, on May 1, 1991, to Earl Stroman and Adlin Auffant, who divorced when he was in the fifth grade.

His mother is Puerto Rican but we do not know the race of his father, making him eligible to represent Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic.

His father is a police detective in Suffolk County, New York.

Stroman has a brother, Jayden, and sister, Sabria.

His cousin, Erskine Kelley, played minor league baseball with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs organizations.

In 1997, a six-year-old Stroman made an appearance on the Nickelodeon game show Figure It Out.

Stroman attended Patchogue-Medford High School in Medford, where he enjoyed a high school rivalry with Steven Matz, a friend and future New York Mets teammate, who pitched for the nearby Ward Melville High School.

Matz and Stroman were teammates on the same elite travel team, the Paveco Storm, for several years in junior high and high school.

The two were roommates during the Area Code Games and pitched against each other several times in high school, including a notable game on April 16, 2009, which was attended by more than 50 scouts from every MLB team, and is considered one of the best games in the history of Long Island high school baseball.

Matz struck out 12 and allowed one hit, leading his team to a 1–0 victory, while Stroman struck out 14 and allowed three hits.

Both pitchers threw complete games.

Mets scout Larry Izzo later called it "one of the best duels I've ever seen".

Stroman was drafted in the 18th round of the 2009 MLB draft (532nd overall) by the Washington Nationals.

He opted to not sign, and instead entered Duke University, where he played college baseball for the Duke Blue Devils baseball team.

At Duke, Stroman compiled a career record of 15–13 in 48 appearances, and set the Duke record for career strikeouts (290 over 222 innings pitched).

He was also a position player for Duke, making 97 appearances, mostly at second base and shortstop.

In 2010 and 2011, he played collegiate summer baseball for the Orleans Firebirds of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL), allowed zero earned runs over 34 career innings with Orleans, was named a league all-star in 2010, and is a member of the CCBL Hall of Fame class of 2022.

Billed by analysts as the most major league ready player available in the 2012 MLB draft, Stroman was drafted by the Jays 22nd overall, and became the first Duke player ever selected in the first round.

After starting his professional career with the Low-A Vancouver Canadians, the Blue Jays promoted Stroman to the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats on August 1, 2012.

Stroman was suspended for 50 games on August 28, 2012, for testing positive for methylhexanamine, a banned stimulant, which he claimed to unknowingly consume in an over the counter supplement.

Having completed his suspension, Stroman started and pitched five scoreless innings to get the win in the May 19, 2013 game for the Fisher Cats.

On July 2, 2013, Stroman struck out 13 batters over 62⁄3 innings in a 3–1 loss to the New Britain Rock Cats.

He was ranked as the number three prospect in the Blue Jays organization on July 26, 2013, when the revised Top 100 Prospects list was released.

He made his MLB debut with the Blue Jays in 2014.

Stroman attended the Blue Jays' 2014 major league spring training camp, and was assigned to the minor league camp on March 19.

He was the 2014 Opening Day starting pitcher for the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons.

Stroman was called up to the Blue Jays on May 3, 2014, after Brandon Morrow was transferred to the 60-day injured list.

At the time of his call-up, he was considered the organization's number two prospect.

He earned his first MLB victory on May 6, pitching 11⁄3 innings in relief of Drew Hutchison.

Stroman was optioned back to Triple-A Buffalo on May 18, and was recalled on May 30 to make his first Major League start the following day.

He pitched six innings and surrendered only one earned run on five hits, striking out six and issuing no walks to earn the win over the Kansas City Royals.

On May 15, 2016, Stroman graduated from Duke University with a bachelor's degree in sociology.

In 2017, he was the World Baseball Classic MVP.

After the regular season, he won a 2017 Gold Glove Award.

Stroman was named an All-Star in 2019, and the Blue Jays traded him to the Mets later in the 2019 season.

He signed a three-year contract for the Cubs prior to the 2022 season and opted out of his third year at the end of the 2023 season.