Zach Eflin

Zachary Adams Eflin (born April 8, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB).

He has previously played in MLB for the Philadelphia Phillies.

The San Diego Padres selected Eflin in the first round (33rd overall) of the 2012 MLB draft, and he spent three seasons in the Padres' minor league system.

Following his high school career, the San Diego Padres selected Eflin in the first round, with the 33rd overall selection, of the 2012 MLB draft.

Rather than enroll at UCF, Eflin signed with the Padres, receiving a $1.2 million signing bonus.

Eflin began his professional career in 2012 with the AZL Padres in the Arizona Fall League, with a win–loss record of 0–1 and a 7.71 ERA in seven innings.

He missed time after he contracted mononucleosis.

After his first season, scouts thought that he had a good chance to have a strong career in the major leagues, but injury concerns had already begun to mount.

The next year, in his first full professional season, he pitched for the Fort Wayne TinCaps of the Class A Midwest League.

Eflin posted a 7–6 record and a league-leading 2.73 ERA.

He recorded 86 strikeouts in 118 2⁄3 innings.

After the season, baseball analyst Keith Law ranked Eflin the eighth-best prospect in the Padres' minor league system, noting he was at a more advanced stage of development as a pitcher than two of the higher-ranked pitching prospects but might have a slightly lower ceiling.

In December 2014, Eflin was traded twice in the course of 24 hours, first to the Los Angeles Dodgers as part of a package for all-star outfielder Matt Kemp, and then to the Phillies as part of a package for franchise star Jimmy Rollins.

In 2014, Eflin pitched for the Lake Elsinore Storm of the Class A-Advanced California League, and he finished the season with a 10–7 win–loss record and a 3.80 ERA, with 93 strikeouts in 128 innings.

After the season, he was ranked the number five prospect in the Padres' system, recognized by scouts for his "stellar control" who avoided issuing walks to opposing hitters.

On December 18, 2014, the Padres traded Eflin, Joe Wieland, and Yasmani Grandal to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for all-star outfielder Matt Kemp, Tim Federowicz, and cash.

Less than 24 hours later, Eflin came to the Phillies with Tom Windle from the Los Angeles Dodgers in a trade that moved Jimmy Rollins, the longest-tenured athlete in all of Philadelphia sports, the Phillies' all-time hits leader, and the face of the franchise for more than a decade, to Los Angeles.

The trade was the first move in what Phillies general manager Rubén Amaro Jr. characterized an "arduous rebuilding process", The Phillies had zeroed in on Eflin on the advice of Gorman Heimueller, a former Phillies instructor working in the Padres organization, who said that Eflin "had a lead-pipe sinker and the makings to pitch at the top of a rotation once he could master the slider."

During spring training in 2021, Eflin—the last player acquired during Amaro's 2015 rebuilding efforts still to be in the Phillies organization—reflected on the trade as a turning point for his career, noting that the moment made it feel "like someone wanted me more."

After Baseball America named him the fourth-best prospect in the Phillies minor league system prior to the 2015 season, the Phillies invited Eflin to spring training as a non-roster player before assigning him to the Class AA Reading Fightin Phils.

Eflin spent the 2015 season in the Eastern League as part of a starting rotation that included top Phillies prospects Aaron Nola, Jesse Biddle, Ben Lively, and Windle, the anticipated cornerstones of a new Phillies pitching staff.

He finished the 2015 season with an 8–6 record with a 3.69 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP (tied for ninth in the league), with 68 strikeouts in 131 2⁄3 innings pitched.

He was the April 12 Eastern League Pitcher of the Week, and a mid-season Eastern League All Star.

Eflin made his MLB debut with the Phillies in 2016 and bounced between the major league and minor league levels for several seasons.

Beginning in 2019, he landed in the major leagues and became an anchor of the Phillies' starting rotation in 2019–21 seasons, but a right knee contusion resulted in a stint on the 60-day injured list, and Eflin was moved to the bullpen after his return in September 2022.

He signed with the Rays as a free agent after the 2022 season.

Eflin relies heavily on a sinking fastball that he pairs with a slider and curveball.

Although he has experimented with being a power pitcher, he relies more on his command and pitching to contact.

He is a Christian and credits his faith as having helped him through a challenging upbringing that included several family tragedies.

Eflin was born in Orlando, Florida.

Eflin's older sister Ashley died of leukemia at age seven.

Another sister, Candace, Eflin has said, is his greatest inspiration.

Candace has had special needs since birth (global developmental delay) due to oxygen deprivation.

His eldest sister, Brittany, is a Registered Nurse.

Growing up, Eflin says he leaned heavily on his Christian faith; his paternal grandfather has been a pastor for 60 years.

Eflin attended Paul J. Hagerty High School in Oviedo, Florida, where he played baseball.

His junior year of high school, Eflin planned to quit the baseball team to join the golf team, but he ultimately abandoned that plan.

While he was in high school, he grew seven inches and became a dominant starting pitcher who attracted attention from colleges and professional scouts.

In his senior year, he had an 0.51 earned run average (ERA) and 59 strikeouts in 43 innings pitched.

Although Eflin signed a National Letter of Intent (NLI) to attend UCF on a college baseball scholarship, he ultimately signed with the San Diego Padres after being drafted.