Stafford High School Product Josh Simpson Gets MLB Call-Up

STAFFORD, CT — Former Stafford High School baseball standout Josh Simpson has reached the pinnacle of professional baseball with a September call-up to the Miami Marlins.

According to MLB.com's transaction wire, Simpson was brought up to the big club Tuesday from from its Triple-A affiliate, the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp.

Simpson had struck out 62 batters in 36.1 innings this season in the minors, according to team statistics. He was carrying a 4.71 ERA and 1.54 WHIP.

He did not see action through Thursday against Milwaukee and will be making his major-league debut when he enters a game for the Marlins.

In addition to Stafford High School, Simpson played at Columbia University. Simpson would be the first Lion to appear in an MLB game since Fernando Perez in 2001, according to the Columbia Athletic Department.

He was selected by the Marlins in the 32nd round of the 2019 MLB Draft.

"He's been really good, his curveball especially," Marlins manager Skip Schumaker was quoted as saying on the Columbia baseball site. "He's got a real curveball. Obviously he could throw 94-95 miles an hour too and he's not just like a one-pitch pitcher. He can throw multiple innings, so he's not just a one inning type of guy."

Simpson is Miami's No. 28-ranked prospect according to MLB Pipeline. He was included on the Marlins' 40-man roster in November and was sent to Jacksonville of the International League after spring training.

Simpson has appeared in 110 Minor League games over the past four seasons, according to organization statistics. He owns a lifetime ERA of 4.40 and has 262 strikeouts in games with Single- A, Double-A, and Triple-A.

In 2011, just prior to Simpson's arrival at Stafford High School, the Bulldogs were 6-14 and missed the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference Class S tournament. After he arrived at the high school level, SHS went 16-4 in and were the No. 3 Class S seed, went 15-5 in 2013 and were the No. 5 Class S seed, amassed another 15-5 record in 2014 with a No. 5 Class S seed and was 18-2 and the No. 1 state seed in 2015.

With Simpson, Stafford was 64-16 in the regular season and twice made the Class S quarterfinals.

At Columbia, Simpson pitched in 29 games and made 28 starts over three seasons from 2016-19. He was in 160.2 innings on the mound and recorded 127 strikeouts for the Lions.

In 2019, Simpson was named Second Team All-Ivy League following a 3.06 ERA and a .231 opponent batting average, according to Columbia statistics.