Jon Lester

From SoSH

Jon Lester

Born:	January 7, 1984
Birthplace:	Puyallup, Washington
Hometown:	Puyallup, Washington
Height:	6' 3"
Weight:	200 lbs
Bats:	Left
Throws:	Left
Drafted:	2002: 2nd Round, 57th Pick by the Boston Red Sox
College:	None
High School:	Bellarmine Prep. School (WA)
Other Teams:	None
Years with Boston:	2006 - Present

Future Red Sox ace Jonathan T. Lester (born January 7, 1984 in Tacoma, WA), was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 2nd round of the 2002 Amateur Draft. Lester was rated as the 32nd best prospect for that draft by Baseball America.

1 Scouting Report
2 Amateur Career
3 Minor League Career
- 3.1 Minor League Awards
4 Major League Career
- 4.1 Major League Awards
5 Moment in the Sun
6 Other Memorable Moments
7 Trivia
8 Red Sox Firsts
9 External Links

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Scouting Report

Very athletic lefty. 2-seam and 4-seam fastballs sit in the low 90's, top out in the mid-90s, and have good movement. Lester also utilizes an above-average change-up, an 11-to-5 curveball which sits in the low 70s, and in 2005 worked on developing a cutter. Easy delivery motion with good explosion, similar to Andy Pettitte. Power strikeout pitcher, uses his fastball and occasionally his curve as his out pitch. While Lester typically has top notch control, occasionally he will have games where his command of certain pitches is off. Also struggles with consistency. Very hard worker, prepares well for each game. Has also been compared to Mark Mulder. Great pickoff move. Diagnosed with treatable lymphoma in 2006, but returned to the mound in good health and near full strength in spring training 2007. The velocity on his fastball returned to form in mid-2007, when he was spotting in the low-to-mid 90s, but he still experienced some command issues. ~ SoxProspects.com

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Amateur Career

Update

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Minor League Career

Lester began his professional career in the GCL in 2002, pitching just two-thirds of an inning after signing late. Red Sox GM Theo Epstein later admitted this to be a mistake on a SoSH chat; it would have been better to sign him to a 2003 contract and save a year of Rule 5 eligibility. Fortunately, Lester developed fast enough for this to be a moot point.

Lester progressed to the low class A Augusta in 2003, posting a mediocre 71/44 K/BB in 106 innings. As a 19 year-old all season, he was young for the league, so he still had projection on his side. The following season, his strikeout rate blossomed while pitching for high class A Sarasota, largely due to improved velocity on his fastball. However, he missed a significant part of the season due to injury, only logging 90 innings.

The 2005 season was when Lester progressed from an interesting low minors pitcher to a serious pitching prospect. Spending the entire year in AA Portland, he dominated the Eastern League, posting a 2.61 ERA and striking out 163 in 148 innings. Lester was named the EL Pitcher of the Year for an exciting Portland team as he formed a 1-2 punch in rotation with Jonathan Papelbon and then Anibal Sanchez later in the season. Lester was named the 22nd best prospect in the game by Baseball America entering the 2006 season [1].

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Minor League Awards

2005 Red Sox Minor League Pitcher of the Year
2005 Eastern League Pitcher of the Year
2005 Sea Dogs Pitcher of the Year (Fan Voting)
2005 Eastern League All-Star
2005 Post-Season Eastern League All-Star
2005 Red Sox Minor League Pitcher of the Month - June 2005
2005 Eastern League Pitcher of the Week - July 10, 2005
2005 Red Sox Minor League Pitcher of the Month - July 2005
2006 Red Sox ML Pitcher of the Month - May 2006

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Major League Career

Lester began the 2006 season in Pawtucket, where he was initially limited with a tight pitch count. While he posted a 2.70 ERA, he struggled with his control walking 25 in 46.2 innings. A traditionally slow starter, he showed some improvement as time went on and eventually received his first big-league callup on June 10, making his debut against the Texas Rangers.

On September 1, 2006 Jon was diagnosed with a rare form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a blood cancer. He needed to go through six rounds of chemotherapy.

After going into remission in December 2006 and working his way back through the minors, Lester returned to the big club and made his first post-cancer MLB start on July 23, 2007. He went 6.0 IP, giving up 2 ER on 5 hits with 6 strikeouts to earn the win over the Cleveland Indians at Jacobs Field.

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Major League Awards

2007 Tony Conigliaro Award Winner

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Moment in the Sun

May 19, 2008: Lester threw a no-hitter as the Red Sox defeated the Kansas City Royals 7-0 at Fenway Park. He became the first Red Sox left-hander to throw a no-no since Mel Parnell in 1956. He recorded nine strikeouts and gave up two walks.
Obviously Lester's return from cancer is a gigantic moment, placing him in the same arena as Andres Gallaraga and Mario Lemieux, two major athletes that battled major cancers and returned to their sport. Teammate Mike Lowell had a brief battle with testicular cancer in 1999, but did not need chemotherapy. Lester's first MLB start since his treatment was picked up as a special by ESPN 2 (NESN and the Indians TV network also covered it), with his parents in attendance.

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