Former Palomar College baseball player, James Hoyt, made his Major league debut with the Astros on Aug. 3rd, 2016.
Hoyt, an Idaho native, moved to California in 2007 to play baseball at Palomar College when he received a phone call from former MLB player Bill Buckner.
“I didn’t get to see James Hoyt’s debut, I was actually practicing at Palomar but heard that he did really well,” Michale Benson, the catcher for the Palomar College baseball team said.
“He just wanted to come play baseball in California and based on Buckner’s evaluation they were willing to give him a shot,” said Buck Taylor, Hoyt’s former Palomar coach.
Hoyt was redshirted as a freshman at Palomar so he could continue to develop his skills, but still came in for relief in six games and had three quality outings late in the season.
Hoyt finished his sophomore year with a 2-0 record and a solid 2.25 ERA over 18 1/3 innings.
Taylor had nothing but good things to say about Hoyt during his time at Palomar saying he was a good teammate, he was respectful to the coaching staff, teammates loved having him around, and how reliable he was.
I didn’t see his debut Just like Benson, i heard he did really well. Jimmy is a really good guy, he pitches really well,” said Grant Buck, Palomar’s first basemen.”
After playing at Palomar, Hoyt decided to transfer to Centenary College of Louisiana where he would continue his college baseball career.
Before Hoyt made his journey to the Majors, he moved back to San Diego and began working at a rental boat company.
Hoyt was inspired to continue his baseball career, so he started in the Independent Leagues playing with several different teams.
He started with the Texas Edinburg Roadrunners, then got called up to the Wichita Wingnuts.
After Hoyt’s career in the Independent League, the Houston Astros saw a lot of potential in him and signed him to a minor contract in 2012 at the age of 25, where he began his professional baseball career in the Astros Mexican League AAA system.
Hoyt’s minor league career numbers are a solid 3.07 ERA in three starts and 194 relief appearances while striking out 359 batters in 258 1/3 innings.
As of Sept. 13, 2016, Hoyt has come in for relief in 49 games with a 4-3 record and a 1.64 ERA, along with 93 strikeouts in 55 innings. To add, Hoyt has gotten 29 saves in 32 opportunities for the Houston Astros AAA affiliate, the Fresno Grizzlies in 2016.
The Astros recognized Hoyt’s talent and called him up on Aug. 3, where he pitched one scoreless inning of relief with two strikeouts and one walk against the Toronto Blue Jays.
I did see his major league debut, and he pitched very well. I thought his debut went very well he kept his composure, they teach us to to keep the ball down and he kept the ball down, composure was the main thing,” Said Johnathan Vizcaino a baseball player at Palomar College.
Houston called Hoyt back up from AAA Fresno on Sept. 2, and as of Sept. 13, 2016, he has been called into seven games where he has posted a 1-1 record while putting up a 1.23 ERA, with seven 1/3 innings, and 10 strikeouts under his belt since his second call-up date.
