Blake Rutherford


Blake Rutherford is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Chicago White Sox organization.

Career

Rutherford attended the Chaminade College Preparatory School in West Hills, California. As a freshman, Rutherford committed to play college baseball at University of California, Los Angeles. As a junior, he hit.435 with four home runs. In August 2015, he played in the Under Armour All-America Game at Wrigley Field. As a senior, he batted.577.
Rutherford was considered one of the top prospects for the 2016 MLB draft.

New York Yankees

He was drafted by the New York Yankees with the 18th overall pick in the 2016 MLB draft, and signed a contract with the team on June 29, 2016, with a signing bonus of $3,282,000 Rutherford began his professional career with the Gulf Coast Yankees of the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League, and was promoted to the Pulaski Yankees of the Rookie-level Appalachian League after a few weeks. He finished his first professional season batting.351 with three home runs and 12 RBIs in 33 games between both clubs. Rutherford began the 2017 season with the Charleston RiverDogs of the Class A South Atlantic League.

Chicago White Sox

On July 18, 2017, the Yankees traded Rutherford, Tyler Clippard, Ian Clarkin, and Tito Polo to the Chicago White Sox for David Robertson, Todd Frazier, and Tommy Kahnle. Rutherford then joined the Class A Kannapolis Intimidators. He finished 2017 with a combined.260 batting average with two home runs and 35 RBIs in 101 games between both teams. In 2018, he played for the Winston-Salem Dash, slashing.293/.345/.436 with seven home runs, 78 RBIs, and 15 stolen bases in 115 games. He began 2019 with the Birmingham Barons. He was selected to play in the Arizona Fall League for the Glendale Desert Dogs following the season.
Rutherford was added to the White Sox 40–man roster following the 2019 season.

Personal life

Rutherford's older brother, Cole, was a prospect for the San Diego Padres.