Jake Fishman


Jake Layton Fishman is an American-Israeli professional baseball pitcher in the Toronto Blue Jays organization and for Team Israel.
In high school, in 2013 he was named to the Hockomock League All-Star First Team, and was named to the Massachusetts All-Star Team. In college, in his junior season with the Union Dutchmen, in 2016 Fishman led all of college baseball with a 0.41 ERA. He was named the Liberty League's Pitcher of the Year, Player of the Year, All-Liberty League First Team both as a pitcher and as a utility player, and a D3baseball.com All-American.
Fishman was selected in the 30th round of the 2016 Major League Baseball draft by the Toronto Blue Jays. He was on the roster for Team Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic. In November 2019, he obtained Israeli citizenship so that he could play for Team Israel in baseball at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

Early and personal life

Fishman was born in Newton, Massachusetts, to Hutch Fishman and Cindy Layton, and is Jewish.

High school

Fishman attended Sharon High School in Massachusetts, where he was an outfielder and pitcher. He was captain of his high school baseball team during both his junior and senior years. The now-6'-3" pitcher said he was only 5' 7" until he had a 7-inch growth spurt in his junior year. In his senior year he was named to the Hockomock League All-Star First Team, was runner-up to be the Hockomock League MVP, and was named to the Massachusetts All-Star Team. He graduated in 2013.

College

Undrafted out of high school, Fishman didn't receive an NCAA Division I offer. Fishman then attended NCAA Division III Union College for three years.
In his freshman season, he pitched to a 7–0 win–loss record with a 2.29 earned run average and 49 strikeouts in 63 innings pitched. Fishman was named Division III Upstate Baseball Pitcher of the Week after pitching a no-hitter in his second college start on March 29, 2014. Fishman also played first base and designated hitter and batted for Union, hitting.400 with 24 runs batted in and 12 stolen bases. In the off-season, he played for the Brockton Rox of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League. In 2015, Fishman went 4–2 with a 1.48 ERA and 43 strikeouts in 42 innings. At the plate, he hit.477 with 23 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. He was named to the NCAA 2015 Academic All-District 3 Baseball Team as a designated hitter, with a 3.32 GPA and a major in Managerial Economics. He was also named a 2015 Jewish Sports Review College Baseball All-American with, among others, first baseman Simon Rosenbaum and first baseman/outfielder Jeremy Wolf.
In his junior, and final, season with the Dutchmen, in 2016 Fishman led all of college baseball with a 0.41 ERA, and had a 7–0 record with 85 strikeouts in 66 innings pitched. He threw a fastball in the low-90s. He also batted.361 with 14 RBIs. At the end of the season he was named the Liberty League's Pitcher of the Year, Player of the Year, and All-Liberty League First Team both as a pitcher and as a utility player. Fishman was also selected to the 2016 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List, the only NCAA Division III baseball player named to the list. He was the first Union player to receive D3baseball.com All-American honors at pitcher, and was chosen as an American Baseball Coaches Association Second-Team All-American at utility. In his three years pitching for Union, he went 18-2 with a 1.36 ERA, and as a hitter he batted.410.
After the college season, he pitched during the summer for the Wareham Gatemen of the Cape Cod League. Fishman planned to continue attending classes for his Union College degree in the fall of 2016, and to finish his degree requirements.

Minor leagues

Fishman was selected in the 30th round of the 2016 Major League Baseball draft by the Toronto Blue Jays. In being selected, he became the first Union College player to be taken in an MLB draft. He signed with the Blue Jays on June 17, for a signing bonus of $50,000 and payment of his senior year tuition, approximately $65,000.
Fishman was assigned to the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Blue Jays. In seven appearances, including one start, he posted a 0–1 record, 4.80 ERA, and 13 strikeouts in 15 innings pitched. He was promoted to the Bluefield Blue Jays of the Rookie Appalachian League on August 20, but did not appear for the team before the end of the season.
In 2017, Fishman pitched one scoreless inning for the Gulf Coast League Blue Jays, pitched in 14 relief appearances for the Vancouver Canadians of the Class A- Northwest League for whom he was 1-0 with 1 save and a 1.17 ERA and 4 walks and 23 strikeouts in 23 innings, and pitched four times in relief for the Lansing Lugnuts of the Class A Midwest League, for whom he was 0-1 with a 4.05 ERA and zero walks and 15 strikeouts in 6.2 innings.
Fishman began the 2018 season pitching for the Dunedin Blue Jays of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League, for whom he was 2-3 with 8 saves and a 2.68 ERA, as in 44 games he pitched 57 innings, walked 11, and struck out 56 batters, as he had the best WHIP on the team. He pitched in one game for the Buffalo Bisons of the Class AAA International League, pitching 1.1 perfect innings with one strikeout. Blue Jays pitching coordinator Jeff Ware described Fishman as "the kind of pitcher that gives lefties nightmares at the dish."
In 2019, Fishman pitched for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats of the Class AA Eastern League. He was 1-1 with 4 saves and a 3.45 ERA in 42 relief appearances, as he pitched 62.2 innings with 74 strikeouts, and induced ground balls 50.9% of the time.

International baseball

Fishman was on the roster to play for Team Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic in South Korea. Team Israel coach Jerry Weinstein had been Fishman's coach when he played for the Wareham Gatemen of the Cape Cod League in 2016.
In November 2019, he obtained Israeli citizenship so that he could play for Team Israel in baseball at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.