Cody Ponce

Cody Joe Ponce (born April 25, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates and in NPB for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. He played college baseball for the Cal Poly Pomona Broncos.

Amateur career
Ponce graduated from Damien High School in La Verne, California. He enrolled at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, to play college baseball for the Cal Poly Pomona Broncos. In 2014, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Brewster Whitecaps of the Cape Cod Baseball League, and was named a league all-star.

Milwaukee Brewers
The Milwaukee Brewers selected Ponce in the second round, with the 55th overall selection, of the 2015 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft. Ponce signed with the Brewers, receiving a $1,108,000 signing bonus, the full slot value assigned to the pick. He reported to the Helena Brewers of the Rookie-level Pioneer League to make his professional debut. The Brewers then promoted Ponce to the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers of the Class A Midwest League. He posted a combined 2–1 record with a 2.29 ERA over 14 games (nine starts) between both clubs.

Ponce began the 2016 season on the disabled list with the Brevard County Manatees of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League, and made his first appearance for Brevard County in June. He pitched to a 2–8 record with a 5.25 ERA in 17 starts for Brevard County.

In 2017, Ponce played for both the Carolina Mudcats of the Class A-Advanced Carolina League, and the Biloxi Shuckers of the Class AA Southern League, posted a combined 10–9 record with a 3.14 ERA over 25 starts. He spent the 2018 season with Biloxi, going 7–6 with a 4.36 ERA in 29 games (11 starts). In 2019, he returned to Biloxi to begin the season.

Pittsburgh Pirates
On July 29, 2019, the Brewers traded Ponce to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for Jordan Lyles. Ponce split the 2019 season between Biloxi, the Altoona Curve, and the Indianapolis Indians, going a combined 2–6 with a 4.14 ERA in $62 1/3$ innings.

After the season, Ponce was selected for the United States national baseball team at the 2019 WBSC Premier 12. In the tournament he was 1–1 with a 2.03 ERA in three starts covering $13 1/3$ innings. He was also added to the Pirates 40-man roster.

Ponce made his major league debut on August 2, 2020 against the Chicago Cubs and was the losing pitcher. He had an 0–6 record and a 7.04 ERA in $38 1/3$ innings in 15 games for the Pirates in 2021, while spending the rest of the season with Indianapolis. After the 2021 season, on November 29, 2021, the Pirates released Ponce to allow him to play in Japan.

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters
On December 5, 2021, Ponce signed with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). On August 27, 2022, Ponce pitched a no-hitter against the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in Sapporo Dome, making himself the seventh foreign-born player to achieve it after the NPB introduced the 2-league system when it was reorganized from the JBL in the 1950 season. He finished the year appearing in 14 games, logging a 3–5 record and 3.35 ERA with 66 strikeouts in $83 1⁄3$ innings pitched.

On April 5, 2023, Ponce was diagnosed with a partially torn quadriceps tendon in his left leg that would sideline him for 4 weeks. In 10 games for the team, he registered a 4–5 record and 3.66 ERA with 43 strikeouts across $51 2⁄3$ innings. On November 27, it was announced that Ponce and the Fighters could not reach a contract agreement, making him a free agent.

Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles
On December 26, 2023, Ponce signed with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of Nippon Professional Baseball.

Personal
Ponce is married to George Kittle's sister Emma, making the two brothers–in–law.