Jacob Lopez

Jacob Lopez (born March 11, 1998) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2023.

Amateur career
Lopez attended Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, California, and College of the Canyons, where he played college baseball.

San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants selected Lopez in the 26th round, with the 766th overall selection, of the 2018 Major League Baseball draft. He made his professional debut with the rookie–level Arizona League Giants, recording a 1.42 ERA in 9 games. Lopez began the 2019 season with the Low–A Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, starting 9 games and posting a 3.02 ERA with 39 strikeouts across $41 2⁄3$ innings pitched.

Tampa Bay Rays
On July 31, 2019, the Giants traded Lopez to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for Joe McCarthy. He made 3 starts for the Low–A Hudson Valley Renegades down the stretch, recording a 2–0 record and 2.40 ERA with 18 strikeouts. Lopez did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lopez began the 2021 season with the High–A Bowling Green Hot Rods, making 14 appearances (10 starts) and registering a 3–1 record and 2.30 ERA with 88 strikeouts across $54 2⁄3$ innings of work. Lopez suffered an elbow injury in late August that necessitated Tommy John surgery and caused him to miss the entire 2022 season.

Lopez began the 2023 season with the Double–A Montgomery Biscuits, and was promoted to the Triple–A Durham Bulls after 8 games. In 18 starts for Durham, he pitched to a 4–5 record and 2.72 ERA with 87 strikeouts in $79 1⁄3$ innings pitched. On August 14, 2023, Lopez was promoted to the major leagues for the first time. He made his debut that day in relief against the Giants, in which he recorded a save. In 4 games for Tampa Bay, Lopez logged a 4.38 ERA with 8 strikeouts across $12 1⁄3$ innings of work.

Lopez was optioned to Triple–A Durham to begin the 2024 season.