Jake Jacobs started, relieved in 3 seasons, made high-A

Jake Jacobs' pro career started at short-season Eugene as a reliever, The Eugene Register-Guard wrote. Then, in early August, he got his first start.

The change in roles had Jacobs a little nervous, he told The Register-Guard.

"You bet I was nervous," Jacobs told The Register-Guard afterward. "I signed (in the spring as a free agent) I didn't know how much I'd get to pitch, let alone start."

Jacobs ended up picking up the win that night and then started four other games down the stretch. He then started games each of the next two seasons. Jacobs, though, never got to start, or pitch, at AA. He played just those three seasons, never making it above high-A.

Jacobs' career began that year in 1989, signed by the Royals as a free agent out of East Carolina University.

At East Carolina, Jacobs threw consecutive no-hitters in late-April 1989. He was the first East Carolina pitcher to do so, according to The Wilmington Star-News.

With the Royals, Jacobs started at Eugene. In 20 outings, he started five games and ended with a 3.30 ERA. In a late-August start, Jacobs went seven innings, giving up just three hits. He went 2.2 scoreless in a July relief appearance.

Jacobs moved to single-A Appleton for 1990. There, he got into 25 outings, 18 starts. He went 7-6, with a 3.47 ERA. He struck out 105 in 127 innings.

For 1991, he moved to high-A Baseball City. He got 19 outings there, five starts. He ended up with an ERA of 2.75. Despite those numbers, it was his final year as a pro.

Originally published May 6, 2014

• Wilmington Star-News, May 2, 1989: 'Hawk shares weekly honor
• Eugene Register-Guard, Aug. 6, 1989: Ems slap Dodgers again, 8-3, Part 2

More: The 1990 Appleton Foxes