Jack Neely

Jack Preston Neely (born June 5, 2000) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB).

Neely attended Winston Churchill High School in San Antonio, Texas and played college baseball at the University of Texas at Austin, Iowa Western Community College and Ohio State University.^[1]

Neely was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 11th round, with the 333rd overall pick, of the 2021 Major League Baseball Draft.^[2] Neely signed with the Yankees and made his professional debut with the Single–A Tampa Tarpons.

Neely split the 2022 season between Tampa and the High–A Hudson Valley Renegades, accumulating a 3.58 ERA with 87 strikeouts and 7 saves across 38 relief outings.^[3] In 2023, Neely played with Hudson Valley and the Double–A Somerset Patriots, registering a combined 6–5 record and 2.17 ERA with 100 strikeouts and 7 saves over 42 games out of the bullpen.^[4] Neely began the 2024 campaign with Somerset, and was promoted to the Triple–A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders in June.

On July 30, 2024, the Yankees traded Neely and Ben Cowles to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for pitcher Mark Leiter Jr..^[5] He made six scoreless appearances for the Triple–A Iowa Cubs, striking out 13 batters and recording three saves. On August 20, Neely was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time.^[6]

• Career statistics from Baseball Reference (Minors)