Michael Papierski

Michael John Papierski (born February 26, 1996) is an American professional baseball catcher and first baseman who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants and Cincinnati Reds.

Michael Papierski
Papierski with the Sugar Land Space Cowboys in 2022
Free agent
Catcher / First baseman
Born: (1996-02-26) February 26, 1996 (age 28) Palos Heights, Illinois, U.S.
Bats: Switch Throws: Right
MLB debut
May 21, 2022, for the San Francisco Giants
MLB statistics (through 2022 season)
Batting average	.143
Home runs	1
Runs batted in	4
Stats at Baseball Reference
Teams
San Francisco Giants (2022) Cincinnati Reds (2022)

Papierski played college baseball for the LSU Tigers and was selected in the ninth round in the 2017 MLB draft by the Houston Astros. He made his MLB debut in May 2022 with the Giants.

Early life and amateur career

Papierski grew up in Lemont, Illinois, and attended Lemont High School. He was selected in the 16th round of the 2014 Major League Baseball draft by the Toronto Blue Jays, but opted not to sign in favor of attending Louisiana State University (LSU).^[1]

Papierski played college baseball for the LSU Tigers for three seasons. He spent the majority of his freshman season as the backup to starting catcher Kade Scivicque.^[2] In 2015, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox of the Cape Cod Baseball League.^[3] Papierski started 40 games at catcher and hit .242/.358/.387 in his sophomore season.^[4] As a junior, Papierski hit .256/.401/.477 with 11 home runs and 39 RBIs in 65 games, and was named to the SEC All-Defensive team after throwing out 23 baserunners.^[5]

Professional career

Houston Astros

The Houston Astros selected Papierski in the ninth round of the 2017 Major League Baseball draft.^[6] After signing with the team he was assigned to the Tri-City ValleyCats of the New York–Penn League.^[7] Papierski spent the 2018 season with the Class A Quad Cities River Bandits.^[8]

He was assigned to the Fayetteville Woodpeckers of the Class A-Advanced Carolina League in 2019, where he batted .233/.351/.324 with seven home runs, 11 doubles, one triple, and 38 RBIs. After the 2020 minor league season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Papierski was added to the Astros' alternate training site roster for the Major League season.^[9] He spent the 2021 season with the Triple-A Sugar Land Skeeters, hitting .246/.379/.375 with 7 home runs and 46 RBIs.^[10] He opened the 2022 season back with Sugar Land.

San Francisco Giants

On May 14, 2022, the Astros traded Papierski to the San Francisco Giants in exchange for Mauricio Dubón.^[11] He was assigned to the Sacramento River Cats.^[12] Papierski was promoted to the Giants' major league roster on May 21, 2022.^[13] He made his major league debut later that day in 2-1 loss to the San Diego Padres.^[14] He went 0-for-9 in his first five major league games. Papierski was designated for assignment on June 18, 2022, after the Giants claimed Yermín Mercedes.^[15]

Cincinnati Reds

On June 25, 2022, Papierski was claimed off waivers by the Cincinnati Reds.^[16] He recorded his first major league hit on June 29, against the Chicago Cubs. On August 7, Papierski hit his first career home run, a solo shot off of Milwaukee Brewers starter Corbin Burnes.^[17] He appeared in 34 games for Cincinnati, hitting .159/.242/.207 with one home run and 4 RBI.

Detroit Tigers

On October 14, 2022, he was claimed off waivers by the Detroit Tigers.^[18] On November 15, Papierski was designated for assignment by the Tigers.^[19] On November 18, he was non–tendered and became a free agent. He re-signed with the Tigers on a minor league contract on November 29.^[20]

Papierski spent the 2023 season with the Triple–A Toledo Mud Hens, playing in 77 games and batting .266/.371/.422 with 8 home runs and 51 RBI. He elected free agency following the season on November 6.^[21]

Seattle Mariners

On January 22, 2024, Papierski signed a minor league contract with the Seattle Mariners.^[22] On November 6, he elected free agency.^[23]

References

1. Spiegelman, Sam (June 8, 2014). "LSU commit Mike Papierski drafted in the 16th round by the Toronto Blue Jays". The Times-Picayune. Archived from the original on May 25, 2021. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
2. "On campus: LSU's Michael Papierski makes Johnny Bench Award list". Chicago Tribune. April 1, 2016. Archived from the original on May 25, 2021. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
3. "Michael Papierski - Profile". pointstreak.com. Archived from the original on December 9, 2021. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
4. "After ditching switch-hitting, LSU hopes catcher Mike Papierski becomes a productive cog in the lineup". The Advocate. February 7, 2017. Archived from the original on May 25, 2021. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
5. Boutwell, Christian (June 30, 2017). "Papierski excited to reunite with Bregman". MLB.com. Archived from the original on May 25, 2021. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
6. Wyatt, Matt (June 24, 2017). "Astros draft pick Michael Papierski powers LSU's College World Series win". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on May 25, 2021. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
7. "Michael Papierski catching on fast with ValleyCats". Times Union. July 27, 2017. Archived from the original on May 25, 2021. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
8. "Bandits' Papierski learning from a 'rock star'". Quad-City Times. May 2, 2018. Archived from the original on May 25, 2021. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
9. "Astros' Michael Papierski: Joins player pool". CBSSports.com. RotoWire. June 29, 2020. Archived from the original on May 25, 2021. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
10. Rome, Chandler (March 8, 2022). "Held in high regard, catcher Michael Papierski keeps working toward Astros debut". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
11. Pavlovic, Alex (May 14, 2022). "Giants trade Dubón to Astros with roster crunch looming". NBC Sports Bay Area. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
12. "Houston Astros acquire utilityman Mauricio Dubón from San Francisco Giants". ESPN.com. Associated Press. May 14, 2022. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
13. "Giants' Michael Papierski: Contract selected by Giants". CBS Sports. RotoWire. May 21, 2022. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
14. Schulman, Henry (May 21, 2022). "Papierski's MLB debut? Catching Rodón". MLB.com. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
15. "Giants' Michael Papierski: Designated for assignment". cbssports.com. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
16. "Why the Cincinnati Reds claimed and called up catcher Michael Papierski".
17. "Papierski's first homer ties it | 08/07/2022". MLB.com.
18. "Tigers Claim Michael Papierski, Designate Ali Sanchez". October 14, 2022.
19. "Tigers add 5 youngsters to the roster; veteran reliever among those cut". mlive.com. November 15, 2022. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
20. "Tigers Re-Sign Four Players to Minor League Deals". November 29, 2022.
21. "2023 MiLB Free Agents". baseballamerica.com. November 8, 2023. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
22. "Transactions".
23. Eddy, Matt (November 6, 2024). "Minor League Free Agents 2024". Baseball America. Retrieved November 6, 2024.

External links

• Career statistics from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
• LSU Tigers bio