Eric Stults

Eric William Stults is a professional baseball player born in the United States of America. Specializing in the pitching department, Stults began pitching for his high school team at Argos High School. He then went on to attend the NAIA Bethel College where he played both as a pitcher as well as a centerfielder, helping his team win the 2002 National Christian Collegiate Athletic Association Division I title. Stults had a 10-1 pitching record that season, also representing the college in basketball.

Stults declared for the 2002 MLB Draft and Great Falls Dodgers before moving onto the Vero Beach Dodgers and then ending his rookie pro season with the Jacksonville Suns in the AA-League, all in 2002. In 2003 and 2004, Stults played with the Vero Beach Dodgers in the Advanced A-League, missing most of the two seasons with injury. Playing barely 8 games over those two seasons, Stults needed a lot more time to get back to regular baseball.

In 2005, Stults was sent to the Jacksonville Suns to continue his post-injury recovery, which now seemed to be well on-track. He pitched in 12 games for the Suns, gathering a 3.31 ERA and a 4-3 record. He ended the 2005 season with the Las Vegas 51s, playing 15 games for them till the end of the season. Stults had poor stats with the 51s and that meant that he would be starting 2006 with them again.

He returned in 2006 for 26 games, ending them with a 10-11 record and a respectable 4.23 ERA. He was called up to the Dodgers’ MLB roster to make his debut in September 2006, playing against the Milwaukee Brewers. He played just 6 games for the Dodgers that season, ended the season with a win to his name. Stults was sent back to the Las Vegas 51s in 2007, again being recalled to the Dodgers after 21 games, this time for a 12-game run in the MLB.

2008 held a similar fate for Stults as he again played 20 games with the 51s at an ERA of 3.82, getting a call to the MLB roster when the rosters were expanded in the second half of the season. He pitched in 7 games for the Dodgers, picking up 2 wins and 3 losses at an ERA of 3.49.

A small injury meant that Stults would have to return to the Advanced A-League in a bid to return to full fitness. He played in the AAA-League after that, ending the season with the LA Dodgers after replacing an injured Hiroki Kuroda. This time, Stults had a great start to his Dodgers’ season, however his 4.86 ERA and 4-3 record was halted when he injured his thumb and was placed on the disabled list. Stults ended the season with the Albuquerque Isotopes although in 2010, he was named to the Dodgers’ 40-man roster at the beginning of the season.