Virginia Tech baseball alum and five-year MLB reliever Joe Mantiply will represent the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 92nd MLB All-Star Game on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium (8 p.m. EDT, Fox).
At the All-Star break, Mantiply is sporting a sub-1.00 WHIP while leading the Diamondbacks’ bullpen in fewest walks allowed per nine innings (0.49). An ace on a staff finding its identity, he ranks second among Arizona’s relievers in both appearances (39) and ERA (2.21), having posted 34 scoreless relief outings.
Mantiply is the fourth Tech baseball alum to earn the program’s fifth roster spot in the MLB All-Star Game, joining the company of Toby Atwell (1952), Mike Williams (2002, 2003) and Joe Saunders (2008). Williams and Saunders are the only two Hokies who have made their way onto the mound during the Midsummer Classic, both logging an inning of relief during the 2002 (National) and 2008 (American) contests, respectively.
Drafted in 2009 late by the New York Mets out of Tunstall High School (Dry Fork), Mantiply honored his college commitment to Virginia Tech where he would go on to win 20 decisions and bookend his career with a pair of NCAA Regional appearances in 2010 and 2013. Utilized as a hybrid arm during his freshman season in Blacksburg, he started all but two of his final 42 appearances for Tech, carving a 3.99 ERA and 227 strikeouts across his 299 and two-thirds career innings pitched.
After leading the 2012 Hokies as a junior in innings pitched (81.2) and strikeouts (52), Mantiply was scooped up by the Philadelphia Phillies during the 28th round of the MLB Draft, though decided again to delay the start of his professional career. His decision to stay for his senior year at Tech proved to be a successful one as he boasted a 6-1 record and a 2.85 ERA during the Hokies’ run to the 2013 ACC championship game and the ensuing NCAA Blacksburg Regional.
Committing to pro ball, Mantiply honored his 27th round selection by the Detroit Tigers in 2013, turning in a 2.04 ERA as a starter with the Connecticut Tigers (Class A Short Season). Transitioning exclusively to the bullpen with the West Michigan Whitecaps (Class A), he went 6-3 with a 2.40 ERA across 38 appearances, earning a trip to the 2014 Midwest League All-Star Game before his fall promotion to the Erie SeaWolves (Class AA).
Manitply began the 2015 season as a non-roster invitee to Detroit’s spring training before charting a 2.53 ERA with Erie, making his way to Triple-A in August with the Toledo Mud Hens. Riding the waves of his up-and-down 2016 season, he received a September call-up from the Tigers, debuting on Sept. 3 and making five late-season appearances for Detroit.
Picked up by the New York Yankees during the fall of 2016, Mantiply bounced around between organizations and levels for the next three seasons, earning a trade back to the Yankees in August 2019 from the Cincinnati Reds. Returning to the MLB for a lone 2019 appearance with New York, he was signed from free agency by Arizona that offseason, accepting a minor league contract with the Diamondbacks.
With the 2020 MLB season postponed into July due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mantiply spent two months at the Diamondbacks Alternate Training Site before popping up for a handful of MLB appearances that September. By May 2021, he had secured a more permanent big-league roster spot, finishing the season to the tune of 57 appearances with a 3.40 ERA.
Mantiply is a beacon of light for Arizona, which heads into the All-Star break with its maturing, 40-52 record – nine games behind the final NL Wild Card spot. Amidst a rebuild, the Diamondbacks are already encroaching on their 2021 win total (52), which tied for the fewest in the MLB last season alongside the Baltimore Orioles.
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