Mitch Lambson is a 32-year-old left-handed pitcher from the state of Oregon. The crafty lefty graduated from Tualatin High School and was the closer for a few years at Arizona State University.
While at Tualatin, he set new marks for career strikeouts and victories; he was a two-time Pacific Conference pitcher of the year and was given all-state honors as a senior when he had a 1.40 ERA and 92 strikeouts.
At Arizona State, Lambson was a First Team Freshman All-American after he struck out 99 hitters in 32 games, just one being a start. He became the prominent closer for the Sun Devils his Junior year and racked up nine saves. Lambson finished his college career making 102 appearances, tied for second-most in school history, and he did this in just a three-year career in Tempe.
Lambson was drafted in the 19th round of the MLB draft in 2011 by the Houston Astros. The former Sun Devil was impressive in his first full professional season when he posted a 2.15 ERA in 23 games; he continued the momentum for the next couple of seasons, having his ERA range from 1.36 to 3.03.
He was with the ‘Stros until 2015 when a deal sent him to the Atlanta Braves; Lambson would be assigned to their Triple-A team. In December of 2015, he was claimed by the Milwaukee Brewers, again being in Triple-A.
Lambson has been in the American Association, the Mexican Leagues, and the Atlantic League since 2017, as the veteran went from a reliever back to a starting pitcher. Last year with the Blue Crabs, he stayed in the rotation all year after he kept his ERA at 3.60, but he also tossed seven complete games and punched out 145 hitters in 162.2 innings pitched.
In August, the control pitcher would be named the pitcher of the month, that month he toed the slab four times, he went the distance twice, with one complete game being a shutout, and his ERA was an immaculate 0.87 as he only surrendered three earned runs in 31 innings pitched, he struck out 28 hitters. His defense was also hard to look past, as he was named to the All-Defensive team at the end of the year, joining his battery mate Ryan Haug.
This season will be Lambson’s 12th season in professional baseball and his third year with the Crabs.
