Flaa is the 257th former Northwoods League player to debut in MLB
Rochester, Minn. – Former St. Cloud Rox pitcher Jay Flaa, made his Major League debut for the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday, April 27, 2021. Flaa is the 257th former Northwoods League player to reach the Major League level.
Flaa, who played collegiately at North Dakota state University, pitched for the St. Cloud Rox in 2013. He was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 6th round of the 2015 MLB draft.
In 2013 with the Rox, Flaa appeared in 10 games and was 0-0 with a 2.84 ERA. He struck out 20 batters in 12.2 innings while walking eight.
Flaa began his professional career in 2015 with the Orioles rookie level team in the Gulf Coast League. After one game he moved to the Aberdeen IronBirds of the Short-Season A New York-Penn League. He would end the season in Aberdeen and for the season he appeared in 18 games and was 1-0 with a 1.25 ERA. He struck out 24 batters in 21.2 innings while walking five and saving four games.
Flaa spent the 2016 season with the Delmarva Shorebirds of the Lo-A South Atlantic League. He appeared in 28 games and was 5-1 with a 3.50 ERA. He had a 1.338 WHIP with 50 strikeouts in 46.1 innings pitched. He also saved two games.
In 2017 Flaa moved up to the Frederick Keys of the Hi-A Carolina League. He pitched in 38 games and was 4-3 with a 3.29 ERA. He saved four games and struck out a career-high 78 batters in 54.2 innings pitched.
Flaa was promoted again for the 2018 season to the Bowie Baysox of the AA Eastern League. In 41 games he was 3-1 with a 2.77 ERA and a .969 WHIP. He continued his high strikeout numbers with 67 in 65 innings pitched while walking 28 and saving two games.
Flaa started the 2019 season with Bowie and then moved up to the Norfolk Tides of the AAA International League. For the season he was a combined 2-5 with a 4.69 ERA. He had 71 strikeouts in 71 innings and saved five games.
Flaa spent Spring Training in 2021 with the Orioles and pitched in three games allowing one run on two hits and striking out three in 2.2 innings of work. He was recalled from the Orioles Alternate Training site and made his Major League debut against the New York Yankees. Flaa entered the game in relief of Cole Sulser in the 8th inning and pitched 1.1 innings allowing no runs on no hits while striking out one.
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The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Having completed its’ 27th season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 22 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, over 250 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time All-Star and 2016 Roberto Clemente Award winner Curtis Granderson, three-time Cy Young Award winner and World Series Champion Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (BOS). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and MLB Gold Glove finalist and 2019 Second Team All-MLB shortstop Marcus Semien (TOR). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. For more information, visit www.northwoodsleague.com or download the Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play.
