Cody Ponce


Cody Joe Ponce is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. He played college baseball for the Cal Poly Pomona Broncos.

Career

Amateur

Ponce graduated from Damien High School in La Verne, California. He enrolled at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, to play college baseball for the Cal Poly Pomona Broncos. In 2014, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Brewster Whitecaps of the Cape Cod Baseball League, and was named a league all-star.

Milwaukee Brewers

The Milwaukee Brewers selected Ponce in the second round, with the 55th overall selection of the 2015 Major League Baseball draft. Ponce signed with the Brewers, receiving a $1,108,000 signing bonus, the full slot value assigned to the pick. He reported to the Helena Brewers of the Rookie-level Pioneer League to make his professional debut. The Brewers then promoted Ponce to the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers of the Class A Midwest League. He posted a combined 2-1 record with a 2.29 ERA over 14 games between both clubs.
In 2016, h began the season on the disabled list with the Brevard County Manatees of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League, and made his first appearance for Brevard County in June. He pitched to a 2-8 record with a 5.25 ERA in 17 starts for Brevard County.
In 2017, he spent the season with both the Carolina Mudcats of the Class A-Advanced Carolina League, and the Biloxi Shuckers of the Class AA Southern League, posted a combined 10-9 record with a 3.14 ERA over 25 starts.
In 2018, he spent the season with Biloxi, going 7-6 with a 4.36 ERA in 29 games.
In 2019, he returned to Biloxi to begin the season.

Pittsburgh Pirates

On July 29, 2019, the Brewers traded Ponce to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for Jordan Lyles. Ponce split the 2019 season between Biloxi, the Altoona Curve, and the Indianapolis Indians, going a combined 2-6 with a 4.14 ERA in 62.1 innings.
After the season, he was selected for the United States national baseball team at the 2019 WBSC Premier 12. In the tournament he was 1-1 with a 2.03 ERA in three starts covering 13.1 innings. And also, he was added to the Pirates 40–man roster.