Justin Lawrence #61

Justin Anthony Lawrence...Wife’s name is Taylor...Has two sons and a daughter...Is a 2013 graduate of First Coast (Fla.) High School...Attended Jacksonville (Fla.) University (2014) before transferring to Daytona State (Fla.) College (2015).

2025

Pitched in three spring games with Colorado from 2/23-28 before being claimed off waivers by Pittsburgh on 3/3...Made his fourth consecutive Opening Day roster...Allowed one run in 1.0 inning in his Pirates debut on 3/29 at Miami...Made 10 straight scoreless appearances (10.1 IP) from 3/30-4/22, but walked two batters in 0.2 inning in his appearance on 4/22 at Los Angeles (AL)...Was placed on the 15-day injured list with right elbow inflammation on 4/24 (retro to 4/23)...Was transferred to the 60-day injured list on 5/3...Began a rehab assignment with Bradenton on 8/19, pitching 2.0 combined scoreless innings in the Marauders’ games on 8/19 and 8/22 vs. Daytona...Had his rehab transferred to Indianapolis on 8/26 and made six appearances from 8/26-9/9...Went a combined 1-0 with an 8.59 ERA (7.1 IP/7 ER), 13 strikeouts and a .160 batting average against in eight rehab appearances split between Bradenton and Indianapolis...Was returned from his rehab assignment and reinstated from the I.L. on 9/12...Returned to a Major League mound on 9/14 at Washington...Did not allow a run in any of his six outings after returning from injury (9/14- 27)...Finished the year on a career-high, 16.2-inning scoreless streak, tied with Bailey Falter (5/9-20) for the third-longest streak by any Pittsburgh pitcher, trailing only Andrew Heaney (19.2 IP, 4/12-29) and Paul Skenes (18.0 IP, 7/11-8/2). 

2024

Spent final season with Colorado...Picked up his two saves in back-to-back outings vs. San Diego on 4/23 and 4/25...Was on the Paternity List from 5/3-5 (daughter was born on 5/4)...Was placed on the 15-day injured list on 5/27 (retro to 5/26) with a right shoulder strain...Made one rehab appearance with Triple-A Albuquerque on 6/14...Was reinstated on 6/17...Made five straight scoreless appearances from 6/25 thru 7/2 (4.2ip)...Picked up wins in consecutive outings on 7/14 at New York (NL) and 7/22 vs. Boston.

2023

Set career highs in games (69), innings (75.0), saves (11) and strikeouts (78) while going 4-7 with a 3.72 ERA (75.0 IP, 31 ER) in his first full Major League season...Made his second Opening Day roster...His 69 relief appearances were tied for the ninth-most in the National League…75.0 innings of relief tied for ninth in the Majors and tied for sixth in the NL...3.72 ERA (75.0 IP, 31 ER) was the second-lowest among qualified Rockies pitchers…11 saves were a career-high and the second-most for the club behind Pierce Johnson’s 13...In 38 appearances in the first half, posted a 2.76 ERA (45.2 IP, 14 ER) with opponents slashing .188/.284/.269 (.553 OPS), the fourth-lowest ERA among MLB relievers…pitched to a 5.22 clip (29.1 IP, 17 ER) in 31 second half outings and allowed opponents to slash .299/.400/.470 (.870 OPS)...First half opponent OPS was the 11th-lowest in the Majors (fifth in NL) while his second half OPS ranked as the sixth-highest (second in NL)...Allowed nine of 43 inherited runners to score, a 20.9 IRS% that ranked as the sixth-lowest in the Majors (third in NL)...43 inherited runners tied for the 10th-most in the Majors (third-most in the NL)...Seventh-lowest IRS% in franchise history (min. 40 IR), the lowest since Randy Flores in 2010 (20%, 50/10)...Along with teammate Jake Bird (84.1 IP), became the first pair of Rockies relievers (min. 95% games of relief) to toss at least 75.0 innings in a season since Adam Ottavino (78.1) and Wilton López (75.1) in 2013…seventh time overall in franchise history...Selected to play for Team Panama in the 2023 World Baseball Classic…struck out three batters in two appearances (2.0 IP) while not allowing a baserunner.

2022

Made the Rockies Opening Day roster for the first time in his career...Went 3-1 with a 5.70 ERA (42.2 IP, 27 ER), 22 walks, 48 strikeouts and one save across 38 appearances...Optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque on May 7...served five additional stints with Colorado, including one as the 27th man (May 17-26, June 11 (27th man), July 4-6, July 26-29 and Aug. 13-end of season)...Recorded his first Major League save on Oct. 2, tossing a scoreless ninth inning at Dodger Stadium...In 18 outings at Coors Field, was 3-0 with a 6.75 ERA (21.1 IP, 16 ER), eight walks and 24 strikeouts...0-1 with a 4.64 ERA (21.1 IP, 11 ER), 14 walks and 24 strikeouts in 20 games on the road...Posted a 3.07 ERA (29.1 IP, 10 ER), 13 walks and 49 strikeouts in 28 games with Albuquerque...scoreless through his final 10 Triple-A appearances.

2021

Made 19 total appearances, 10 of them scoreless, across six stints on Colorado’s active roster, including one stint as the 27th man...1-0 with an 8.64 ERA (16.2 IP, 16 ER) with 19 walks and 17 strikeouts … two holds and one blown save...Took his first Major League win on July 4 vs. St. Louis after tossing a scoreless ninth inning...Struck out a career-high four batters in his third appearance of two innings on June 27 in Milwaukee...Went 6-5 with a 4.73 ERA in 31 relief outings for Triple-A Albuquerque, recording 13 saves over 32.1 innings, while striking out 30 and walking 12 … held opponents scoreless 20 times...Through his first 14 games with the Isotopes, went 4-1 with a 1.76 ERA (15.1 IP, 3 ER) … posted a 7.41 ERA (17.0 IP, 14 ER) through his last 17 appearances.

2020

Placed on the restricted list and received an 80-game suspension on Jan. 17, 2020, after violating Major League Baseball’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.

2019

Split the season between Double-A Hartford and Triple-A Albuquerque, his first experience at both levels...Combined at both levels, went 1-5 with an 8.76 ERA (37.0 IP, 36 ER) across 38 appearances...Began the season with Albuquerque, making eight relief appearances in April before being placed on the injured list on April 30, retroactive to April 29 … went 1-1 with an 8.71 ERA (10.1 IP, 10 ER) with the Isotopes...Made his next appearance June 5 as a member of Hartford … made 30 appearances with the Yard Goats and went 0-4 with an 8.78 ERA (26.2 IP, 26 ER)...Received his first invite to Major League Spring Training … made seven appearances and allowed four runs across 7.1 innings (4.91 ERA) with four walks and nine strikeouts.

2018

Was named a California League Mid-Season All-Star, his first career All-Star nod ... Made a career-high 55 relief appearances for High-A Lancaster, notching 11 saves in 15 opportunities with a 2.65 ERA (54.1 IP, 16 ER), 27 walks and 62 strikeouts … held opponents to a .188 batting average ... Went 3-8 with a 5.06 ERA (96.0 IP, 54 ER), 34 walks and 80 strikeouts in 21 starts with Triple-A Albuquerque ... Named a Rising Star in the Arizona Fall League … in 10 relief appearances, logged three saves with a 3.38 ERA (10.2 IP, 4 ER), six walks and 13 strikeouts.

2017

Made 16 appearances and recorded six saves for Low-A Asheville before year-ending surgery ... Scored upon three times in his 16 appearances, allowing three earned runs in 16.1 innings pitched (1.65 ERA) ... Made his last appearance on May 15 … placed on the disabled list on May 18.

2016

Split the season between Short-Season Boise and Low-A Asheville, going a combined 4-6 with a 4.98 ERA (65.0 IP, 36 ER) in 49 relief appearances ... Went 2-1 with eight saves and a 2.20 ERA (28.2 IP, 7 ER) in 23 appearances with Boise … his eight saves were tied for the second-most in the Northwest League behind teammate Julian Fernandez.

2015

Began his professional career with Short-Season Boise, before finishing the season with Rookie Level Grand Junction ... In 22 combined appearances between the two stops, went 0-3 with a 8.39 ERA (24.2 IP, 23 ER) ... Appeared in 16 games with Boise before being assigned to Grand Junction, Aug. 23.