Cody Ponce

Cody Joe Ponce (born April 25, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He played for the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball for the Cal Poly Pomona Broncos. Ponce made his MLB debut in 2020. Amateur career 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. Professional career Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers selected Ponce in the second round, with the 55th overall selection of the 2015 Major League Baseball (MLB) 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 (nine starts) between both clubs.