Joe and his wife, Emma, were married in October 2024…the two met while Joe was pitching in the Cape Cod League and Emma was an intern working in the league’s front office… Emma currently holds the role of assistant director, baseball operations - development with the Cleveland Guardians…she joined the club in 2022 after graduating from Boston College and beginning her career in the Mets player development system...He was born in Philadelphia, grew up in St. Louis and moved to Louisville for his senior year of high school…however, he stuck to his roots and remains an avid Philadelphia sports fan...Since his high school days, Joe has been known as a flamethrower…in his second appearance with Kalamazoo in the summer collegiate Northwoods League, he threw the fastest pitch in the league’s history, clocked at 102 mph…Joe was teammates with several future big leaguers on the Growlers, including Cubs infielder Matt Mervis and Blue Jays outfielder Joey Loperfido. Selected by the Reds in the fifth round (143rd overall) of the 2020 First-Year Player Draft out of University of Notre Dame...Pitched for the Harwich Mariners in the Cape Cod League during the summer of 2019, going 1-2 with a 1.93 ERA (14.0IP, 3ER) over 10 appearances (one start)...Made seven appearances for the Kalamazoo Growlers following his freshman campaign at Notre Dame…was named the top prospect in the Northwoods League by both Baseball America and Perfect Game.
2025
Split the year between the Rays (13 games/nine GS) and Triple-A Durham (18 games/17 GS) in his first season in the organization after being acquired from the Athletics on Dec. 14, 2024…had three separate stints on the Major League roster: April 13-14, July 6–Aug. 22 and Sept. 15–end of the season… between July 6-23, made four appearances out of the bullpen, but his final eight outings came as a member of the rotation...In his nine starts, averaged 98.6 mph on his four-seam fastball, fastest among AL starting pitchers (min. 100 four-seamers thrown)...Threw 28 pitches at 100 mph or more despite being on the Rays active roster for only 53 games, second most on the club behind Mason Montgomery (54) and fourth most by a Ray since 2008, also trailing Pete Fairbanks (59) in 2023 and Diego Castillo (55) in 2018...Held opponents to a .221 (43-for-195) average, including .194 (12-for-62) with two outs and .117 (13-for-111) in two-strike counts…hitters went 7-for-64 (.109) when he was ahead in the count and 14-for-53 (.264) when behind. Made his Rays debut in a spot start on April 13 vs. ATL…threw 5.0 no-hit innings in a winning decision with two runs allowed (0ER), two BB and seven SO…was the longest hitless outing by a Ray since Jeffrey Springs’ 6.0-inning start on April 2, 2023 vs. DET…became the second pitcher in franchise history to record 5.0 hitless innings or more in his team debut, joining Nathan Eovaldi (May 30, 2018 at OAK - 6.0 IP)…became the eighth pitcher in the majors since 1901 to turn the trick while adding 7 SO or more in his debut with a team...Did not permit an earned run in his first 11.0 IP with the Rays, the eighth-longest streak to open a pitcher’s tenure with the franchise and longest since Cole Sulser (19.0 IP, 2019-24)…held a 1.42 ERA (19.0 IP, three ER) through his first five appearances (one start), but recorded a 6.55 ERA (33.0 IP, 24 ER) in his final eight outings, all of which were starts...On Aug. 3 vs. LAD, worked 5.0 scoreless innings of three-hit ball, but settled for a no-decision in a 3-0 defeat…marked one of his two scoreless outings of 5.0 IP or more all season along with Sept. 15 vs. TOR (6.0 IP)...On Aug. 9 at SEA, threw 20 pitches at 100.0 mph or faster in just 3.1 IP of work, most by a Ray in the pitch-tracking era (since 2008), surpassing Diego Castillo on Sept. 14, 2018 vs. OAK (11)… became the ninth starter since 2008 to touch 100.0 mph 20 times or more in an outing, joining Hunter Greene (12x), Jacob Misiorowski (2x), Jordan Hicks (2x), Noah Syndergaard (2x), Jacob deGrom (1x), Nathan Eovaldi (1x), Bobby Miller (1x) and James Paxton (1x)…entering the outing, only three of his 442 pitches on the season had registered triple-digit velocities...Recorded his second career quality start on Sept. 15 vs. TOR, joining Aug. 19, 2024 vs. TB… was saddled with a no-decision after going 6.0 scoreless innings...On Sept. 21 vs. BOS, recorded a career-high nine SO, including a career-high-tying seven swinging strikeouts (also Aug. 24, 2024 vs. MIL)...Went 8-4 with a 1.88 ERA (86.0 IP, 18 ER) over 18 appearances (17 starts) with Triple-A Durham… opponents batted .154 (46-for-299) against him, and he limited left-handed batters to a .150 (23-for-153) clip…leadoff hitters went 5-for-74 (.068) against him, best in Triple-A (min. 30 BF)...Won three International League Pitcher of the Week awards (April 14-20, May 12-18, June 2-8) and was IL Pitcher of the Month and Rays Minor League Pitcher of the Month in June…went 3-0 with a 1.85 ERA (30.0 IP, six ER) with 49 SO in six appearances (5 starts) during the month, the most strikeouts by a Bull in a calendar month since Chris Archer had 49 in May 2012...Selected as Durham’s lone International League postseason All-Star following the campaign.
2024
Went 3-6 with a 6.42 ERA (47.2 IP, 34 ER) and 56 SO across 13 appearances (10GS) with the Athletics…was on the 15-day IL (low back strain) from May 6–June 5…optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas following his reinstatement and recalled on Aug. 13…optioned back to Las Vegas on Sept. 4 and finished the season there...Averaged 97.7 mph on his four-seam fastball, the seventh-highest mark in the majors (min. 500 four-seamers thrown)...Limited opponents to a .164 (11-for-67) average with 26 SO against his slider compared to a .270 (27-for-100) clip with 25 SO against his fastball...Held opponents to a combined .200 (30-for-150) average the first and second times through the lineup compared to .414 (12-for-29) the third time through...Made his first career Opening Day roster...On Aug. 19 vs. TB, turned in the longest scoreless outing of his career (6 IP, 2H, 0R, 3BB, 6SO) in the Rays final trip to the Oakland Coliseum... On Aug. 24 vs. MIL, collected a career-high eight SO over five innings, fanning both William Contreras and Rhys Hoskins twice...Made a pair of scoreless relief appearances to conclude the season, working a combined 4.2 innings between Sept. 25 vs. TEX (3) and Sept. 29 at SEA (1.2).
2023
Began the year at Double-A Chattanooga in the Reds organization and finished it by making his Major League debut with the A’s in September...Was selected by Oakland from Triple-A Las Vegas on Sept. 17 and went 2-0 with a 1.69 ERA in three starts with the A’s…held the opposition to a .148 batting average and .476 OPS...With the A’s, allowed a .083 (3-for-36) batting average and .326 OPS against right-handed hitters compared to .278 (5-for-18) against left-handers...Was 6-5 with a 4.50 ERA and .694 opponents OPS in 19 starts with Chattanooga when he was traded to the A’s organization on July 31 for pitcher Sam Moll…made three starts at Double-A Midland and three more at Las Vegas, combining for a 2-3 record, a 2.16 ERA and .559 opponents OPS in six starts in the A’s farm system...Was 8-8 with a 3.84 ERA and .658 opponents OPS in 25 games, all starts, in the minors overall...Had career highs in every counting category except wild pitches…his ERA was the highest of his three seasons...Struck out 168 batters, which tied for fifth most in all of Minor League baseball…also walked 93, which tied for second most…averaged 12.89 strikeouts per nine innings and 7.13 walks...Held the opposition to a .201 batting average but had a .356 opponents on-base percentage...Yielded just seven home runs in 117.1 innings, an average of 0.54 home runs per nine innings…opponents slugged .356...Was 3-5 with a 5.22 ERA and .709 opponents OPS in 14 starts in April, May and June…then went 5-3 with a 2.45 ERA and .604 OPS in 11 starts in July, August and September...His opponents batting average broke down to .180 (37-for-206) with a .606 OPS against lefthanded hitters compared to .222 (46-for-207) with a .711 OPS against right-handers...Allowed a .169 average with runners in scoring position…opponents were 1-for-20 (.050) with five walks and 14 strikeouts with the bases loaded...Had a .213 opponents batting average the first time through the order, .193 the second time and .188 the third time...Held the three hitter in the order to a .120 batting average...Opponents hit .103 with two strikes...Was 2-0 with a 2.54 ERA in six starts on four days rest, 6-8 with a 4.25 ERA in his other 19 starts...His teams were 13-12 (.520) in his starting assignments…had five starts of six or more innings and 11 of fewer than five innings…had four 10-strikeout games and had more strikeouts than innings pitched in 19 of his 25 starts…however, walked at least two batters in all but one start and had more walks than innings pitched six times…allowed fewer than six hits in all 25 of his starts.
2022
Spent most of the season at Single-A Dayton where he went 3-4 with a 2.17 ERA in 17 starts…earned a late season promotion to Double-A Chattanooga and was 0-2 with a 4.85 ERA in six games with the Lookouts…combined for a 3-6 record, a 2.86 ERA and .529 opponents OPS in 23 games, including 22 starts, overall…struck out 153 batters in 100.2 innings, an average of 13.68 per nine innings…also walked 84 (7.51 per nine innings) and had a career-high 17 wild pitches… had the third most walks in the minors…held the opposition to a .141 batting average but had a .321 opponents on-base percentage…surrendered just six home runs, an average of 0.54 per nine innings…ranked second in the Reds farm system in strikeouts, tied for sixth in games started and eighth in innings pitched…was ninth in the Midwest League in strikeouts (122) but had the second most walks (59)…allowed one run or fewer in each of his first 12 starts and was 3-1 with a 0.65 ERA, .086 opponents batting average and .380 OPS over that stretch which ran through June 29…then went 0-5 with a 5.56 ERA, .204 opponents average and .693 OPS over his final 11 games…his opponents batting average broke down to .140 with a .534 opponents OPS against right-handed hitters compared to .143 with a .522 OPS against left-handers…yielded a .172 average with runners in scoring position…opponents hit .086 with two strikes…tossed fewer than five innings in 14 of his 22 starts…allowed three hits or fewer 19 times but walked three or more 20 times…had more strikeouts that innings pitched 19 times…was named a Reds Organization All-Star by MLB.com and earned Baseball America High Class-A All-Star honors…began the season at Dayton and did not allow a run over his first four starts (17.0 ip)…opponents were 3-for-51 (.059) over that stretch…did not allow a hit in his first two starts…had his first of three games with 10 or more strikeouts on April 19 against West Michigan when he fanned 10 in 4.0 innings… all three of his wins came during a winning streak that spanned seven starts from April 26-June 7 (1.04 ERA)…was named Midwest League Pitcher of the Week for the week of May 23-29 after tossing 6.0 scoreless and hitless innings for the win in his only start that week on May 24 at West Michigan (3 bb, 8 so)…was named the Reds Minor League Pitcher of the Month and the Midwest League Pitcher of the Month for May after going 1-0 with a 1.09 ERA and .101 opponents batting average in five starts…then went 1-1 with a 0.51 ERA and .105 opponents average in four starts in June…fanned 34 batters in 17.2 innings in June…struck out a career-high 12 batters in 5.0 scoreless innings on June 29 at Great Lakes…allowed just one hit and did not walk a batter, his only outing without a walk in 2022…fanned 10 in 5.0 innings on July 10 against West Michigan… was promoted to Chattanooga on Aug. 9 and had a no decision in his Double-A debut on Aug. 11 against Montgomery (4.2 ip, 5 h, 1 r, 1 er, 4 bb, 6 so)…tossed 4.0 hitless innings on Aug. 18 at Rocket City, his fifth start of four hitless innings or more…made his only relief appearance in his final outing of the season on Sept. 14 against Tennessee (5.0 ip, 2 h, 3 r, 2 er, 3 bb, 7 so).
2021
Began his first professional season on the injured list with a strained right elbow…was assigned to the Reds affiliate in the Arizona Complex League on Aug. 3 and made four starts there and another four with Single-A Daytona after being reinstated from the IL on Aug. 24…was a combined 0-0 with a 2.29 ERA and .138 opponents batting average in eight starts…struck out 41 batters in 19.2 innings (18.76 per nine innings), but also walked 14 (6.41 per nine innings)… his opponents batting average broke down to .071 against left-handed hitters and .189 against right-handers…however, issued nine of his 14 walks to lefties…opponents were 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position…tossed 4.0 innings or fewer in each of his eight appearances…did not allow a run six times…made his professional debut with a start on Aug. 3 against the Diamondbacks (1.0 ip, 3 so)…did not allow a run in four games with the ACL Reds (7.0 ip, 3 h, 1 bb, 13 so)…was reinstated from the IL and sent to Daytona on Aug. 24 where he logged a 3.55 ERA in four starts…tossed a season-high 4.0 scoreless innings Aug. 31 against Fort Myers…struck out a season-high 10 batters in 4.0 scoreless innings in his final start on Sept. 14 at Palm Beach.
2020
Was the Reds fifth-round selection in the 2020 First-Year Player Draft but did not pitch as the minor league season was cancelled due to the pandemic…was rated as having the Best Fastball in the Reds organization by Baseball America following the season.
