BIOGRAPHY
Christopher Lee Stratton was born on August 22, 1990 in Tupelo, Mississippi. He is a pitcher in the MLB.
After graduating from Tupelo High School, Stratton attended Mississippi State University from 2010 to 2012. As a senior, he was a consensus All-American after going 11–2 with a 2.38 earned run average and 127 strikeouts. He was also the SEC Pitcher of the Year. He also won the C Spire Ferriss Trophy as Mississippi's top collegiate baseball player.
Stratton was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the first round of the 2012 Major League Baseball Draft. Before the 2013 season, Baseball America ranked Stratton as the Giants' third best prospect. The Giants added him to their 40-man roster after the 2015 season.
Stratton was called up from the Sacramento River Cats (AAA-Pacific Coast League) to the majors on May 28, 2016, to replace the injured Matt Cain. Despite being primarily a starter in the minors, the Giants added Stratton to their bullpen and he made his major league debut against the Atlanta Braves on May 30, pitching a scoreless bottom of the eighth inning and recording two strikeouts while retiring all three batters he faced. On June 11, he was credited with his first major league win as he pitched the top of the 10th inning in the Giants victory against the Los Angeles Dodgers. On June 13 he was sent down again when Cain returned from the DL, but was recalled from the minors the following day when Cain was put back on the DL with a reinjured hamstring. Stratton pitched in seven games for the Giants with a 1-0 record and a 3.60 ERA. He compiled a 12-6 record and a 3.87 ERA during the year for the Sacramento River Cats.
In 2018, Stratton was 'up-&-down' twice with Giants and the River Cats. On September 14, 2018, Stratton threw his first MLB complete game against the Colorado Rockies, winning by a score of 2-0. It was his 10th win of the season, making him the Giants’ first pitcher to reach double-digit victories since 2016. It was also the first complete game of the season for the Giants, and the first shutout for the team in over a year. Stratton finished the 2018 season with 10 wins, leading the Giants in wins.
On March 26, 2019, Stratton was traded to the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for Williams Jerez. He was designated for assignment on May 7, 2019. On May 11, 2019, Stratton was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for cash considerations.
In 2020, Stratton recorded a 3.90 ERA with 39 strikeouts and a career-high 11.9 K/9 in 30.0 innings of work.
On July 30, 2023, the Cardinals traded Stratton and Jordan Montgomery to the Texas Rangers in exchange for John King, Tekoah Roby, and Thomas Saggese. The Rangers would go on to win the 2023 World Series after defeating the Arizona Diamondbacks in 5 games.
Stratton signed with the Royals during the 2023 offseason.
