Biography

BIOGRAPHY

Sean Hjelle was born May 7, 1997, in Fridley, Minnesota. He is a pitcher in the MLB.

Hjelle attended Mahtomedi High School in Mahtomedi, Minnesota, where he played baseball and basketball. Hjelle was not drafted out of high school and enrolled at the University of Kentucky to play college baseball for the Kentucky Wildcats. He was a secondary social studies education major.

In 2017, as a sophomore at Kentucky, Hjelle was named the Southeastern Conference's Pitcher of the Year after going 9–2 with a 3.17 earned run average (ERA) in the regular season, including a 7–1 record and a 1.90 ERA in SEC games. As a junior in 2018, he appeared in 15 games (14 starts), compiling a 7–5 with a 3.44 ERA.

The San Francisco Giants selected Hjelle in the second round (45th overall) of the 2018 MLB draft. He signed for a $1.5 million signing bonus, making his professional debut with the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes. Hjelle spent the whole season with Salem-Keizer, compiling a 5.06 ERA in 12 starts.

Hjelle began the 2019 season with the Augusta GreenJackets of the Class A South Atlantic League and was their Opening Day starter. He was promoted to the Class A-Advanced San Jose Giants in May. In August, the Giants promoted Hjelle to the Richmond Flying Squirrels of the Class AA Eastern League, with whom he finished the year. Over 28 starts between the three clubs, Hjelle went 7-9 with a 3.32 ERA.

After the 2021 season, the Giants added Hjelle to their 40-man roster.