1. Early life and amateur career
Crouse attended Dana Hills High School in Dana Point, California. During his senior year, he demonstrated exceptional pitching prowess, recording 99 strikeouts over 63.5 innings, achieving a 7-3 win-loss record, and maintaining a remarkable earned run average (ERA) of 0.88. His contributions were instrumental in leading Dana Hills to the finals of the National High School Invitational. For his outstanding performance, he was recognized as the Orange County Register's high school pitcher of the year. Crouse had committed to play college baseball at the University of Southern California, and was widely regarded as one of the top high school prospects leading up to the 2017 MLB Draft.
2. Professional career
Hans Michael Crouse's professional baseball career began in 2017 after being drafted by the Texas Rangers. He subsequently played for the Philadelphia Phillies and is currently with the Los Angeles Angels, navigating various minor and major league assignments, injuries, and performance milestones.
2.1. Texas Rangers
Crouse was selected by the Texas Rangers in the second round of the 2017 MLB Draft, 66th overall. He officially signed with the Rangers, receiving a signing bonus of 1.45 M USD. Following his signing, he was assigned to the Rookie-level Arizona League's AZL Rangers for his inaugural professional season. In 2017, he posted an impressive 0.45 ERA with 30 strikeouts over 20 innings pitched, alongside an 0.70 WHIP (Walks plus Hits per Inning Pitched). He made 10 appearances, including 6 starts.
In 2018, Crouse split his time between the Class A Short Season Northwest League's Spokane Indians and the Class A South Atlantic League's Hickory Crawdads. Across both teams, he compiled a combined 5-3 record with a 2.47 ERA in 13 total starts, recording 62 strikeouts. For the 2019 season, he returned to Hickory, where he started 19 games, achieving a 6-1 record with a 4.41 ERA and 76 strikeouts over 87.66 innings. Throughout 2019, he contended with bone spurs in his right elbow, an injury that sidelined him for nearly a month and necessitated surgery after the season concluded. The COVID-19 pandemic led to the cancellation of the Minor League Baseball season in 2020, resulting in no game appearances for Crouse that year. He commenced the 2021 season with the Double-A Central's Frisco RoughRiders, where he held a 3-2 record with a 3.35 ERA and 54 strikeouts across 51 innings.
Crouse was recognized as a top prospect during his time with the Rangers organization. He was ranked as the #73 overall prospect in baseball by Baseball America in their preseason 2019 Top 100 list. Similarly, MLB Pipeline positioned him at #85 on their preseason 2019 Top 100 list, while ESPN's Keith Law placed him at #95 on his corresponding list.
2.2. Philadelphia Phillies
On July 30, 2021, Crouse was part of a significant trade that sent him, Kyle Gibson, and Ian Kennedy to the Philadelphia Phillies. In return, the Rangers received Spencer Howard, Kevin Gowdy, and Josh Gessner. Following the trade, Crouse divided the remainder of the minor league season between the Double-A Reading Fightin Phils and the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs. Across all three minor league affiliates in 2021 (including his time with Frisco), he made 20 starts, accumulating a 5-4 record, a 3.28 ERA, and 98 strikeouts.
On September 26, 2021, Crouse's contract was selected, adding him to the Phillies' active roster, and he made his MLB debut on the same day against the Pittsburgh Pirates. In his debut, he started the game but was tagged with the loss, pitching 3 innings and allowing 1 earned run. He finished the 2021 major league season with 2 starts, a 0-2 record, a 5.14 ERA, and 2 strikeouts.
Crouse began the 2022 season assigned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. On March 23, he sustained a biceps injury, leading to his placement on the injured list. This injury was later specified as right biceps tendinitis, moving him to the 60-day injured list on July 15. He returned in September and made 5 starts, finishing with a 0-3 record, a 13.14 ERA, and 13 strikeouts. On November 9, Crouse was removed from the 40-man roster and outrighted back to Lehigh Valley.
In 2023, Crouse split his appearances across three Phillies affiliates: the Single-A Clearwater Threshers, Double-A Reading, and Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Across 18 appearances for these teams, he recorded a 1-3 record with a 6.18 ERA, striking out 29 batters over 22.0 innings. Following the conclusion of the season, Crouse elected free agency on November 6, 2023.
2.3. Los Angeles Angels
On February 8, 2024, Hans Crouse signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Angels and was subsequently assigned to their Triple-A affiliate, the Salt Lake Bees. While with the Bees, he made 21 appearances, achieving a 3-0 record with a 2.70 ERA and 42 strikeouts over 23.33 innings pitched.
His strong performance led the Angels to select his contract and add him to the active roster on June 21, 2024. He made his first major league appearance in three years on June 22. Following this return, Crouse achieved a notable streak of six consecutive scoreless appearances. He recorded wins in three separate outings on July 10, July 12, and July 14, 2024. However, he also registered losses in three subsequent appearances on July 26, July 31, and August 1, 2024.
3. Pitching style
Hans Michael Crouse's pitching repertoire primarily features a sinker and a slider, supplemented by a changeup. He possesses a fast pitch that consistently registers around 93 mph, with a maximum velocity recorded at 95 mph (approximately 95 mph (152.9 km/h)). His slider is characterized by its sharp break, typically thrown in the mid-80s mph.
The following table details Crouse's pitch data from the 2021 regular season:
| Pitch Type | Percentage | Average Velocity | Maximum Velocity | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | mph | km/h | mph | km/h | |
| Sinker | 46.6 | 92.9 mph | 93 mph (149.5 km/h) | 94.5 mph | 95 mph (152.1 km/h) |
| Slider | 37.4 | 85.2 mph | 85 mph (137.1 km/h) | 87.2 mph | 87 mph (140.3 km/h) |
| Changeup | 16 | 84.8 mph | 85 mph (136.5 km/h) | 86.9 mph | 87 mph (139.9 km/h) |
4. Detailed information
The following tables summarize Hans Michael Crouse's pitching and fielding statistics throughout his professional baseball career as of the end of the 2024 season.
4.1. Career statistics
Major League Baseball Pitching Statistics
| Year | Team | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | W | L | HLD | BS | WPCT | TBF | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | HBP | BK | RRA | ERA | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | PHI | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 32 | 7.0 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5.14 | 1.57 |
| 2024 | LAA | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | .571 | 107 | 25.1 | 14 | 2 | 17 | 1 | 2 | 34 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 2.84 | 1.22 |
| MLB Career (2 years) | 27 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 1 | .444 | 139 | 32.1 | 18 | 4 | 24 | 1 | 2 | 36 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 3.34 | 1.30 | |
Major League Baseball Fielding Statistics (Pitcher)
| Year | Team | Pitcher (P) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | Putouts | Assists | Errors | Double Plays | Fielding % | ||
| 2021 | PHI | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ---- |
| 2024 | LAA | 25 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | .667 |
| MLB Career | 27 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | .667 | |
4.2. Uniform numbers
Hans Michael Crouse has worn the following uniform numbers during his professional career:
- 51 (2021, with the Philadelphia Phillies)
- 52 (2024-present, with the Los Angeles Angels)
5. Personal life
Hans Crouse is known for his distinctive personal style, including having over twenty tattoos. Notably, he has designed all of his tattoos himself.