Former Big-Leaguer Jason Lane Flourishing in Indy League

Jason Lane was just named Atlantic League pitcher of the month after posting a 2-0 record. According to the Skeeters' website, in 36.1 innings pitched in July, Lane struck out 27 while walking only seven.

Lane, for those who don’t remember, was a member of the 2005 NL Champion Houston Astros. And that season was Lane’s shining moment in the MLB. He batted .267 with 26 home runs and 78 RBI to go along with 34 doubles. 

In six MLB seasons, Lane tallied 61 big flies and 189 RBI. However, Lane had a deep dark secret that he wanted people to know...he could pitch. 

Lane attended USC and in 1999 had spectacular numbers as a senior: 20 home runs, 68 RBI, a .356 average while slugging .764. But that’s not all. Not only was he a pitcher at USC, he was also the winning pitcher in the 1998 College World Series championship game. In the series he batted .571 with 15 hits and four home runs. 

Lane hasn’t appeared in a Major League game since 2007 and has spent time bouncing around the minors for a variety of teams. He has played for seven different organizations since 2005, his latest the Sugar Land Skeeters of the Independent Atlantic League. 

Lane had an opportunity to pitch a handful of innings as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays Triple-A team in Las Vegas, and most recently as a member of the Reno Aces, the Astros Triple-A affiliate. During his time with the Skeeters, he is making some take notice. 

This season Lane has amassed 70 plus innings, and has appeared in 12 games. He has a 4-4 record with a pretty impressive 2.99 ERA. Aside from that, Lane is still doing damage at the plate. In 166 at-bats, he’s batting .289 with eight home runs and 26 RBI. Not too shabby for a 35-year-old. 

Whether or not Lane makes it back to the bigs as a pitcher will remain to be seen, but he is doing everything he can and it seems to be working. In an interview with the Skeeters, Lane talks about his journey from Reno to Sugar land. Let’s hope when MLB rosters begin their playoff push Lane pops up on someone’s radar. He definitely deserves a shot. 

"In Reno, they gave me a few opportunities out of the bullpen," Lane said. "However, I feel like I got the short end of the stick, and I never felt I was able to show my best stuff in the limited amount of time I was given. That's when I talked to Gary [Gaetti] about joining the Skeeters. I'm very glad to be a part of this exciting situation with Sugar Land in the Atlantic League."

Devon is the founder and executive director of The GM's Perspective. He is a former professional baseball player with the River City Rascals and Gateway Grizzlies.  

Currently, Devon is a manager at a financial institution in Northern Ontario, Canada, and can be reached at [e-mail]. You can follow The GM's Perspective on Twitter and Facebook. His full bio can be seen here.