Florida State’s Jude Putz sees journey lead him to Catfish

For Jude Putz, his baseball career has been well-traveled already.

The redshirt freshman is one of the new faces with the Cape Catfish this summer and he’s gotten off to a fast start.

Putz is batting .346 with a .433 on-base percentage and he has yet to strike out so far in 2023.

Putz, a Kansas City native, spent his first year of college baseball redshirting at the University of Arkansas.

Last summer, Putz played in the California Collegiate League where played for the Walnut Creek Crawdads.

Putz would then transfer to Florida State University where he appeared in five games for the Seminoles in 2023.

All of those roads have led Putz back to Missouri for the summer for an opportunity with the Catfish.

“I played ball out in the CCL last year and this is the most fun I’ve ever had with summer ball,” Putz said. “The environment is great and the fans are awesome. I’ve loved it so far and it’s been everything I wanted.”

For Putz, he enjoys being able to play closer to home this summer.

“I’ve been down (to Cape Girardeau) a couple of times,” Putz said. “It’s a great place. The biggest thing for me was I haven’t been home in a long time. I wanted to get a lot of good work in and this provided me with a great opportunity. I’m glad I came here instead of somewhere else where I was going nine hours away to play. This has been everything I wanted.”

Putz’s dream was to play with his brother, Carter, at the University of Notre Dame under head coach Link Jarrett.

When Jarrett took the head coaching job at Florida State, it made Putz’s decision to transfer easier.

“Once I heard Link Jarrett found his way down to FSU I was all in,” Putz said. “I made the transition and it’s been great.”

With Putz being a middle infielder, redshirting at Arkansas allowed him the opportunity to learn from players like Jalen Battles, who was drafted in the 5th round of the 2022 MLB Draft by the Tampa Bay Rays. Putz also got to learn from Robert Moore and Cayden Wallace who were both selected in the 2022 MLB Draft. Moore was drafted in the 2nd round by the Milwaukee Brewers and Wallace was selected in the 2nd round by the Kansas City Royals.

“Redshirting wasn’t my favorite thing,” Putz said. “But it was the biggest thing for me at that moment. I learned a lot from a lot of great players like Jalen Battles, Robert Moore and Cayden Wallace. It was a great learning experience.”

Because he didn’t get many reps during the college season with the Seminoles, Putz is using the summer circuit to get back into the groove of things.

“It’s been a while since I’ve played,” Putz said. “Once the game starts I just go out there and try to do my thing.”

Putz raved about the support the Catfish fans show every night.

“It makes me so proud and happy to come to the field and play in front of an audience like this,” Putz said.

Putz and the Catfish are back in action at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, June 16, when the Catfish begin a three-game road trip when they travel to take on the Burlington Bees.

Following the game in Burlington the Catfish will head to Quincy where they will play the Gems at 6:35 p.m. on Saturday, June 17, and Sunday, June 18.

The Catfish will return to Capaha Park at 6:35 p.m. on Monday, June 19, when they welcome the Thrillville Thrillbillies to town.