Colton Eastman (born August 22, 1996) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He played collegiately for Cal State Fullerton.
Amateur career
Eastman attended Central High School in Fresno, California, and was drafted in the 15th round of the 2015 Major League Baseball Draft by the Minnesota Twins. He did not sign with the team and opted to continue his career at California State University, Fullerton.
As a freshman, Eastman posted an 8–3 record with a 2.24 earned run average (ERA) for the Titans, earning Freshman All-American honors and Collegiate Baseball Newspaper'''s Freshman Pitcher of the Year award. He was also 2016 Baseball America'' Freshman All-American, First Team, 2016 Louisville Slugger National Freshman Pitcher of the Year, 2016 Louisville Slugger All-American, Third Team, 2016 NCBWA Freshman All-American, First Team, 2016 Big West Conference Freshman Pitcher of the Year, and 2016 Big West Conference First Team All Conference.
In his sophomore season, he went 2–0 with a 2.14 ERA in nine games (seven starts) in an injury-shortened campaign. During his junior year, Eastman went 10–4 with a 2.37 ERA and 124 strikeouts and threw a no-hitter. Eastman was a consensus second team All-America selection.
Professional career
Philadelphia Phillies
Eastman was selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 4th round of the 2018 Major League Baseball draft. He signed with the Phillies, receiving a $522,900 signing bonus. Eastman made his professional debut with the Low-A Williamsport Crosscutters, going 0–2 with a 3.00 ERA in eight starts, and 23 strikeouts in 18 innings.
Eastman began 2019 with the Single-A Lakewood BlueClaws. He was promoted to the High-A Clearwater Threshers of the Florida State League after going 1–2 with one save, 25 strikeouts and a 6.00 ERA in five appearances (21 innings pitched) for the Blueclaws. He did not play a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2021, Eastman played for the Double-A Reading Fightin Phils and Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs, recording a cumulative 1–4 record and 3.33 ERA with 48 strikeouts in 54.0 innings pitched across 15 games (11 starts). He spent the following season with Reading and Lehigh Valley again, posting a 2–10 record and 4.63 ERA with 86 strikeouts in 101.0 innings of work across 25 games (24 starts). Eastman was released by the Phillies organization on March 24, 2023.
Oakland Athletics
On March 29, 2023, Eastman signed a minor league contract with the Oakland Athletics organization. In 22 games for the Triple–A Las Vegas Aviators, he struggled to an 0–8 record and 7.26 ERA with 59 strikeouts in innings of work. On August 5, Eastman was released by Oakland.