Jacob Tanner Diekman (born January 21, 1987), is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Texas Rangers, and Arizona Diamondbacks. He throws left-handed.\n', '

With the Phillies, Diekman began as a starting pitcher and progressed through a few levels of the Phillies\' farm system in his first two years in that role, before adjusting his mechanics and lowering his arm slot to throw sidearm out of the bullpen, as a relief pitcher. The adjustment worked and helped him move through the remaining levels of the Phillies\' farm system. In 2012, Diekman made his major league debut. Over the next two seasons, he split time between the major league Phillies and their Triple-A (AAA) affiliate, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, though while he was with the major league team, he was considered one of the "lone bright spots" in both 2012 and 2013. Diekman throws a fastball in the upper-90s (mph), a slider, and an occasional changeup; his fastball is among the fastest of any left-handed reliever in the major leagues.\n', '

Diekman was born to Paul and Billie Diekman, in 1987. He has one brother, Brian. The Diekmans lived in Wymore, Nebraska, where Jake attended Southern High School. His alma mater was too small to field a baseball team, so he instead focused on golf. Eventually, Diekman joined an American Legion baseball team, playing in the summer with other players from Wymore and several surrounding towns, which he called "the best experience of my life ... so much fun." Concurrently, Diekman worked full-time at a lawn mower factory, to earn money to pursue a post-secondary education.\n', '

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