Brandon Finnegan

Brandon Finnegan

Finnegan with the Kansas City Royals
Cincinnati Reds – No. 29
Starting Pitcher
Born: (1993-04-14) April 14, 1993
Fort Worth, Texas
Bats: Left Throws: Left
MLB debut
September 6, 2014, for the Kansas City Royals
MLB statistics
(through 2016 season)
Win–loss record 15-14
Earned run average 3.81
Strikeouts 200
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Brandon Kyle Finnegan (born April 14, 1993) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has also played in MLB for the Kansas City Royals.

Prior to his professional career, Finnegan attended Texas Christian University (TCU) and played college baseball for the TCU Horned Frogs baseball team. He was drafted by the Royals in the first round of the 2014 MLB Draft, and made his MLB debut that season. The Royals traded Finnegan to the Reds during the 2015 season.

Amateur career

Finnegan attended Southwest High School in Fort Worth, Texas. He was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 45th round of the 2011 Major League Baseball Draft, but did not sign and attended Texas Christian University (TCU).[1]

As a freshman in 2012, he pitched in 23 games with 11 starts. He finished the season 4–5 with a 3.47 earned run average (ERA) with 56 strikeouts in  62 1⁄3 innings. As a sophomore in 2013 he pitched in 16 games with 15 starts, going 0–8 but with a 3.18 ERA and 86 strikeouts in  79 1⁄3 innings. During the summer he pitched for the United States collegiate national team.[2][3] After not winning a game during his sophomore season, he earned a victory in his first start of his junior season in 2014.[4] During the season he missed a few starts due to a minor injury.[5][6] He finished the year 9–3 with a 2.04 ERA and 134 strikeouts in  105 2⁄3 innings.

Professional career

Kansas City Royals

Finnegan was considered a top prospect for the 2014 Major League Baseball Draft.[7] The Kansas City Royals selected Finnegan in the first round, 17th overall, of the draft.[8] He signed with the team on June 28.[9]

Finnegan was called up to the majors for the first time on September 1, 2014 becoming the first player from the 2014 Draft to be promoted to the majors.[10] He made his major league debut on September 6 against the New York Yankees. He earned his first major league hold on September 22 by pitching a scoreless seventh inning against the Cleveland Indians. He made his MLB postseason debut in the American League Wild Card game vs the Oakland Athletics on September 30, 2014. He pitched  2 1⁄3 innings, allowing one earned run while striking out three in the extra innings victory.

On October 3, 2014, in the second game of the 2014 American League Division Series, Finnegan came in relief and picked up the 4-1 win, becoming the youngest relief pitcher in Royals postseason history to log a win.[11] Finnegan became the first player to play in a College World Series and an MLB World Series in the same year when he took the mound in the seventh inning of Game 3 of the 2014 World Series against the San Francisco Giants.[12] Finnegan took the loss in Game 4, allowing five runs in one inning of work.[13]

In 2015, Finnegan began the season with the Omaha Storm Chasers of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League, working as a starting pitcher.[14] During the season, the Royals promoted him to the major leagues, shifting him between the starting rotation and bullpen.[15]

Cincinnati Reds

On July 26, 2015, Finnegan was traded to the Cincinnati Reds, along with John Lamb and Cody Reed, for Johnny Cueto and cash considerations.[16] He pitched for the Louisville Bats of the Class AAA International League as a starting pitcher, and was promoted to the Reds on September 1 as a relief pitcher.[15]

Although he was traded from the 2015 World Series Champion Kansas City Royals, Finnegan was awarded a World Series ring for his contributions before the trade.

Finnegan began the 2016 season pitching out of the rotation for Cincinnati, opening as the teams second starter behind Raisel Iglesias due to a plethora of injuries. In 5 starts in April, Finnegan went 1–1 with a 3.86 ERA, striking out 23 and walking 15 in 28 innings. In 6 starts in May, Finnegan went 0–3 with a 4.37 ERA, striking out 21 and walking 16 in 35 innings. However, in one of his losses, Finnegan threw a complete 8 innings against the Dodgers, giving up one run and losing to Clayton Kershaw's two-hit shutout.[17]

References

  1. ↑ "Rangers draft 3 area high school products". ESPN. June 8, 2011.
  2. ↑ Stevenson, Stefan (July 26, 2013). "TCU's Brandon Finnegan leaves 0-fer behind with Team USA". Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
  3. ↑ Kavner, Rowan (April 29, 2013). "TCU pitcher Brandon Finnegan invited to USA Baseball Collegiate National Team". The Dallas Morning News.
  4. ↑ Fitt, Aaron (February 18, 2014). "TCU's Finnegan changes his luck, wins opener". USABaseball.com.
  5. ↑ Mayo, Jonathan (April 29, 2014). "Finnegan on path back from injury". MLB.com.
  6. ↑ Callis, Jim. "TCU's Finnegan impresses in return to mound". MLB.com.
  7. ↑ "2014 Top 100 Draft Prospects List". Baseball America. May 14, 2014.
  8. ↑ Kaegel, Dick (June 6, 2014). "Royals draft TCU lefty Finnegan with first pick". MLB.com.
  9. ↑ Alexander, Jackson (June 28, 2014). "Royals sign their top Draft selection Finnegan". MLB.com. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  10. ↑ Grathoff, Pete (September 1, 2014). "Less than three months after being drafted, Brandon Finnegan is in a Royals uniform". The Kansas City Star.
  11. ↑ Cassavell, AJ (October 4, 2014). "Royals trust Shields to send them to ALCS". MLB.com. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  12. ↑ Calcaterra, Craig (October 20, 2014). "Brandon Finnegan to be the first player to play in two World Series in one year". Hardball Talk. NBC Sports. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  13. ↑ http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SFN/SFN201410250.shtml
  14. ↑ "Royals". Kansas City Star. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  15. 1 2 "Cincinnati Reds' plans in tune with Louisville Bats pitcher Brandon Finnegan". The Courier-Journal. September 7, 2015. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  16. ↑ Sheldon, Mark (July 26, 2015). "Royals finalize deal for ace Cueto with Reds". MLB.com. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
  17. ↑ Buchanan, Zach (May 24, 2016). "Kershaw outduels Finnegan in Reds' 8th straight loss". Cincinnati Enquirer.

External links

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