Christian Louis Patrick Friedrich (born July 8, 1987) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or dr ...

who is a free agent. He made his

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

(MLB) debut with the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fi ...

in 2012 and also played with the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

. Friedrich also pitched in the

KBO League The KBO League (), officially the Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League, is the highest level league of baseball in South Korea. The KBO League was founded with six franchises in 1982 and is the most popular sports league in South Korea. The Kia Tigers ar ...

for the NC Dinos.

Career

Amateur

Friedrich attended

Loyola Academy Loyola Academy is a private, Catholic, co-educational college preparatory high school run by the USA Midwest Province of the Society of Jesus in Wilmette, Illinois, a northern suburb of Chicago, and in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicag ...

Wilmette, Illinois Wilmette is a village in New Trier Township, Cook County, Illinois, United States. Bordering Lake Michigan and Evanston, Illinois, it is located north of Chicago's downtown district. Wilmette had a population of 27,087 at the 2010 census. The ...

, and

Eastern Kentucky University Eastern Kentucky University (Eastern or EKU) is a public university in Richmond, Kentucky. As a regional comprehensive institution, EKU also maintains branch campuses in Corbin, Hazard, Lancaster, and Manchester and offers over 40 online u ...

, where he played for the

Eastern Kentucky Colonels The Eastern Kentucky Colonels are the intercollegiate athletic teams of Eastern Kentucky University (EKU), located in Richmond, Kentucky, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division I ranks, primarily competing in the ASUN Confere ...

baseball team. He was named a ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

'' Freshman All-American in 2006. In 2007, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the

Falmouth Commodores The Falmouth Commodores are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Falmouth, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Commodores play their home games at Arnie Alle ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

and was named a league all-star. He was also named a second-team All-American in 2008.

Colorado Rockies

Friedrich was drafted by the

in the first round, with the 25th overall selection, of the

2008 Major League Baseball Draft The 2008 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft continued Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, and was held on June 5 and 6, 2008. First round selections ;Key Supplemental first ro ...

. ''Baseball America'' ranked Friedrich as the #95 best prospect in baseball prior to the 2009 season and the 33rd best prior to the 2010 season. The Rockies added Friedrich to their 40-man roster after the 2011 season to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. He was called up on May 7, 2012, to make his major league debut against the

on May 9, 2012. On August 3, it was announced that an MRI revealed a stress fracture in his lower back, ending his season. Friedrich was 5-8 with a 6.17

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the numb ...

in 16 starts, and had 74 strikeouts in innings. Colorado designated Friedrich for assignment on January 28, 2016. He was claimed by the

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ...

on February 5. On February 19, the claim was reversed, and Friedrich was sent back to the Rockies.

San Diego Padres

Friedrich signed with the

on March 3, 2016. The Padres promoted him to the major leagues on May 13. In a debut game against the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The ...

, center fielder Chris Owings shot a fastball straight back up the middle, knocking off Friedrich's glove. The left-hander raced over to the ball and made the bare-handed toss to first for the out. In a game against his former team, the

, on Saturday, September 10, 2016, Friedrich led the Padres to a 6-3 victory while striking out a career-high tying 10 batters. Friedrich shrugged off a 109-mph DJ LeMahieu line drive that drilled him in the left leg during the third inning to work seven shutout innings. Friedrich became a free agent on October 30, 2017, after the team outrighted him due to sustained injuries.

New Britain Bees

On March 26, 2019, Friedrich signed with the New Britain Bees of the independent

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's ...

NC Dinos

On July 2, 2019, Friedrich's contract was purchased by the NC Dinos of the

. He became a free agent following the season. On November 5, 2019, Friedrich re-signed with the New Britain Bees. However, following their move to the

Futures Collegiate Baseball League The Futures Collegiate Baseball League (FCBL) is an eight-team collegiate summer baseball league. It has four franchises in Massachusetts, two in Connecticut, and one each in New Hampshire and Vermont. Format The Futures League is a wood-bat ...

, he was selected by the

Somerset Patriots The Somerset Patriots are an American Minor League Baseball team based in Bridgewater Township, New Jersey, that is the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They compete in the Eastern League, known as the Double-A Northeast in 2021, and w ...

in the Bees dispersal draft.

Chicago White Sox

On February 25, 2020, Friedrich signed a minor league deal with the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

. He was released by the organization on June 18, 2020.

Lexington Legends

On June 29, 2021, Friedrich signed with the

Lexington Legends The Lexington Legends are an American professional baseball team based in Lexington, Kentucky. They are a member of the South Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a "partner league" of Major League Baseball. The Legends hav ...

of the

. In 3 appearances, he registered a 6.17 ERA and 12 strikeouts over 11.2 innings.

Chicago Dogs

On August 7, 2021, Friedrich was traded to the Chicago Dogs of the

American Association of Professional Baseball The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor ...

in exchange for two players to be named later and cash considerations. Friedrich appeared in 6 games for Chicago to close out the year, logging a 3-1 record and 4.21 ERA with 30 strikeouts in 36.1 innings pitched. On April 19, 2022, Friedrich was released by the team.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Friedrich, Christian 1987 births Living people Sportspeople from Evanston, Illinois Baseball players from Illinois Major League Baseball pitchers Colorado Rockies players San Diego Padres players Eastern Kentucky Colonels baseball players Falmouth Commodores players New Britain Bees players Tri-City Dust Devils players Asheville Tourists players Modesto Nuts players Tulsa Drillers players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Lake Elsinore Storm players El Paso Chihuahuas players American expatriate baseball players in South Korea NC Dinos players Lexington Legends players Chicago Dogs players