Kevin Russell Shackelford (born April 7, 1989) is an American former

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 ...

. He played in

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) for the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

and in

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

(NPB) for the

Yokohama DeNA BayStars The are a professional baseball team in the Japanese Central League. Their home field is Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The team has been known by several names since becoming a professional team in 1950. It adopted its curren ...

College

Shackelford attended

Marshall University Marshall University is a public research university in Huntington, West Virginia. It was founded in 1837 and is named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States. The university is currently composed of nine colleges ...

, where he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

for the

Marshall Thundering Herd The Marshall Thundering Herd is the intercollegiate athletic collection of teams that collectively represent the Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. Thundering Herd athletic teams compete in the Sun Belt Conference, which are member ...

. He played as a

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the cat ...

for his first two seasons at Marshall, batting .095/.156/.119 in 2008, and hitting .226/.280/.321 in 2009.Kevin Shackelford – The Baseball Cube
/ref> He then became a

. In 2010 he was 1-1 with a 7.50 ERA in 19 games.

Career

Milwaukee Brewers

The

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

selected Shackelford in the 21st round of the

2010 MLB Draft The 2010 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held on June 7–9, 2010 at the MLB Network Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey. First-round selections The draft order was determined based on the 2009 MLB standings, with the worst team p ...

. He signed and made his professional debut with the

AZL Brewers The Arizona Complex League Brewers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Arizona Complex League (ACL) and a Rookie-level affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. The are located in Phoenix, Arizona, and play their home games at American Family Fi ...

of the

Arizona League The Arizona Complex League (ACL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in and around Phoenix, Arizona, since 1988. Prior to 2021, it was known as the Arizona League (AZL). Along with the Florida Complex League (FCL), it ...

in 2010, and went 1-2 with a 5.40 ERA.Kevin Shackelford Minor & Fall Leagues Statistics & History , Baseball-Reference.com
/ref> The next season for the

Helena Brewers The Helena Brewers were a Minor League Baseball team in the Pioneer League located in Helena, Montana, from 1978 to 2018. The team played their home games at Kindrick Legion Field, which was built in 1939. They were affiliated with the Milwauke ...

in the Advanced Rookie Pioneer League, he was 3-5 with a 4.15 ERA. Playing for the

Wisconsin Timber Rattlers The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Grand Chute, Wisconsin, a town on the outskirts of Appleton in the Fox Cities, and are na ...

of the Class A

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganiza ...

in 2012, the Timber Rattlers won the Midwest League championship, with Shackelford logging a 4.06 ERA in 27 appearances. In 2013, Shackelford split the season between the High-A

Brevard County Manatees The Brevard County Manatees were a minor league baseball team of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League from 1994 to 2016. They were based in Viera, Florida, and played their home games at Space Coast Stadium. The team left Brevard County af ...

of the

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A followi ...

and the Double-A

Huntsville Stars The Huntsville Stars were a Minor League Baseball team that played in Huntsville, Alabama, from 1985 to 2014. They competed in the Southern League as the Double-A affiliate of Major League Baseball's Oakland Athletics from 1985 to 1998 and Mil ...

of the Southern League, posting a 2-4 record and 3.08 ERA in 44 games between the two teams. After the 2013 season, the Brewers assigned Shackelford to the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season sports league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during the autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are fille ...

, where he was a member of the championship-winning

Surprise Saguaros The Surprise Saguaros are a baseball team that plays in the West Division of the Arizona Fall League. They play their home games in Surprise, Arizona, at Surprise Stadium. The ballpark is also the spring training facility of the Kansas City Royals ...

. On November 20, 2013, the Brewers added Shackelford to their

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

. Shackelford was assigned to Huntsville to begin the 2014 season. He was designated for assignment on July 17, 2014, to make room on the 40-man roster for Irving Falu, without having appeared in a major league game for Milwaukee. He was outrighted to Huntsville on July 19.

Cincinnati Reds

After the 2014 season, the Brewers traded Shackelford alongside

Barrett Astin Barrett Astin (born October 22, 1991) is a former American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds. Career Amateur Astin attended Forrest City High School in Forrest City, Arkansas and playe ...

to the

to complete an August 31 trade for

Jonathan Broxton Jonathan Roy Broxton (born June 16, 1984) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Kansas City Royals, Cincinnati Reds, Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardin ...

. In 2015, Shackelford spent the year with the Double-A

Pensacola Blue Wahoos The Pensacola Blue Wahoos are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are based in Pensacola, Florida, and play their home games at Admiral Fetterman Field. In 2012, the team rel ...

, logging a 2-4 record and 3.72 ERA in 35 appearances. In 2016, he split the season between Pensacola and the Triple-A

Louisville Bats The Louisville Bats are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Louisville, Kentucky, and are named in dual reference to the winged mammal and basebal ...

, accumulating a 2-2 record and 2.03 ERA in 35 games between the two teams. On November 7, 2016, he elected free agency. On November 21, Shackelford signed a new minor league contract with the Reds organization. He was assigned to Louisville to begin the 2017 season The Reds promoted Shackelford to the major leagues for the first time on June 27, 2017. He made his major league debut on June 29 allowing 4 earned runs in 2.2 innings against his former team, the

. In 26 games in his rookie year for the Reds, Shackelford was 0-0 with a 4.70 ERA. Shackelford appeared in 5 games for Cincinnati in 2018, but struggled to a 7.88 ERA in 8.0 innings of work. The Reds released Shackelford on June 5, 2018.

Yokohama DeNA BayStars

On November 21, 2020, after spending two and a half years out of baseball, Shackelford a one-year contract with the

as a developmental squad player ( :ja:育成選手制度 (日本プロ野球)). On April 23, 2021, Shackelford signed a contract with the BayStars as a registered player under management. ( :Ja:支配下選手登録) On April 24, he made his NPB debut. He became a free agent following the season.

References

External links

Career statistics - NPB.jp
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shackelford, Kevin Living people 1989 births Baseball players from Charlotte, North Carolina Major League Baseball pitchers Cincinnati Reds players Marshall Thundering Herd baseball players Arizona League Brewers players Helena Brewers players Wisconsin Timber Rattlers players Brevard County Manatees players Huntsville Stars players Surprise Saguaros players Pensacola Blue Wahoos players Louisville Bats players Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Yokohama DeNA BayStars players