Christopher Michael Devenski (born November 13, 1990), also known as "Devo", 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 professional ...

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 draw ...

in the

Los Angeles Angels 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 h ...

organization. He played in MLB for the Houston Astros from 2016 to 2020, and the Diamondbacks from 2021 to 2022. Prior to playing professionally, Devenski 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 p ...

for Golden West College and

California State University, Fullerton California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public university in Fullerton, California. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) ...

. 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 ...

selected Devenski in the 25th round, with the 771st overall selection, of the

2011 MLB draft The 2011 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2011, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Gerrit Cole out of the University of California, Los Angeles, with the first ...

. He was named an

MLB All-Star The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual professional baseball game sanctioned by Major League Baseball (MLB) and contested between the all-stars from the American League (AL) and National ...

in 2017.

Amateur career

Devenski attended

Gahr High School Richard Gahr High School, often simply known as Gahr High School, is a public, STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) magnet high school in Cerritos, California, serving grades 9- 12. Gahr High is one of three comprehensive high ...

Cerritos, California Cerritos (Spanish for "Little hills") is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, and is one of several cities that constitute the Gateway Cities of southeast Los Angeles County. It was incorporated on April 24, 1956. As of 20 ...

. He played for the school's

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

team as both a

and a

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...

. He graduated in 2008, and enrolled at Golden West College, where he played

in his freshman year as a pitcher and shortstop. Devenski transferred to

, where he continued his college baseball career with the

Cal State Fullerton Titans The Cal State Fullerton Titans (also known as CSUF or Fullerton Titans) are the athletic teams that represent California State University, Fullerton. The Titans are a member of the NCAA Division I level. The Titans compete within the Big West Co ...

. The Titans'

coaches Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

convinced him to focus on pitching, and he accrued innings pitched over 104 games in two seasons with the school. He also played collegiate summer baseball for the Woodstock River Bandits of the

Valley Baseball League The Valley Baseball League is an NCAA and MLB-sanctioned collegiate summer baseball league in the Shenandoah Valley region of Virginia. The league was started in 1923 and sanctioned by the NCAA in 1961. It has been a wooden bat league since 199 ...

in 2011.

Professional career

Chicago White Sox

The

selected Devenski in the 25th round, with the 771st overall selection, of the

2011 Major League Baseball draft The 2011 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2011, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Gerrit Cole out of the University of California, Los Angeles, with the firs ...

. He made his professional debut with the

Great Falls Voyagers The Great Falls Voyagers are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. They are located in Great Falls, Montana, and play their home games at Cente ...

of the Rookie-level Pioneer League. He started the 2012 season with the

Kannapolis Intimidators Kannapolis () is a city in Cabarrus and Rowan counties, in the U.S. state of North Carolina, northwest of Concord and northeast of Charlotte and is a suburb in the Charlotte metropolitan area. The city of Kannapolis was incorporated in 1984. The ...

of the Class A

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

Houston Astros

On August 3, 2012, Devenski was traded to the Houston Astros in August as the

player to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

in an earlier trade where the White Sox acquired

Brett Myers Brett Allen Myers (born August 17, 1980) is an American singer and former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, Houston Astros, Chicago White Sox, and Cleveland Indians. Born and r ...

. The Astros had already acquired Blair Walters and Matt Heidenreich in the trade. He had a 6–5

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of matc ...

and a 4.23

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 number ...

(ERA) in 19 games started for Kannapolis before the trade. The Astros assigned him to 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 ha ...

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 reorganizat ...

. On August 31, in his fifth start for Lexington, he threw a no-hitter with 16 strikeouts. Devenski began the 2013 season with the

Lancaster JetHawks The Lancaster JetHawks were a baseball team located in Lancaster, California. They were named for the city's association with the aerospace industry and played their home games at The Hangar. From 1996 to 2020, they were members of Minor League ...

of the

Class A-Advanced High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

California League. He struggled with Lancaster, working to a 7.88 ERA in innings pitched, and was demoted to the

Quad Cities River Bandits The Quad Cities River Bandits are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. Their home games are played at Modern Woodmen Park (formerly John O'Donnell Stadium) in Davenport, Iowa, o ...

of the Class A

. Devenski started the 2014 season with Lancaster and received another midseason promotion, this time to the

Corpus Christi Hooks The Corpus Christi Hooks are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. They are located in Corpus Christi, Texas, and are named for the city's association with fishing. The team is owned by ...

of the

Class AA Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League ...

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

. He pitched for Corpus Christi in 2015, finishing the season with a 3.01 ERA in innings pitched. He was named their pitcher of the year. He was promoted to the

Fresno Grizzlies The Fresno Grizzlies are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They are located in Fresno, California, and play their home games at Chukchansi Park, which was opened in 2002 in d ...

of the

Class AAA Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL). ...

Pacific Coast League for the playoffs and pitched seven one-hit innings to help Fresno win the

Triple-A National Championship Game The Triple-A National Championship Game is a single interleague postseason baseball game between the league champions of the two affiliated Triple-A leagues of Minor League Baseball (MiLB)—the International League (IL) and Pacific Coast Lea ...

. He was named the most valuable player of the championship game. Eligible in the Rule 5 draft after the 2015 season, the Astros did not protect Devenski on 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 ...

, but Devenski was not selected. The Astros assigned Devenski to Fresno for Opening Day of the 2016 season, but promoted him to the major leagues on April 6. He made his MLB debut on April 8. He finished the 2016 season with a 2.16 ERA and 0.914

walks plus hits per inning pitched In baseball statistics, walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP) is a sabermetric measurement of the number of baserunners a pitcher has allowed per inning pitched. WHIP is calculated by adding the number of walks and hits allowed and divid ...

ratio in 48 appearances. Devenski continued to pitch for the Astros as a multi-inning relief pitcher in 2017. He was named to the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

's roster for the

2017 MLB All-Star Game The 2017 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 88th edition of the Major League Baseball All Star Game. The game was hosted by the Miami Marlins and was played at Marlins Park on July 11, 2017. It was televised nationally by Fox. The gam ...

on July 7. As of that day, he had a 2.09 ERA in innings pitched, and led all major league relief pitchers in innings pitched, in strikeouts with 72, and tied for the most wins, with 6. He finished the regular season with an 8–5 win–loss record, a 2.68 ERA, and 100 strikeouts with 26 walks in innings pitched. Devenski appeared in five games of the

2017 World Series The 2017 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2017 season. The 113th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the National League (NL) champion Los Angeles Dodgers and th ...

, pitching a total of five innings while allowing four hits and four runs, although he was the winning pitcher of Game 2. Devenski and the Astros agreed to a $1.525 million salary for the 2019 season. On August 3, 2019, Devenski worked in relief in a combined no-hit shutout of the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...

. The final score was 9-0. He struggled throughout the season, setting a career high 4.83 ERA in 61 games. On September 15, 2020, Devenski underwent arthroscopic surgery to remove a bone spur from his right elbow and missed the rest of the 2020 season. At the time of the surgery, he had allowed 6 earned runs across 3.2 frames.

Arizona Diamondbacks

On January 20, 2021, Devenski signed a minor league contract with 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 ...

organization. On March 29, 2021, Devenski was selected to the 40-man roster. On May 15, Devenski was placed on the 60-day injured list with a sprained right UCL. On June 6, Devenski underwent Tommy John surgery, officially ending his 2021 season. Devenski registered an 8.59 ERA in 8 games for Arizona in 2021. On October 8, Devenski elected free agency. On October 25, 2021, Devenski re-signed with the Diamondbacks on a minor league contract. On August 26, 2022, Devenski was designated for assignment and became a free agent.

Philadelphia Phillies

On August 30, 2022, Devenski signed a minor league contract with the Philadelphia Phillies. In 2022 between the two teams, in the major leagues he was 2-1 with an 8.59 ERA in 14.2 innings in which he gave up 21 hits in 18 relief appearances.

Los Angeles Angels

On November 28, 2022, Devenski signed a one year minor league contract with the

Personal life

Devenski was raised in Santa Ana, California. His father, Mike, owns a moving company. Amanda, his twin sister, is a teacher. While he was attending college, his family moved to

Artesia, California Artesia (Spanish for "artesian aquifer") is a city in southeast Los Angeles County, California. Artesia was incorporated on May 29, 1959, and is one of Los Angeles County's Gateway Cities. The city has a 2010 census population of 16,522. Artesi ...

. Devenski is often known to Astros fans by the knickname " Devo" after the new wave band of the 1980s.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Devenski, Chris 1990 births Living people American League All-Stars Baseball players from Long Beach, California Major League Baseball pitchers Houston Astros players Arizona Diamondbacks players Philadelphia Phillies players Cal State Fullerton Titans baseball players Great Falls Voyagers players Kannapolis Intimidators players Lexington Legends players Quad Cities River Bandits players Lancaster JetHawks players Corpus Christi Hooks players Tiburones de La Guaira players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Golden West Rustlers baseball players

Amateur career

Professional career

Chicago White Sox

Houston Astros

Arizona Diamondbacks

Philadelphia Phillies

Los Angeles Angels

Personal life

See also

References

External links