Ryan Christian Yarbrough (born December 31, 1991) 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 ...

for the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

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). He has previously played in MLB for the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home v ...

. 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 ...

selected Yarbrough in the fourth round of the 2014 MLB draft.

Amateur career

After graduating from All Saints' Academy in

Winter Haven, Florida Winter Haven is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. It is fifty-one miles east of Tampa. The population was 49,219 at the 2020 census. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2019 estimates, this city had a population of 44,955, making ...

, Yarbrough 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 ...

at Santa Fe College in 2011 before transferring to

Old Dominion University Old Dominion University (Old Dominion or ODU) is a public research university in Norfolk, Virginia. It was established in 1930 as the Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary and is now one of the largest universities in Virginia w ...

. He pitched for the

Old Dominion Monarchs The Old Dominion Monarchs are composed of 18 intercollegiate athletic teams representing Old Dominion University, located in Norfolk, Virginia. Men's sports include baseball, basketball, football, golf, sailing, soccer, swimming, and tennis. Wo ...

in 2013 and 2014. He was drafted by 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 ...

in the 20th round of the

2013 Major League Baseball Draft The 2013 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2013. The first two rounds were broadcast from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. Each team received one selection per round, going in ...

, but did not sign. In 2014, his senior season, he went 6–7 with a 4.50 ERA in 18 games (14 starts).

Professional career

Seattle Mariners

The

selected Yarbrough in the fourth round of the

2014 Major League Baseball draft The 2014 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 5 through June 7, 2014, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first two rounds were conducted on June 5, followed by rounds three through ten on June ...

. Yarbrough made his professional debut with the Pulaski Mariners. After two games, he was promoted to the Everett AquaSox. Overall, he pitched in 14 games (10 starts) and had a 1.27

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 ...

(ERA) with 58

strikeouts In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

in innings in 2014. In 2015, he played for the AZL Mariners,

Clinton LumberKings The Clinton LumberKings are a collegiate summer baseball team of the Prospect League. They are located in Clinton, Iowa, and play their home games at NelsonCorp Field. From 1956 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's Midwest Leag ...

, and

Bakersfield Blaze The Bakersfield Blaze were a minor league baseball team in Bakersfield, California. They played in the Class A – Advanced California League. They played their home games at Sam Lynn Ballpark. Opened in 1941, the stadium is well known for facin ...

where he compiled a combined 4–8 record and 4.10 ERA in 22 starts. In 2016, he pitched for the

Jackson Generals The Jackson Generals were a professional baseball team located in Jackson, Tennessee. From 1998 to 2020, they were a part of Minor League Baseball's Southern League (SL) as the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs (1998–2006), Seattle Mari ...

where he was 12–4 with a 2.95 ERA and 1.11 WHIP in 25 games started.

Tampa Bay Rays

On January 11, 2017, the Mariners traded Yarbrough, Mallex Smith, and Carlos Vargas to the

for Drew Smyly. He spent the season with the

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened ...

where he pitched to a 13–6 record and 3.43 ERA in 26 starts. The Rays added him to their 40-man roster after the season. Yarbrough made the Rays'

Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent years ...

roster in 2018. He made his debut against the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

, pitching four innings, allowing one run and recording three strikeouts. Yarbrough finished the season with 16 wins, the most for a rookie in franchise history, the most for a rookie in the 2018 season, and the second-most on the team. Yarbrough finished his rookie season posting an

of 3.91 over innings despite working predominantly out of the bullpen. Yarbrough was mainly utilized as the "bulk guy" behind the Rays' new opener strategy. On April 24, 2019, he was optioned to AAA after registering an ERA of 8.10 in 5 appearances. Yarbrough eventually was called back up and won his 8th game and being added into the starting rotation, lowering his ERA to 3.93 by the end of July. On July 14, 2019 against the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

, after

Ryne Stanek Ryne Thomas Stanek (born July 26, 1991) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). He attended the University of Arkansas, where he played for the Arkansas Razorbacks baseball team. He was ...

opened with two perfect innings, Yarbrough then pitched six perfect innings of his own, losing the combined perfect game bid to a leadoff single in the ninth inning. His run of success continued in the season's second half, as he improved his ERA to 3.51 and his WHIP to 0.88 by September 10, which would have been second-best in MLB among starting pitchers if Yarbrough pitched enough innings to qualify. He struggled in his last few starts and finished the season 11–6 with a 4.13 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and 117 strikeouts over innings. Due to many injuries to their pitching staff to begin the 2020 season, Yarbrough was used exclusively in the rotation before suffering a groin injury and placed on the disabled list on August 29, 2020. In 2020 he was 1-4 with a 3.56 ERA. He led the AL in hit batsmen, with seven. On June 3, 2021, Yarbrough threw a

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

9–2 victory against the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one ...

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the orig ...

, which was the first Rays complete game since Matt Andriese threw one in May 2016. The five-year drought was the longest in the league. It was also Yarbrough's first win as a starter since he pitched into the ninth inning against the Mariners at

Safeco Field T-Mobile Park is a retractable roof stadium in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Seattle Mariners and has a seating capacity of 47,929. It is in Seattle's SoDo neighborhood, near the wes ...

in 2019, as well as his first career complete game. On November 15, 2022, Yarbrough was designated for assignment. He was non-tendered and became a free agent on November 18.

Kansas City Royals

On December 13, 2022, Yarbrough signed a one-year contract with the

Personal

Yarbrough and his wife, Nicole, married in 2019 and announced in 2021 they were expecting their first child. Yarbrough grew up a Rays fan.

References

External links

Old Dominion Monarchs bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yarbrough, Ryan 1991 births Living people Sportspeople from Lakeland, Florida Baseball players from Florida Major League Baseball pitchers Tampa Bay Rays players Old Dominion Monarchs baseball players Pulaski Mariners players Everett AquaSox players Arizona League Mariners players Clinton LumberKings players Bakersfield Blaze players Jackson Generals (Southern League) players Durham Bulls players