Austin Cox (born March 28, 1997) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

for the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB). He has previously played in MLB 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) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

. He made his MLB debut in 2023.

Amateur career

Cox attended

First Presbyterian Day School First Presbyterian Day School (FPD) is a private, college-preparatory Christian day school in Macon, Georgia, United States. FPD was founded in 1970 by Macon's First Presbyterian Church and has been described at the time of its founding as a s ...

Macon, Georgia Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. Situated near the Atlantic Seaboard fall line, fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is southeast of Atlanta and near the ...

, where he played

and

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

. For his high school career, he went 15–6 with a 2.19 ERA. Undrafted in the

2015 Major League Baseball draft The 2015 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 8 through June 10, 2015, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2014 MLB season standings. As the Diamondbacks finished the 2014 season ...

, he fulfilled his commitment to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

Mercer University Mercer University is a Private university, private Research university, research university in Macon, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1833 as Mercer Institute and gaining university status in 1837, it is the oldest private university in the s ...

. In 2016, Cox's freshman year at Mercer, he pitched 24 innings, compiling a 2–2 record and a 10.13 ERA. As a sophomore in 2016, he started 15 games, going 4–2 with a 5.69 ERA. In 2018, his junior season, he was named Mercer's Friday night starter. Over 17 starts, Cox pitched to a 7–4 record with a 4.52 ERA, striking out 124 batters over innings.

Professional career

Kansas City Royals

The

drafted Cox in the fifth round, with the 152nd overall selection, of the

2018 Major League Baseball draft The 2018 Major League Baseball draft began on June 4, 2018. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was determined based on the reverse order of the 2017 MLB season final standings. In addition, compensation pi ...

. He signed with the Royals and made his professional debut with the

Burlington Royals The Burlington Royals were a minor league baseball team in Burlington, North Carolina, United States. They were a Rookie-level team in the Appalachian League. The team was affiliated with the Cleveland Indians from 1986 to 2006 as the Burlington ...

of the

Rookie-level Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National L ...

Appalachian League The Appalachian League is a Collegiate summer baseball, collegiate summer baseball league that operates in the Appalachian regions of Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. Designed for rising freshmen and sophomores using wooden ...

, pitching to a 1–1 record and a 3.78 ERA over nine starts. In 2019, he began the year 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 have ...

of the Single–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 h ...

, with whom he was named an All-Star alongside earning Pitcher of the Week honors in early June. On June 23, 2019, he was promoted to the

Wilmington Blue Rocks The Wilmington Blue Rocks are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Wilmington, Delaware, and play their home games at Daniel S. Frawley Stadium. Fra ...

of the High–A

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

, and finished the season there. Over 24 games (23 starts) between the two teams, he went 8–6 with a 2.76 ERA, compiling 129 strikeouts and 38 walks over innings. Cox did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. To begin the 2021 season, he was assigned to the

Northwest Arkansas Naturals The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are a Minor League Baseball team based in Springdale, Arkansas, Springdale, Arkansas. The team is a member of the Texas League, and serves as the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. T ...

of the

Double-A Central 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 ...

, and was promoted to the

Omaha Storm Chasers The Omaha Storm Chasers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. They are located in Papillion, Nebraska, a suburb southwest of Omaha, Nebraska, Omah ...

of the

Triple-A East The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball (M ...

in late September. Over 17 games (16 starts) between the two clubs, Cox went 4-1 with a 4.10 ERA and 56 strikeouts over 63 innings. He returned to Omaha for the 2022 season. Over 29 games (24 starts), he went 7-7 with a 4.21 ERA and 105 strikeouts over innings. Cox began the 2023 season with Omaha, posting a 2.21 ERA, 22 strikeouts, and 11 walks in innings pitched across five games (four starts). On May 3, 2023, Cox was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time. He proceeded to set a modern Major League Baseball record by not allowing a hit to any of the first 39 batters he faced. In 24 appearances for Kansas City, Cox logged a 4.54 ERA with 33 strikeouts in innings pitched. On September 8, Cox departed an outing against the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

after he was struck by an Alejandro Kirk come backer and collapsed in pain as he tried to cover first base. The next day, he was placed on the 60–day injured list, ending his season. On September 12, Cox was diagnosed with a full ACL tear in his left knee, as well as damage to his MCL in the same knee. On November 17, Cox was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must, within seven days, return the pla ...

by the Royals following the acquisition of Nick Anderson. The following day, Kansas City re-signed him to a minor league contract. Cox spent the 2024 campaign with Triple–A Omaha, compiling a 3.90 ERA with 31 strikeouts across 30 innings pitched. On July 11, 2024, Cox opted out of his minor league contract and elected free agency. Cox re–signed with the Royals on a new minor league contract on July 16. He elected free agency following the season on November 4. On January 2, 2025, Cox re-signed with the Royals on a new minor league contract. In 11 appearances for Triple-A Omaha, he posted a 2-1 record and 3.55 ERA with 18 strikeouts across innings pitched. Cox was released by the Royals organization on May 4.

Atlanta Braves

On May 4, 2025, Cox signed a major league contract with the

and was optioned to the Triple–A

Gwinnett Stripers The Gwinnett Stripers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They play their home games at Coolray Field in unincorporated Gwinnett County, Georgia ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cox, Austin 1997 births Living people Atlanta Braves players Baseball players from Macon, Georgia Burlington Royals players Gwinnett Stripers players Kansas City Royals players Lexington Legends players Major League Baseball pitchers Mercer Bears baseball players Northwest Arkansas Naturals players Omaha Storm Chasers players Wilmington Blue Rocks players