Austin Christopher Kitchen (born February 11, 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, ...

in the

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

organization. He has previously played in

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) for the

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League East, East Division. The ...

Career

Early career

Kitchen attended

Mt. Lebanon High School Mt. Lebanon High School is a four-year, comprehensive high school located in Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania, with an enrollment of 1,789 students in grades 9–12 for the 2023–2024 school year. Its mascot is the Blue Devil. Mt. Lebanon H ...

Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania Mt. Lebanon (locally ) is a township with home rule status in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 34,075 at the 2020 census. It is a suburb of Pittsburgh. Established in 1912 as Mount Lebanon, the township was a ...

and played for the school's baseball team. He enrolled at

Coastal Carolina University Coastal Carolina University (CCU or Coastal) is a public university in Conway, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1954 as Coastal Carolina Junior College, and later joining the University of South Carolina System as USC Coastal Carolina, ...

, where he played

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, ...

for the

Coastal Carolina Chanticleers The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (, ) are the athletic teams that represent Coastal Carolina University. They participate in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA as a member of the Sun Belt Conferen ...

from 2016 through 2019. Kitchen was a member of the

2016 College World Series The 2016 NCAA Division I baseball tournament began on Friday, June 3, 2016, as part of the 2016 NCAA Division I baseball season. The 64-team, double-elimination tournament concluded with the 2016 College World Series (CWS) in Omaha, Nebraska, s ...

champions. That year, he was named a freshman All American by Louisville Slugger. In 2017, 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 ...

for the

Cotuit Kettleers The Cotuit Kettleers are a collegiate summer baseball team based in the village of Cotuit, Massachusetts, which is in the southwest corner of the town of Barnstable, Massachusetts, Barnstable. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League ...

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 1,000 forme ...

. He missed the entire 2018 season after tearing the

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation. In ...

in his right knee while working out in a weight room. He returned to the Chanticleers in 2019, leading the team in hits and runs allowed and sharing the team lead with 6 wins. He did not pitch in college in 2020. After college, Kitchen was not selected in the shortened

2020 Major League Baseball draft The 2020 Major League Baseball draft took place on June 10 and 11, 2020. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to Major League Baseball (MLB) teams. The draft order was set based on the reverse order of the 2019 MLB season standings. In ad ...

and spent the summer with the Steel City Slammin' Sammies of the independent Washington League. In nine games, he recorded a 1.50

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) with 11

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

s across 12

innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...

. On February 9, 2021, Kitchen signed with the

Washington Wild Things The Washington Wild Things are a professional baseball team based in Washington, Pennsylvania The team competes in the Frontier League (FL) as a member of the Midwest Division and is owned by Stu and Francine Williams. They play their home games ...

of the independent

Frontier League The Frontier League (FL; French: ''Ligue Frontière'', LF) is a professional baseball league in North America composed of 18 teams – 15 in the United States and 3 in Canada. The FL is one of the eight independent baseball leagues in North Ame ...

Colorado Rockies

On April 20, 2021, Kitchen signed a minor league contract 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

organization. He pitched 19 games for the Single-A

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 ...

, compiling a 4.97 ERA with 38 strikeouts across innings. Kitchen started 2022 with the High-A

Spokane Indians The Spokane Indians are a Minor League Baseball team located in Spokane Valley, the city immediately east of Spokane, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest. The Indians are members of the High-A Northwest League (NWL) as an affiliate of the Co ...

and was promoted to the Double-A

Hartford Yard Goats The Hartford Yard Goats are a Minor League Baseball team based in Hartford, Connecticut. The Yard Goats, which play in the Eastern League, are the Double-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. The team was founded in 2016 when the New Britain Ro ...

at the end of July. In 36 total games, he posted a cumulative 5–2 record and 3.32 ERA with 71 strikeouts across innings pitched. Kitchen spent the 2023 season back with Hartford, also making two appearances for the Triple-A

Albuquerque Isotopes The Albuquerque Isotopes are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They play home games at Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at an ...

. In 43 games out of the

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if ...

for Hartford, he recorded a 3.62 ERA with 54 strikeouts and 3 saves across innings of work. Kitchen began 2024 with Hartford and was promoted to Albuquerque after 5 games. In 18 games for the Isotopes, Kitchen registered a 3.65 ERA with 18 strikeouts. On June 22, 2024, Kitchen was selected to the

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 ...

and promoted to the major leagues for the first time. He did not make an appearance for the Rockies before he 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 ...

the following day to make way for Kyle Freeland, becoming, for a time, a

phantom ballplayer A phantom ballplayer is either a baseball player who is incorrectly listed in source materials as playing in a Major League Baseball (MLB) game, often the result of typographical or clerical errors, or a player who spent time on an MLB Major Lea ...

Miami Marlins

On June 25, 2024, Kitchen was claimed off waivers by the

and optioned to the Triple-A

Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in Jacksonville, Florida, and are named for shrimp caught in th ...

. The Marlins promoted Kitchen to the major leagues on July 26, but he was optioned to back to Jacksonville the next day, without pitching for Miami. He was promoted once more on July 30. He made his major league debut that day, allowing 3 runs in 2 innings in a loss to the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

. Kitchen made four appearances for the Marlins, with a 14.14 ERA, one loss, and four strikeouts over seven innings. He was designated for assignment by Miami on September 7.

Seattle Mariners

On September 9, 2024, Kitchen was claimed off waivers by the

. He was optioned to the Triple-A

Tacoma Rainiers The Tacoma Rainiers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They are located in Tacoma, Washington, and play their home games at Cheney Stadium, ...

, where he pitched four times, posting an unsightly 14.73 ERA in innings. His combined pitching line for three Triple-A teams in 2024 was a 6–1 record with a 4.30 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 44 innings. On January 13, 2025, the Mariners designated Kitchen for assignment. He cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A Tacoma on January 16.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kitchen, Austin 1997 births Living people Albuquerque Isotopes players 21st-century American sportsmen Baseball players from Pittsburgh Coastal Carolina Chanticleers baseball players Cotuit Kettleers players Fresno Grizzlies players Hartford Yard Goats players Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp players Major League Baseball pitchers Miami Marlins players Spokane Indians players Tacoma Rainiers players