Brendan Michael Donovan (born January 16, 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 ...

utility player In sports, a utility player is one who can play several positions competently. Sports in which the term is often used include association football, basketball, American football, baseball, rugby union, rugby league, softball, ice hockey, and water ...

for the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

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). Born in Würzburg, Germany, and raised in

Enterprise, Alabama Enterprise is a city in the southeastern part of Coffee County, Alabama, Coffee County and the southwestern part of Dale County, Alabama, Dale County in Southeastern Alabama, United States. Its population was 28,711 at the 2020 United States cen ...

, Donovan played college baseball at the

University of South Alabama The University of South Alabama (USA) is a public research university in Mobile, Alabama, United States. It was created by the Alabama Legislature in May 1963 and replaced existing extension programs operated in Mobile by the University of Alaba ...

before the Cardinals selected him in the seventh round of the

2018 MLB 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 was a part of their minor league system before making his MLB debut in 2022, becoming a consistent member of their lineup as a

. Following the conclusion of his rookie season, he was named the first-ever recipient of the National League

Gold Glove Award The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual Fielding (baseball), fielding performances. It is awar ...

for a utility player and was also a finalist for

National League Rookie of the Year In Major League Baseball, the Rookie of the Year Award is given annually to two outstanding rookie players, one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL), as voted on by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). The aw ...

Amateur career

Donovan attended and played baseball at Enterprise High School in

, where he batted .467 with four

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s, 44

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

(RBIs), 17 doubles, and six

triples TripleS (; ; stylized as tripleS) is a South Korean 24-member multinational girl group formed by Modhaus. They aim to be the world's first decentralized idol group, where the members will rotate between the full group, sub-units, and solo activi ...

as a senior in 2015. He attended the

and 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

South Alabama Jaguars The South Alabama Jaguars represent the University of South Alabama in NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletics. USA competes in the Sun Belt Conference; it is the conference's only remaining charter member from its inception. USA's athletics te ...

. 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 ...

with the

Hyannis Harbor Hawks The Hyannis Harbor Hawks, formerly the Hyannis Mets, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Hyannis, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Harbor Hawks play ...

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 ...

. In 2018, his junior year, he batted .302 with five home runs and 55 RBIs over 57 games.

Professional career

Minor leagues

The

selected Donovan in the seventh round 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 St. Louis and made his professional debut with the

State College Spikes The State College Spikes are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in State College, Pennsylvania, and play their home games at Medlar Field on the campus of Pennsylvania State University. The team was fo ...

of the

Class A Short Season Class A Short Season (officially Short-Season A) was a level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States from 1965 through 2020. In the hierarchy of minor league classifications, it was below Triple-A, Double-A, Class A-Advanced (crea ...

New York–Penn League The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed th ...

, playing in four games. He spent most of the 2019 season with the

Peoria Chiefs The Peoria Chiefs are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. The team was established in 1983 as the Peoria Suns. They are located in Peoria, Illinois, and are named for the Pe ...

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 ...

and played in one game with the

Memphis Redbirds The Memphis Redbirds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in Memphis, Tennessee, and are named for their Major League Baseball affiliate. The Redbird ...

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 The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

, batting .268 with eight home runs and 53 RBIs over 114 games for the season. Brendan donovan 2024

Donovan did not play for a minor league team during the 2020 season, which was cancelled due to 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 ...

. He started 2021 with Peoria (now members of the

High-A Central 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 reorganizati ...

) before being promoted to the

Springfield Cardinals The Springfield Cardinals are a Minor League Baseball team based in Springfield, Missouri. They are members of the Texas League's North Division and serve as the Double-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. The Springfield Cardinals began pl ...

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 ...

in early June and to Memphis (now members 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 mid-August. Over 108 games between the three teams, he slashed .304/.399/.455 with 12 home runs and 66 RBIs. Donovan was selected to play in the

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

for the

Glendale Desert Dogs The Glendale Desert Dogs are a baseball team that plays in the West Division of the Arizona Fall League. They play their home games at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona. The ballpark is also the spring training facility of the Chicago White S ...

after the season where he was named to the Fall Stars Game. He was selected to the 40-man roster after the season on November 19, 2021. Donovan returned to Memphis to begin the 2022 season.

Major leagues

On April 25, 2022, Donovan was promoted to the major leagues. He made his MLB debut that night against the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

as a pinch runner and scored on a single by

Tyler O'Neill Tyler Alan O'Neill (born June 22, 1995) is a Canadian professional baseball outfielder for the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Red Sox. He has represented ...

. The next night, Donovan made his first major league start; he went 0-for-2 and was

hit by a pitch In baseball, hit by pitch (HBP) is an event in which a batter or his clothing or equipment (other than his bat) is struck directly by a pitch from the pitcher; the batter is called a hit batsman (HB). A hit batsman is awarded first base, provide ...

in a 0–3 loss to the

Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They are one of two major l ...

. On April 28, 2022, Donovan recorded his first career hit: a pinch-hit single against fellow rookie Tyler Holton of the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

. On May 10, he hit his first MLB home run, off Dillon Tate of the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) 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 America ...

. On September 22, Donovan recorded the 100th hit of his career with a grand slam off of Nick Martinez of the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

. The Cardinals went on to win the game 5–4. Donovan finished his rookie season batting .281/.394/.379 with five home runs, 45 RBIs, and 21 doubles over 126 games. Defensively, he played left field, right field, first base, second base, shortstop, and third base, and was named the first ever recipient of the National League

for a utility player. He was named a finalist for the

National League Rookie of the Year Award In Major League Baseball, the Rookie of the Year Award is given annually to two outstanding rookie players, one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL), as voted on by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). The aw ...

, alongside

Michael Harris II Michael Machion Harris II (born March 7, 2001) is an American professional baseball center fielder for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). He was selected by the Braves in the third round of the 2019 MLB draft. He made his MLB deb ...

and Spencer Strider. He finished in third place as Harris won the award. In 2023, Donovan played in 95 contests for the Cardinals. In 327 at bats, he batted .281/.362/.419 with 11 home runs and 34 RBIs. On August 2, 2023, it was announced that Donovan would undergo season–ending surgery to repair a flexor tendon injury in his throwing arm. In 2024, Donovan batted .278/.342/.417 with 14 home runs and 73 RBIs in 153 games. That offseason, Donovan went to salary arbitration with the Cardinals in his first year of eligibility. Donovan filed at $3.3 million with the Cardinals offering $2.85 million. Donovan lost his arbitration case.

Personal life

Donovan was born in Würzburg, Germany, when his father was stationed overseas, and represented the

Germany national baseball team The Germany national baseball team is the national baseball team for Germany. They are a contender for the European Baseball Championship, and have competed in the Baseball World Cup. Jendrick Speer is the manager, since March 2023. Results and f ...

in the

2023 World Baseball Classic qualification The qualifying round of the 2023 World Baseball Classic, officially called The World Baseball Classic 2022 Qualifiers was held from 16 September 2022 to 5 October 2022. Teams which participated at the 2017 World Baseball Classic automatically qu ...

. He married his wife Aly in 2022 and the couple welcomed a daughter in March 2024. Donovan is a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Donovan, Brendan 1997 births Living people Baseball players from Alabama Glendale Desert Dogs players Gold Glove Award winners Hyannis Harbor Hawks players Major League Baseball utility players Major League Baseball players from Germany Memphis Redbirds players Peoria Chiefs players South Alabama Jaguars baseball players Springfield Cardinals players St. Louis Cardinals players State College Spikes players