Dylan Martin Dodd (born June 6, 1998) 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).

Early life and amateur career

Dylan Dodd was born to parents Mark and Thea Dodd. Mark coached Dylan's high school baseball and football teams. Dodd attended Bismarck Henning High School in

Bismarck, Illinois Bismarck is a village in Newell Township, Vermilion County, Illinois, Newell Township, Vermilion County, Illinois, Vermilion County, Illinois, United States. It is part of the Danville, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 5 ...

, 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, ...

Kankakee Community College Kankakee Community College (KCC) is a public community college in Kankakee, Illinois. The main campus is located on the southern border of the city of Kankakee and spans along the banks of the Kankakee River. KCC is accredited by the Commissi ...

and

Southeast Missouri State University Southeast Missouri State University (Southeast or SEMO) is a public university in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. In addition to the main campus, the university has four regional campuses offering full degree programs and a secondary campus housing t ...

. In 2021, he was named the

Ohio Valley Conference The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It participates in Division I of the NCAA; the conference's football programs compete in partnership with ...

Pitcher of the Year. Dodd was drafted by the

in the third round of the

2021 Major League Baseball draft The 2021 Major League Baseball draft took place on July 11–13, 2021. In conjunction with the 2021 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, the draft was held in Denver. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was s ...

, and was the first athlete in his high school's history to be selected in the MLB draft. Dodd joined the Braves after agreeing to a $125,000 signing bonus.

Professional career

Dodd spent his first professional season in 2021 with the

Augusta GreenJackets The Augusta GreenJackets are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They play their home games at SRP Park in North Augusta, South Carolina. History Augusta was a member of the S ...

and

Rome Braves The Rome Emperors are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They are located in Rome, Georgia, and play their home games at AdventHealth Stadium. From 2003 to 2023, the team wa ...

. He started 2022 with Rome before being promoted to the

Mississippi Braves The Mississippi Braves, or M-Braves as they were referred to locally, were a Minor League Baseball team based in Pearl, Mississippi, a suburb of Jackson, from 2005 to 2024. They were the Double-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves and competed in ...

and ended the year with the

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 ...

. Before the 2023 regular season began, Dodd participated in spring training and competed alongside

Jared Shuster Jared Craig Shuster (born August 3, 1998) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball at Wake Forest University. The Atlanta Braves selected him in the first ro ...

for the fifth spot in the

' starting rotation. On March 26, 2023, after Kyle Wright was placed on the injured list, it was announced that both Dodd and Shuster had made the

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 year ...

roster and would pitch out of the rotation for the time being. On April 3, Dodd was officially selected to the 40-man roster. Dodd faced 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 ...

in his major league debut the next day. He recorded a victory and three strikeouts while yielding one earned run on six hits in five innings. On April 9, 2023, Dodd allowed ten hits and seven earned runs, in just under five innings, in his first major league loss. Subsequently, on April 11, Dodd was optioned to the Gwinnett Stripers, as Wright was reinstated from the injured list. In 7 starts for Atlanta in his rookie campaign, he recorded a 7.60 ERA with 15 strikeouts across innings of work. Dodd was optioned to Triple–A Gwinnett to begin the 2024 season. He made only one appearance for Atlanta in 2024, allowing two runs on four hits with two strikeouts across two innings pitched. Dodd was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett to begin the 2025 season.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dodd, Dylan Living people 1998 births Atlanta Braves players Augusta GreenJackets players Baseball players from Cook County, Illinois Baseball players from DuPage County, Illinois Florida Complex League Braves players Gwinnett Stripers players Major League Baseball pitchers Mississippi Braves players People from Elk Grove Village, Illinois Rome Braves players Southeast Missouri State Redhawks baseball players