Dylan Chowles Unsworth (born 23 September 1992) is a South African

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 baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Moder ...

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

Caciques de Distrito The Caciques de Distrito (English: Distrito Chieftains) are a Venezuelan professional baseball team competing in the Venezuelan Major League. Based in Caracas, the team represents the Capital District and plays its home games at Estadio Universi ...

of the

Venezuelan Major League The Venezuelan Major League, officially the Major League of Professional Baseball ( or LMBP) is a professional baseball league in Venezuela. Unlike the top-level Venezuelan Professional Baseball League, which plays a winter league schedule, the ...

. He has previously played in the

Chinese Professional Baseball League The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL; ) is the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan. The league was established in 1989 and played the first season in 1990. CPBL eventually absorbed the competing Taiwan Major League in 20 ...

(CPBL) for the

Fubon Guardians The Fubon Guardians () are a professional baseball team in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) in Taiwan. The team is owned by Fubon Financial Holding Co. and play their home games at Xinzhuang Baseball Stadium in New Taipei City. ...

. He also pitches for the South African national baseball team.

Career

Seattle Mariners

Unsworth attended the European Baseball Academy in Italy in 2009, where he was discovered and signed by 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 ...

on June 20, 2010. In 2010 for the rookie–level

Arizona League Mariners The Arizona Complex League Mariners are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Seattle Mariners, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria, Arizona. The team is comp ...

, he was 2–5 with a 3.93

ERA An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other tea ...

s (in which he allowed only one

walk Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined as an "inverted pendulum" gait in which the body vaults over ...

). In 2011 in 12 starts for the rookie–level

Pulaski Mariners Pulaski may refer to: Places * Pulaski Heights, a section of the city of Little Rock, Arkansas * Pulaski Shoal, an underwater landform west of the Florida Keys * Pulaski, Georgia, a town * Pulaski Square, one of the "Squares of Savannah" in t ...

he was 6–5 with a 5.16 ERA in 61 innings. In 2012 in 14 starts for the Low–A

Everett AquaSox The Everett AquaSox are a Minor League Baseball team in Everett, Washington. The team is a member of the Northwest League and is the High-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. The AquaSox play their home games at Funko Field, which has a seatin ...

, he was 7–2 with a 3.90 ERA in innings. In 2013 he pitched for the AZL Mariners and Single–A

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 ...

, accumulating a 4–1 with a 2.50 ERA in 72 innings (in which he allowed only two walks), and was a mid-season All Star in the

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 ...

. According to ''Baseball America'', in 2013 he was the top control pitcher in the Mariners system. In 2014 in 26 starts for the High–A

High Desert Mavericks The High Desert Mavericks were an American Minor League Baseball team in Adelanto, California, that played their home games at Heritage Field at Stater Bros. Stadium. They played in the Class A-Advanced California League. The franchise had eight d ...

, he was 6–9 with a 5.88 ERA. Unsworth split the 2015 season between the High–A

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

and Double–A

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 ...

, registering a 5–10 record with a 3.95 ERA in 107 innings. In 2016, he started nine games for the Jackson in the Double–A Southern League, and was 3–1 with a 1.16 ERA in innings. His feats during the season came despite his

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch (baseball), pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. Its distinctive feature is its high speed. "Power pitchers," such as former major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, relied on the ...

not reaching 90

miles per hour Miles per hour (mph, m.p.h., MPH, or mi/h) is a British imperial and United States customary unit of speed expressing the number of miles travelled in one hour. It is used in the United Kingdom, the United States, and a number of smaller count ...

, and he was named a mid-season Southern League All Star, but had his season cut short by a

hamstring injury Straining of the hamstring, also known as a pulled hamstring, is defined as an excessive stretch or tear of muscle fibers and related tissues. Hamstring injuries are common in athletes participating in many sports. Track and field athletes are p ...

. He was named to appear in the 2016

All-Star Futures Game The All-Star Futures Game is an annual baseball exhibition game hosted by Major League Baseball (MLB) in conjunction with the mid-summer MLB All-Star Game. A team of American League-affiliated prospects competes against a team of National League- ...

. He pitched in 22 starts for the

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, ...

of the Triple–A

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 ...

and the

Arkansas Travelers The Arkansas Travelers, known informally as The Travs, are a Minor League Baseball team based in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The Travelers are the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners and play in the Texas League. Hi ...

of the Double–A

Texas League 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 2017, and was a combined 9–9 with a 3.30 ERA in innings. Unsworth elected free agency following the season on November 6, 2017.

Los Angeles Angels

On January 17, 2018, Unsworth signed a

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

contract with the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...

. Pitching in Double–A with the

Mobile BayBears The Mobile BayBears were a Minor League Baseball team based in Mobile, Alabama, United States. The team, which played in the Southern League, served as the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres (1997–2006), Arizona Diamondbacks (2007–2 ...

and Triple–A with the

Salt Lake Bees The Salt Lake Bees are a Minor League Baseball (MiLB) team that plays in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. Based in South Jordan, Utah, the team plays its home games at The Ballpark at Am ...

in 2018, he was a combined 6–4 with a 5.75 ERA in innings in 15 starts and 9 relief appearances. On November 2, Unsworth became a free agent. Through 2018, in the minor leagues he was 48–46 with a 4.17 ERA, as in innings he gave up 847 hits (9.9 per 9 innings) and 121 walks (1.4 per 9 innings) while striking out 625 batters (7.3 per 9 innings). He is known for not overpowering batters with velocity, but rather relying on a good

changeup A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball and fastpitch softball. The changeup is a staple off-speed pitch often used in a pitcher's arsenal, usually thrown to look like a fastball, but arriving much more slowly to the plate. Its reduced spee ...

and excellent control.

El Águila de Veracruz

On February 11, 2020, Unsworth signed with the

Pericos de Puebla The Pericos de Puebla (English: Puebla Parrots) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Puebla. Their home ballpark is the Estadio de Béisbol Hermanos Serdán. Established in 1938, the Pericos have won five Mexican League ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

. However, he did not pitch with the team as the season was canceled 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 ...

. On February 18, 2021, Unsworth signed with

El Águila de Veracruz El Águila de Veracruz (English: The Eagle of Veracruz) is a professional baseball team that plays in the Mexican League. Based in Veracruz, Veracruz, Veracruz, Mexico, they play their home games at the Estadio Universitario Beto Ávila. Histor ...

of the

for the 2021 season. On May 28, Unsworth threw a no-hitter against the

Diablos Rojos del México The Diablos Rojos del Mexico (English: Mexico Red Devils) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Mexico City, Mexico. The team was founded in 1940 by Salvador Lutteroth and Ernesto Carmona. The Diablos Rojos play their ho ...

. In 8 appearances with Veracruz, Unsworth recorded a 4–0 record and 2.57 ERA with 27 strikeouts in 42.0 innings of work.

Fubon Guardians

On July 22, 2021, Unsworth signed with the

of the

(CPBL). Unsworth made his CPBL debut on November 6. He became a free agent following the season.

El Águila de Veracruz (second stint)

On January 21, 2022, Unsworth signed with

of the

. In 2 starts for Veracruz, he struggled to an 0-1 record and 11.74 ERA with 3 strikeouts across innings pitched. Unsworth was released by the team on May 25, after suffering a knee injury that would keep him out for several weeks. On October 23, 2023, Unsworth was drafted in the sixth round by the

Karachi Monarchs The Karachi Monarchs are a professional baseball club from Karachi, Pakistan. Founded in 2023 as a member of Baseball United, the Karachi Monarchs are the first professional baseball team in Pakistan's history. The league has scheduled its first ...

, with the 41st overall pick, of the 2023

Baseball United Baseball United is a professional baseball organization in West Asia and South Asia. It began with two showcase games in Dubai in November 2023. The winter league's first season with five teams representing cities in India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia ...

inaugural draft. On July 5, 2024, Unsworth signed with the

Caliente de Durango Caliente de Durango is a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Durango. Their home ballpark is the Estadio Francisco Villa, with a capacity of 6,000 people. The team was established in 2024 after the former Durango's Mexican L ...

of the

. He did not appear in a game for Durango, and was released by the team on February 4, 2025.

International career

As a member of the South African national baseball team, Unsworth competed in the

2009 Baseball World Cup The 2009 Baseball World Cup (BWC) was the 38th international men's amateur baseball tournament. The tournament was sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation, which titled it the Amateur World Series from the 1938 tournament through th ...

, 2013 World Baseball Classic Qualification, and the

2017 World Baseball Classic Qualification The qualifying Round of the 2017 World Baseball Classic, officially called the 2016 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers was held from February 11 to September 25, 2016. Teams which participated at the 2013 World Baseball Classic were automatically ...

. He competed at the Africa/Europe 2020 Olympic Qualification tournament in Italy in September 2019.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Unsworth, Dylan 1992 births Living people Arizona League Mariners players Arkansas Travelers players Baseball pitchers Bakersfield Blaze players Caciques de Distrito players Clinton LumberKings players El Águila de Veracruz players Everett AquaSox players Fubon Guardians players High Desert Mavericks players Jackson Generals (Southern League) players Leones del Caracas players Mobile BayBears players Peoria Javelinas players Pulaski Mariners players Salt Lake Bees players South African expatriate baseball players in the United States Sportspeople from Durban Tacoma Rainiers players White South African people South African expatriate baseball players in Australia Expatriate baseball players in Venezuela South African expatriate baseball players in Taiwan Expatriate baseball players in Mexico 21st-century South African sportsmen