Kent Jeffrey Emanuel (born June 4, 1992) is an American

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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("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, who attempts to e ...

who is a free agent. He played college baseball for the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which r ...

and made his MLB debut with the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

in 2021.

Amateur career

Emanuel attended Woodstock High School in

Woodstock, Georgia Woodstock is a city in Cherokee County, Georgia, United States. The population was 33,039 as of 2019 according to the US Census Bureau. Originally a stop on the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, Woodstock is part of the Atlanta metropolitan are ...

. He was drafted by the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. Founded as part o ...

in the 19th round of the

2010 MLB draft The 2010 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held on June 7–9, 2010 at the MLB Network Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey. First-round selections The draft order was determined based on the 2009 MLB standings, with the worst team pic ...

, but did not sign. Emanuel attended the

and played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

for the

North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to individuals from the state of North Carolina, the ''Tar Heel ...

. In 2011, 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 operate ...

with the

Falmouth Commodores The Falmouth Commodores are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Falmouth, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Commodores play their home games at Arnie All ...

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 one thous ...

. In 2013, Emanuel was named the

Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Pitcher of the Year The Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Pitcher of the Year is a baseball award given to the Atlantic Coast Conference's most outstanding pitcher. The award was first given after the 2005 season. Key Winners Winners by school Footnotes * The ...

Professional career

Houston Astros

The

selected Emanuel in the third round, with the 74th overall selection, of the

2013 MLB draft The 2013 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2013. The first two rounds were broadcast from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. Each team received one selection per round, going in ...

. He pitched 9 scoreless innings for the

GCL Astros The Florida Complex League Astros are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Houston Astros, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to the 2021 season, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Astros. The team plays i ...

in 2013. He split the 2014 season between the

Quad Cities River Bandits The Quad Cities River Bandits are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. Their home games are played at Modern Woodmen Park (formerly John O'Donnell Stadium) in Davenport, Iowa, one ...

and the

Lancaster JetHawks The Lancaster JetHawks were a baseball team located in Lancaster, California. They were named for the city's association with the aerospace industry and played their home games at The Hangar. From 1996 to 2020, they were members of Minor League ...

, going a combined 9–7 with a 4.21 ERA over 124 innings. He spent the 2015 season with the

Corpus Christi Hooks The Corpus Christi Hooks are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. They are located in Corpus Christi, Texas, and are named for the city's association with fishing. The team is owned b ...

, going 1–1 with a 3.68 ERA over innings. He returned to Corpus Christi in 2016, going 6–4 with a 5.23 ERA over innings. He split the 2017 season between Corpus Christi and the

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 ...

, going a combined 6–7 with a 5.72 ERA over 116 innings. He spent the 2018 season with Fresno, going 5–4 with a 5.59 ERA over innings. Emanuel spent the 2019 season with the

Round Rock Express The Round Rock Express are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Round Rock, Texas, and play their home games at the Dell Diamond. The team is named ...

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 level, which is one grade below Major League Bas ...

, going 8–2 with a 3.90 ERA over innings. The Astros added Emanuel to their

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, and ...

on November 4, 2019. Emanuel did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

. On August 6, 2020, he was suspended 80 games after testing positive for

Dehydrochlormethyltestosterone Chlorodehydromethyltestosterone (CDMT; brand name Oral Turinabol), also known as 4-chloro-17β-hydroxy17α-methylandrosta-1,4-dien-3-one, is an anabolic–androgenic steroid (AAS). It is the 4-chloro-substituted derivative of metandienone (deh ...

. On April 23, 2021, the Astros promoted Emanuel to the major leagues for the first time. In his MLB debut on April 24, he threw innings in relief and picked up the win, becoming the first pitcher since

Neil Allen Neil Patrick Allen (born January 24, 1958) is an American baseball former pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB). Playing career New York Mets The New York Mets drafted Allen out of Bishop Ward High School in Kansas City, Kansas, in the elevent ...

in May 1988 to pitch more than eight innings in relief. He entered the game against the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

Minute Maid Park Minute Maid Park is a retractable roof stadium in Houston, Texas, United States. It opened in 2000 as the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Houston Astros. It has a seating capacity of 41,168, which includes 5,197 club seats and 63 lu ...

in relief of

Jake Odorizzi Jacob Todd Odorizzi (born March 27, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Kansas City Royals, Tampa Bay Rays, Minnesota Twins, Houston As ...

who left the game due to tightness in his right

forearm The forearm is the region of the upper limb between the elbow and the wrist. The term forearm is used in anatomy to distinguish it from the arm, a word which is most often used to describe the entire appendage of the upper limb, but which in ...

after retiring one batter on five pitches. On June 3, Emanuel underwent season-ending surgery to repair an injury to the ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow. In 10 games for the Astros in 2021, he recorded a 2.55 ERA with 13 strikeouts.

Philadelphia Phillies

On November 19, 2021, the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has been Citize ...

claimed Emanuel off of waivers. He elected free agency on November 10, 2022.

References

External links

North Carolina Tar Heels bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Emanuel, Kent 1992 births Living people American sportspeople in doping cases Baseball players from Georgia (U.S. state) Baseball players suspended for drug offenses Corpus Christi Hooks players Falmouth Commodores players Fresno Grizzlies players Gulf Coast Astros players Houston Astros players Lancaster JetHawks players Major League Baseball pitchers People from Woodstock, Georgia North Carolina Tar Heels baseball players Quad Cities River Bandits players Round Rock Express players Tigres del Licey players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic