Kevin R. Gowdy (born November 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 ...

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

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

organization. He attended

Santa Barbara High School Santa Barbara Senior High School, "Home of the Dons," is situated on a sprawling campus in Santa Barbara, California in the Santa Barbara Unified School District. Among the oldest high schools in California and one of five high schools in the Di ...

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara (, meaning ) is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States excepting A ...

and was considered a top prospect for the

2016 MLB draft The 2016 Major League Baseball draft began on June 9, 2016, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2015 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks were distributed for players who ...

. Gowdy was selected by the

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

in the second round, with the 42nd overall pick.

Amateur career

Gowdy made

's varsity team as a sophomore. That year, he had a 0–2

win-loss record In sports, a winning percentage or Copeland score is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the tot ...

and 1.27

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) in 23

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 ...

. As a junior, he improved to 3–0 with a 0.27 ERA in 26 innings pitched, signing a

national letter of intent The National Letter of Intent (NLI) is a document used to indicate a student athlete's commitment to participating in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) colleges and universities in the United States. The NCAA Eligibility Center manag ...

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

after leading his team to the CIF-SS Division II playoffs for the second straight year. He also won a gold medal with the United States at the 2015 WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup in Japan. He earned a win against Mexico, and pitched two scoreless innings to lead the United States to a comeback win over Cuba in the semifinal. After his junior year, the

selected Gowdy in the second round of the

. He bypassed a college career and signed with the Phillies for $3.5 million.

Professional career

Philadelphia Phillies

Gowdy was assigned to the

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

, where he spent the remainder of the season, posting a 4.00 ERA in nine innings pitched. He did not report to a minor league club to begin the 2017 season and instead underwent

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, sometimes referred to as Tommy John surgery is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's body, ...

in August, which caused him to miss the 2018 season. He returned to pitch in 2019 with the

Lakewood BlueClaws The Jersey Shore BlueClaws (formerly Lakewood BlueClaws) are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Lakewood, New Jersey, and are named for their locat ...

, going 0–6 with a 4.68 ERA in 24 games (16 starts), striking out 53 batters over 77 innings. He did not play in 2020 due to the cancellation of the

Minor League Baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

season because of 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 ...

. Gowdy opened the 2021 season with the

Jersey Shore BlueClaws The Jersey Shore BlueClaws (formerly Lakewood BlueClaws) are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Lakewood, New Jersey, and are named for their locati ...

of the

High-A East The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its hi ...

, going 4–5 with a 4.42 ERA and 63 strikeouts over 61 innings.

Texas Rangers

On July 30, 2021, Gowdy, Spencer Howard, and Josh Gessner were traded to the Texas Rangers in exchange for Hans Crouse,

Kyle Gibson Kyle Benjamin Gibson (born October 23, 1987) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers, Philadelphi ...

, and

Ian Kennedy Ian Patrick Kennedy (born December 19, 1984) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Between 2007 and 2023, he played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, Arizona Diamondbacks, San Diego Padres, Kans ...

. He finished out the 2021 season with the

Hickory Crawdads The Hickory Crawdads are a Minor League Baseball (MiLB) team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers. They are located in Hickory, North Carolina, and play their home games at L. P. Frans St ...

of the

, going 2–1 with a 3.71 ERA and 26 strikeouts over 29 innings. Gowdy opened the 2022 season back with Hickory. However, he instead spent the season with the Double-A

Frisco RoughRiders The Frisco RoughRiders (often shortened to 'Riders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers. Based in Frisco, Texas, the team is named aft ...

, posting a 2-3 record and 9.90 ERA with 33 strikeouts across 40 innings pitched. Gowdy elected free agents following the season on November 10, 2022.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Gowdy signed a minor league contract with the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

on January 23, 2023. The Dodgers assigned him to the Double–A

Tulsa Drillers The Tulsa Drillers are a minor league baseball team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The team, which plays in the Texas League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers major-league club. Stadium The Drillers play at ONEOK Field (pronounc ...

, where he appeared in 31 games with a 4.93 ERA and 41 strikeouts. He was assigned to the Triple–A

Oklahoma City Baseball Club The Oklahoma City Comets are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and play their home games at Chickasaw Bricktown Bal ...

for the 2024 season, where he made 42 appearances and allowed 25 earned runs in innings for a 4.38 ERA. Gowdy elected free agency following the season on November 4, 2024.

Toronto Blue Jays

On December 3, 2024, Gowdy signed a minor league contract with the

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gowdy, Kevin 1997 births Living people Santa Barbara High School alumni Baseball players from Santa Barbara, California Baseball pitchers Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Minor league baseball players Frisco RoughRiders players Florida Complex League Phillies players Hickory Crawdads players Lakewood BlueClaws players Jersey Shore BlueClaws players Oklahoma City Baseball Club players Tulsa Drillers players