Kevin Martin Jepsen (born July 26, 1984) is an American former 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, ...

. He played in

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) for the

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

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

, and Texas Rangers.

Professional career

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

The

selected Jepsen in the second round (53rd overall) in the

2002 Major League Baseball Draft The 2002 Major League Baseball draft, was held on June 4 and 5. It is featured in Michael Lewis (author), Michael Lewis' 2003 book ''Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, Moneyball''. First round selections Supplemental first r ...

out of Bishop Manogue High School. Jepsen earned his first

All-Star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

selection in the minor leagues, and was enjoying his finest season to date with a combined 3–4 record, 13 saves, a 1.87

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 ...

and 55

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

s for 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 ...

and

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 ...

when he was selected to play for the

United States national baseball team The United States national baseball team, also known as Team USA, represents the United States in international level baseball competitions. The team is currently ranked 5th in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation. The United S ...

at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

. He and his team won a bronze medal. Jepsen made his major league debut against the

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

on September 8, 2008, at

Angel Stadium Angel Stadium is a ballpark in Anaheim, California, United States. Since its opening in 1966, it has been the home venue of the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB), who relocated from Los Angeles to Anaheim following the 1965 seas ...

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. He pitched one inning in a blowout game, retiring

Derek Jeter Derek Sanderson Jeter ( ; born June 26, 1974), nicknamed "the Captain", is an American former professional baseball shortstop, businessman, and baseball executive. As a player, Jeter spent his entire 20-year Major League Baseball (MLB) caree ...

Bobby Abreu Bob Kelly Abreu (; ; born March 11, 1974), nicknamed "El Comedulce" and "La Leche", is a Venezuelans, Venezuelan former professional baseball outfielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, Ne ...

, and

Alex Rodriguez Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez (born July 27, 1975), nicknamed "A-Rod", is an American former professional baseball shortstop, third baseman and designated hitter and current businessman. Rodriguez played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (ML ...

in order. Jepsen pitched in nine games for the Angels in the 2008 season. Jepsen had his first full major-league season in 2009. His first year was overshadowed by the death of his teammate and friend Nick Adenhart. Jepsen was responsible for hanging up Adenhart's jersey in the dugout every game. In spite of this, Jepsen threw a career-high 54 innings. He had shoulder

tendinitis Tendinopathy is a type of tendon disorder that results in pain, swelling, and impaired function. The pain is typically worse with movement. It most commonly occurs around the shoulder ( rotator cuff tendinitis, biceps tendinitis), elbow ( tenn ...

in September, slowing his return to Spring Training in 2010. Despite this, Jepsen appeared in 68 games, recording 2 wins and 4 losses in 59 innings. In 2011, Jepsen spent time between the disabled list and the minors, appearing in only 16 games.

Tampa Bay Rays

On December 16, 2014, he was traded to the

in exchange for Matt Joyce.

Minnesota Twins

On July 31, 2015, the

acquired Jepsen for

Chih-Wei Hu Chih-Wei Hu (; born November 4, 1993) is a Taiwanese professional baseball pitcher for the Uni-President Lions of the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL). He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays. C ...

and Alexis Tapia. After closer Glen Perkins suffered an injury in the first week of the 2016 season, Jepsen was given the closer role but struggled throughout the season in the closer role and in non save situations. On July 3, he was designated for assignment after posting an ERA of 6.16 while recording just 7 saves for the last place Twins. Jepsen was released on July 11.

Tampa Bay Rays (second stint)

On July 15, 2016, Jepsen signed a contract for the remainder of the season to return to the Rays. In 2016, balls hit against him had the highest average exit velocity in the major leagues, at 91.7 miles per hour.

Arizona Diamondbacks

On February 13, 2017, Jepsen signed a minor league contract with 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 ...

. He was released on March 25.

Washington Nationals

Nearing a return after losing the first half of the season to a quadriceps injury, Jepsen reportedly signed a minor league deal with a July 26 opt-out date on June 29, 2017, to join the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

organization. In 19 appearances for the Triple–A

Syracuse Chiefs Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

, he recorded a 5.32 ERA with 29 strikeouts across innings pitched. Jepsen elected free agency following the season on November 6.

Texas Rangers

On December 14, 2017, Jepsen signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers. Jepsen earned a spot on the Rangers' Opening Day roster. He was designated for assignment on May 21, 2018. He cleared waivers and elected free agency on May 25.

Pitching style

Jepsen featured four pitches: a

four-seam fastball A four-seam fastball, also called a rising fastball, a four-seamer, or a cross-seam fastball, is a pitch (baseball), pitch in baseball. It is a member of the fastball family of pitches and is usually the fastest ball thrown by a pitcher. It is s ...

at 95–99 mph, a

two-seam fastball A two-seam fastball is a pitch in baseball and softball. It is a variant of the straight fastball. The pitch has the speed of a fastball and can also include late-breaking action caused by varying the pressure of the index and middle fingers on t ...

at 94–97, a cutter at 89–93, and a

curveball In baseball and softball, the curveball is a type of pitch thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball, causing it to dive as it approaches the plate. Varieties of curveball include the 12–6 curve ...

at 83–86. Fans in the Diamond Club at Angels Stadium would routinely be in awe of what they were seeing. The cutter was rarely used against left-handed hitters, while the two-seamer was primarily thrown to lefties. Jepsen used his curveball most often in 2-strike counts.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jepsen, Kevin 1984 births Living people Baseball players from Anaheim, California Major League Baseball pitchers Los Angeles Angels players Tampa Bay Rays players Minnesota Twins players Texas Rangers players Arizona League Angels players Cedar Rapids Kernels players Rancho Cucamonga Quakes players Arkansas Travelers players Salt Lake Bees players Inland Empire 66ers players Baseball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in baseball Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics