Kirkland McCarty (born October 12, 1995) 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, ...

who is a free agent. He has previously 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

Cleveland Guardians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. Since , the team has played its home gam ...

, in the

KBO League The KBO League () is a professional baseball league in South Korea. The league comprises ten teams. The KBO League was founded with six franchises in 1982 and is the most popular sports league in South Korea. The Kia Tigers are the most success ...

for the

SSG Landers SSG Landers () are a South Korean professional baseball team. The team was originally established as the SK Wyverns but was renamed as the SSG Landers in 2021 after Shinsegae acquired the team from SK Group. They are a member of the KBO League. B ...

, and 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

CTBC Brothers The CTBC Brothers () or simply Brothers are a professional baseball team in Taiwan. The team was originally established as an amateur team in 1984 by the Brother Hotel located in Taipei City, and later joined the Chinese Professional Baseball Lea ...

High school and college

McCarty went to Oak Grove High School in

Hattiesburg, Mississippi Hattiesburg is a city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, located primarily in Forrest County, Mississippi, Forrest County (where it is the county seat and most populous city) and extending west into Lamar County, Mississippi, Lamar County. The ci ...

, where he played

. He was an effective hitter and pitcher in high school, as he hit to a .364

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

and pitched to a 25–3 record in his high school career. He committed to

Southern Miss The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bac ...

to play

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, ...

before the 2015 college baseball season. McCarty worked as both a starter and reliever as a freshman, compiling a 4–1 record and a 4.09

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 ...

. Starting with his sophomore season, he played with future Guardians teammate Nick Sandlin. McCarty recorded an 8–1 record and a 3.16 ERA, while leading the Southern Miss team in strikeouts with 89. After his sophomore season in 2016, 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 operat ...

for the

Orleans Firebirds The Orleans Firebirds, formerly the Orleans Cardinals, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Orleans, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Firebirds play ...

of the

Cape Cod 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 1,000 forme ...

, throwing for a 2–1 record with a 1.99 ERA. He became solely a starter for his junior season, pitching to a 3.52 ERA, a 10–2 record, and 103 strikeouts across 17 starts.

Career

Cleveland Indians / Guardians

McCarty was drafted by the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

with the 222nd overall pick in the 7th round of the

2017 Major League Baseball draft The 2017 Major League Baseball draft began on June 12, 2017. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first 36 picks, including the first round and compensatory picks, were broadcast on MLB Network on June 12, while the remai ...

. McCarty signed for a $250,000 signing bonus on June 24, 2017, forgoing his senior season at Southern Miss. He pitched for the

Mahoning Valley Scrappers The Mahoning Valley Scrappers are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Niles, Ohio, a city in the valley of the Mahoning River, and play their home games at Eastwood Field. From 1999 to 2020, they were ...

during the rest of 2017, going 2–2 with an earned run average of 1.85 while working as both a starter and a reliever. He pitched for the

Lake County Captains The Lake County Captains are a Minor League Baseball team in Eastlake, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, that plays in the Midwest League as the High-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. The Captains joined the Class A Midwest League following ...

and the

Lynchburg Hillcats The Lynchburg Hillcats are a Minor League Baseball team in Lynchburg, Virginia that plays in the Carolina League and is the Single-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They were a farm team of the Atlanta Braves from 2011 to 2014, the Cincinn ...

in 2018, becoming a fulltime starter. He pitched to a 5–11 record and a 4.06 earned run average across innings for both teams. For Lynchburg in 2019, he pitched to a 3–7 record with a 5.66 earned run average across 13 starts. He pitched for the

Mesa Solar Sox The Mesa Solar Sox are a baseball team that plays in the East Division of the Arizona Fall League. They play their home games in Mesa, Arizona, at Sloan Park, which is also the spring training facility of the Chicago Cubs. The team was establi ...

in the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season baseball league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are filled ...

after the minor league season was over. McCarty did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league 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 ...

. He spent the 2021 season with the Triple-A

Columbus Clippers The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy Merchant ship, merch ...

. After beginning the 2022 season with Columbus, the Guardians selected McCarty's contract as a COVID-19 replacement player on April 20, 2022. He made his major league debut on April 24, 2022, and was returned to Columbus the following day. The Guardians selected McCarty's contract once more on May 8. McCarty was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must, within seven days, return the pla ...

following the promotion of Alex Young on July 3.

Baltimore Orioles

On July 6, 2022, McCarty was claimed off waivers by the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

. He made one start for the Triple–A

Norfolk Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's loc ...

, allowing three runs on five hits with two strikeouts in four innings of work. On July 12, McCarty was designated for assignment following the waiver claim of

Louis Head Louis Gibson Head (born April 23, 1990) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He was drafted in the 18th round of the 2012 Major League Baseball draft by the Cleveland Indians. Head played college baseball for the Texas Tech Red ...

Cleveland Guardians (second stint)

On July 14, 2022, McCarty was claimed off waivers by the

. On July 26, McCarty earned his first career win after tossing four scoreless innings of relief against the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

. In 13 total appearances for Cleveland, he compiled a 4-3 record and 4.54 ERA with 26 strikeouts across innings pitched. McCarty was designated for assignment once more on November 15, and subsequently released on November 17.

SSG Landers

On November 27, 2022, McCarty signed with the

of the

. He made 24 starts for the team in 2023, registering a 9–5 record and 3.39 ERA with 116 strikeouts across 130 innings pitched. McCarty became a free agent following the season.

CTBC Brothers

On January 17, 2024, McCarty signed with the

of the

. He was sidelined with left elbow inflammation to begin the season. McCarty ultimately made 13 starts for the team, posting a 5–3 record and 2.76 ERA with 62 strikeouts across innings pitched. With the Brothers, he won the 2024

Taiwan Series The Taiwan Series () is the final championship series of 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 a ...

. On January 9, 2025, McCarty re-signed with the Brothers. He was released by the Brothers on April 2, after struggles during spring training led to him not making the team.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCarty, Kirk 1995 births Living people Baseball players from Hattiesburg, Mississippi Cleveland Guardians players Columbus Clippers players CTBC Brothers players KBO League pitchers Lake County Captains players Lynchburg Hillcats players Mahoning Valley Scrappers players Major League Baseball pitchers Mesa Solar Sox players Norfolk Tides players Orleans Firebirds players Southern Miss Golden Eagles baseball players SSG Landers players American expatriate baseball players in South Korea