Kyle Freeland

Kyle Richard Freeland (born May 14, 1993) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball at Evansville and was drafted by the Rockies with the eighth pick in the first round of the 2014 Major League Baseball draft.

Amateur career

High school

Freeland attended Thomas Jefferson High School in Denver, Colorado. He lettered in baseball three years. In his senior season in 2011, he set a state record with 145 strikeouts, was named an all-state player, and had an 8–2 record with a 1.39 ERA and 17 walks in 65 innings.

College

The Philadelphia Phillies selected Freeland in the 35th round of the 2011 Major League Baseball draft. He did not sign and attended the University of Evansville, playing college baseball for the Evansville Purple Aces.

As a freshman in 2012, Freeland had a 4–5 win–loss record with a 4.55 earned run average (ERA) and 70 strikeouts in 91 innings across 14 games started. He threw two complete game shutouts. As a sophomore in 2013, he again started 14 games, going 4–8 with a 4.34 ERA and 84 strikeouts in innings. That summer, he played in the Cape Cod League with the Hyannis Harbor Hawks, where he had a 2.25 ERA and a league leading 48 strikeouts. He was named a league all-star. As a junior, he was 10–2 with a 1.90 ERA and 128 strikeouts over innings, again starting 14 games. He was named a first-team All-American by Baseball America and Perfect Game.

Professional career

Draft and minor leagues

Considered a top prospect for the 2014 Major League Baseball draft, the Colorado Rockies selected Freeland in the first round, with the eighth overall pick, of the 2014 Major League Baseball Draft. Freeland debuted professionally that summer with the Grand Junction Rockies and was promoted in August to the Asheville Tourists. He started five games for both clubs, with a combined 3–0 record and a 1.15 ERA.

Freeland did not start pitching in 2015 in July, due to shoulder fatigue and surgery to remove bone chips in his elbow. He started twice for Grand Junction before advancing to the Modesto Nuts. He had a combined 4.05 ERA in seven starts. After the regular season, Freeland started six games for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, with a 2.84 ERA and just 13 strikeouts in innings. In 2016, Freeland began the season with the Hartford Yard Goats, and was promoted to the Albuquerque Isotopes in June. Freeland posted an 11–10 record with a 3.89 ERA between the two clubs, starting 26 games.

Major leagues

2017: Rookie of the Year consideration

Freeland made his major league debut with the Rockies on April 7, 2017, against the Los Angeles Dodgers and earned his first MLB win. He also had his first major league hit, a single. It was the first time in 51 years that a starting pitcher made his MLB debut in his team's home opener in the state where he was born. Chuck Dobson last did so for the Kansas City Athletics in 1966. Freeland hit his first major league home run on May 21, off Cincinnati Reds pitcher Bronson Arroyo. On July 9, Freeland took a no-hitter into the 9th inning against the Chicago White Sox before allowing a one-out a single to Melky Cabrera. He finished the season with an 11–11 record and 4.10 ERA in 156 innings, tying for the team lead in wins and hit batsmen with fellow rookie Germán Márquez. Both Rockies rookies received Rookie of the Year votes, with Freeland finishing seventh, two spots below Márquez.

2018: Breakout and playoffs

Freeland had a career year in 2018. He broke Ubaldo Jimenez's single season ERA franchise record at 2.84 and ended the year with a 17–7 record in 33 starts. He struggled badly in his first four starts, going 0–3 with a 5.85 ERA, but went 17–4 with a 2.52 ERA the rest of the season. Unlike most pitchers, Freeland excelled at the hitter-friendly Coors Field, setting the single-season Rockies record for home ERA at 2.40. He pitched innings in 33 starts, striking out 173 batters against 70 walks and 182 hits and holding opponents to a .240 batting average. Additionally, 24 of his 33 starts were quality starts, including 11 consecutive quality starts from August 6 through the end of the season. Freeland finished fourth in Cy Young Award voting.

In his only postseason appearance, Freeland started the 2018 National League Wild Card Game. He pitched scoreless innings, striking out six while allowing four singles and one walk as the Rockies defeated the Chicago Cubs 2–1 in 13 innings. Freeland also became the first Rockies pitcher to have a scoreless start in a postseason game.

2019–2021

Freeland followed up his best season with one of his worst. He was the Rockies Opening Day starter, but began the year going 2–6 with a 7.13 ERA through 12 starts before being demoted to Triple-A on May 31. He returned to pitch for to Colorado in July, but his performance was only slightly better, going 1–5 with a 6.20 ERA in 10 starts. He tied with Antonio Senzatela for the most losses on the team, which tied for the 10th most in the National League (NL) that season.

Freeland had a bounce-back season in 2020. Freeland was one of the Rockies most dependable starters in the shortened 60-game season. Despite a poor final outing, in 13 starts, he went 2–3 with a 4.33 ERA, led the NL in quality starts with 9, and led all pitchers in inducing 15 double plays. His 2.0 strikeout-to-walk ratio was the lowest among NL qualified pitchers, but finished 14th in wins above replacement among NL pitchers at 1.9, as calculated by Baseball Reference.

Freeland began the 2021 season on the injured list with a shoulder strain, missing the first month and a half of the season. He started slow, with two losses and 9.58 ERA after his first five starts, but ended the season with a 7–8 record and 4.33 ERA in 23 starts. He struck out 105 batters in innings.

2022–2024: extension and injuries

The Rockies named Freeland their starting pitcher for Opening Day. On April 19, Freeland agreed to a five-year, $64.5 million contract extension with the Rockies. On the year, Freeland was 9–11 with a 4.63 ERA in 31 starts covering innings. Batters had a .342 on base percentage against Freeland, the highest of any qualified pitcher. He led MLB with 9 sacrifice flies allowed and 8 triples allowed.

Freeland was 6–14 with a 5.03 ERA in 2023. While it was the most losses he suffered in a single season, he led the depleted Rockies rotation in ERA, innings pitched, starts, strikeouts, and home runs and hits allowed. His 29 home runs allowed were fourth-most in the NL.

Freeland was the Rockies' Opening Day starter for the third time in his career to begin 2024 but allowed 10 runs while getting only 8 outs in a blowout loss to the reigning National League champion Arizona Diamondbacks. He struggled to an 0–3 record and 13.21 ERA across his four starts, after which the Rockies placed him on the injured list with a left elbow strain on April 19. The team transferred him to the 60-day injured list on May 24. Freeland was activated on June 23. He was effective for the last-place Rockies in his return, going 5–5 with a 3.96 ERA in 17 starts from late June until the end the season. In 2024, he had the lowest walk rate of his career, walking only 5.3 percent of batters faced, which was in the top 10 percent of qualified pitchers. However, he ranked in the bottom 10 percent of many advanced metrics, including strikeout percentage, whiff percentage, and expected opponents' batting average and slugging percentage.

International career

Freeland pitched for the United States in the 2023 World Baseball Classic. He pitched in two games, allowing 2 runs and striking out 5 batters in 6 innings, including a solo home run to Kazuma Okamoto in the championship game loss to Japan.

Personal life

Freeland and his wife Ashley married in 2021. They live in Scottsdale, Arizona. Freeland's parents are Don and Susan Freeland. He has an older brother, Colin.

Freeland lettered in golf four years in high school.

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Freeland, Kyle
1993 births
Living people
Albuquerque Isotopes players
21st-century American sportsmen
Anchorage Glacier Pilots players
Arizona Complex League Rockies players
Asheville Tourists players
Baseball players from Denver
Colorado Rockies players
Evansville Purple Aces baseball players
Grand Junction Rockies players
Hartford Yard Goats players
Hyannis Harbor Hawks players
Major League Baseball pitchers
Modesto Nuts players
Salt River Rafters players
2023 World Baseball Classic players
World Baseball Classic players of the United States