Kyle Douglas Muller (born October 7, 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, ...

for the

Chunichi Dragons The are a professional baseball team based in Nagoya, the chief city in the Chūbu region of Japan. The team plays in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. They have won the Central League pennant nine times (most recently in 2011 ...

Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league ...

(NPB). 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

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

and

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

. He was drafted by the Braves in the second round of 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 ...

, and made his MLB debut with them in 2021. He was traded to Athletics after the 2022 season where he played for two seasons before being designated for assignment in 2024 and declaring free agency.

Amateur career

Muller attended

Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas (commonly referred to as Jesuit Dallas or Dallas Jesuit, and formerly known as Jesuit High School) is a private, college-preparatory school for Single-sex school, young men under the direction of the ...

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

. He was a

and

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

. During his senior year he set the national record for strikeouts in a row with 24. He was named the Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year after going 8–0 with a 0.46

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) and 133

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 as a pitcher and hit .396 with 15

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s and 52

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

(RBI). Muller also played high school basketball. Muller committed to the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

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, ...

for the

Texas Longhorns The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and ...

Professional career

Atlanta Braves

The

selected Muller with the 44th pick of the

. He signed with the Braves, receiving a $2.5 million

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

, to forgo his commitment to Texas. After signing, Muller was assigned to the

GCL Braves The Florida Complex League Braves are an American baseball team. They are the Rookie-level affiliate of the Atlanta Braves, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast Lea ...

, where he posted a 1–0 record with a 0.65 ERA in

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 ...

. In 2017, Muller pitched for the Danville Braves where he pitched to a 1–1 record and 4.15 ERA in 11 games started. He began the 2018 season with the

Rome Braves The Rome Emperors are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They are located in Rome, Georgia, and play their home games at AdventHealth Stadium. From 2003 to 2023, the team wa ...

, and was promoted to the

Florida Fire Frogs The Florida Fire Frogs were a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League from 2017 to 2020. They were located in North Port, Florida, and served as the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. Founded in 2017, the Fire Frogs ...

on May 8. He joined the

Mississippi Braves The Mississippi Braves, or M-Braves as they were referred to locally, were a Minor League Baseball team based in Pearl, Mississippi, a suburb of Jackson, from 2005 to 2024. They were the Double-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves and competed in ...

on August 6. In 25 starts between the three clubs, Muller went 11–3 with a 3.03 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP, while leading the league with 16 wild pitches. Muller spent the entire 2019 season with Mississippi. He had a 7–6 record and a 3.14 ERA in 22 starts. Muller 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 ...

. After the year, the Braves added Muller to their 40-man roster. On June 16, 2021, Muller was promoted to the major leagues for the first time after Tucker Davidson was placed on the injured list. He made his MLB debut that day, pitching one inning and allowing two runs 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 ...

. He made his first career start on June 21 against the

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

, allowing 1 run over 4 innings during the 4–2 loss. On July 3, Muller was optioned back down to Triple-A Gwinnett. In 2021 with the Braves he was 2–4 with a 4.17 ERA in nine games (8 starts).

Oakland Athletics

On December 12, 2022, the

acquired Muller from the Braves in a three-team trade in which the

acquired Sean Murphy, the Brewers acquired

William Contreras William Jesus Contreras (born December 24, 1997) is a Venezuelan professional baseball catcher for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Atlanta Braves. Contreras signed with the Braves org ...

, Joel Payamps, and Justin Yeager, and the Athletics also acquired Manny Piña,

Esteury Ruiz Esteury Ruiz Reyes (born February 15, 1999) is a Dominican professional baseball center fielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2022 with the San Diego Padres and also played for the Milwaukee ...

, Freddy Tarnok, and Royber Salinas. On March 24, 2023, Muller was named the Opening Day starter for Oakland. He pitched five innings against the

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

, yielding four hits and one earned run while recording one walk and three strikeouts. In 21 games (13 starts), he registered a 1–5 record and 7.60 ERA with 56 strikeouts across 77 innings pitched. Muller made 18 appearances for Oakland in 2024, compiling a 4.22 ERA with 35 strikeouts over innings pitched. On August 13, 2024, Muller 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 ...

by the Athletics. He cleared waivers and was sent outright to the Triple–A

Las Vegas Aviators The Las Vegas Aviators, formerly known as the Las Vegas 51s and Las Vegas Stars, are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Athletics. They are located in Summerlin South, Nevada, a comm ...

the next day. On September 11, the Athletics selected Muller's contract, adding him to their active roster. On November 1, 2024, he was removed from the 40–man roster and sent outright to Las Vegas, he elected free agency the following day.

Chunichi Dragons

On December 15, 2024, Muller signed with the

Personal life

His older brother,

Chris Chris is a short form of various names including Christopher, Christian, Christina, and Christine. Chris is also used as a name in its own right, however it is not as common. People with the given name * Chris Abani (born 1966), Nigerian autho ...

, is also a

pitcher.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Muller, Kyle 1997 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Japan Atlanta Braves players Baseball players from Dallas Chunichi Dragons players Danville Braves players Florida Fire Frogs players Gulf Coast Braves players Gwinnett Stripers players Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas alumni Las Vegas Aviators players Major League Baseball pitchers Mississippi Braves players Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Oakland Athletics players Peoria Javelinas players Rome Braves players Stockton Ports players