Michael Christopher Mayers (born December 6, 1991) 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 St. Louis Cardinals,

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, ...

, and

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

Amateur career

Mayers attended Grove City High School in

Grove City, Ohio Grove City is a city in Franklin County, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1852, it is a suburb of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus. The population was 41,252 at the 2020 census. History Until the mid-19th century, the area that is now Grove City was a wil ...

where he played

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

, and

. He grew up a fan of 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 ...

. As a junior at Grove City, he was 10–1 with a 1.57 ERA and as a senior, he compiled a 4–2 record with a 3.80 ERA. Mayers was not drafted out of high school in the

2010 MLB Draft The 2010 Major League Baseball draft was held on June 7–9, 2010 at the MLB Network Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey. First-round selections The draft order was determined based on the 2009 MLB standings, with the worst team picking first. ;Key ...

and he enrolled at the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (Epithet, byname Ole Miss) is a Public university, public research university in University, near Oxford, Mississippi, United States, with a University of Mississippi Medical Center, medical center in Jackson, Miss ...

where he played

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

Ole Miss Rebels The Ole Miss Rebels are the 18 men's and women's College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that are funded by and represent the University of Mississippi, located in Oxford, Mississippi, Oxford. The first was the Ole ...

. In 2012, 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 ...

with the Bourne Braves of the

Cape Cod Baseball 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 ...

. On May 13, 2013, he was selected as a

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

Co-Pitcher of the Week. In his junior year, he posted a 2.83

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) over

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 ...

with 73

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 and 37 walks. Overall, in his college career, he posted a 12–9 win–loss record with a 3.42 ERA and 171 strikeouts in 215 innings. He decided to forgo one remaining year of eligibility and avail himself to the Major League Baseball draft.

Professional career

St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals selected Mayers in the third round of the

2013 Major League Baseball draft The 2013 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2013. The first two rounds were broadcast from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. Each team received one selection per round, going in reverse order of ...

. He signed and made his professional debut with the GCL Cardinals before being promoted to the Peoria Chiefs, where he finished the season. In innings pitched between the two teams, he posted a 1–3 record and 2.97 ERA. He spent 2014 with the Palm Beach Cardinals, Springfield Cardinals, and Memphis Redbirds, compiling a combined 8–12 record, 3.39 ERA, and 1.37 WHIP in 26 starts between the two teams. In 2015, Mayers was 2–4 with an ERA of 5.87 for the GCL Cardinals and Springfield, and underwent surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS). Recovered from TOS, Mayers progressed through the two highest

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

levels in 2016. First, he pitched for Springfield, where he was a mid-season All-Star. Over nine starts for Springfield, Mayers was 5–2 with a 2.30 ERA. He was then promoted back to Memphis in May. The Cardinals selected Mayers' contract from Memphis on July 23, 2016, and announced that he would make his

(MLB) debut the following day against 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 national television on

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

's ''

Sunday Night Baseball ''Sunday Night Baseball'' is an exclusive weekly telecast of a Major League Baseball game that airs Sundays at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on ESPN during the regular season. The games are preceded most weeks by the studio show '' Baseball Tonight: Sun ...

''. He had a 3–3 record and 2.94 ERA over nine starts for Memphis prior to his promotion. In his debut, each of the first four batters he faced in the first inning reached base, and all scored on a grand slam by the fourth,

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

Adrián González. In all, 10 of 14 batters reached base as Mayers surrendered nine

earned run In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an erro ...

s, eight hits, and two walks, while recording four outs for an in-game ERA of 60.75. Per the

Elias Sports Bureau The Elias Sports Bureau is an American privately-held sports data company providing historical and current statistical information for the major professional sports leagues operating in the U.S. and Canada. Founded in 1913, Elias is considere ...

, he became the first major leaguer to surrender at least nine runs while advancing through fewer than two innings in his debut. Said opposing starter Scott Kazmir of Mayers, "I felt for him, yeah. It's your debut, it's hot and it's on ESPN. It was a tough draw for him." The Cardinals optioned him back to Memphis the day after his first major league start. He got his first win, in relief on September 6, in Pittsburgh, pitching a perfect eighth inning. During spring training 2018, Mayers pitched 12 scoreless innings, striking out 13, earning him a spot on the Opening Day roster. He was optioned to Memphis and recalled back to St. Louis six times before being recalled for a seventh, and final time, on June 8. He was placed on the

disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 Major League Baseball season, 2019 season, it was known as the disabl ...

for the first time in his major league career on August 26 with right shoulder inflammation, and activated on September 11. Mayers finished his 2018 campaign with a 2–1 record and a 4.70 ERA in fifty relief appearances. Mayers began the 2019 season with St. Louis, but was placed on the injured list on April 17. He was activated on July 23. On August 4, Mayers was designated for assignment, and on August 6, he was outrighted to Memphis. On September 1, he was added to the expanded roster for September callups. Over 19 relief innings pitched with St. Louis, Mayers went 0–1 with a 6.63 ERA, striking out 16 batters.

Los Angeles Angels

On November 1, 2019, Mayers was claimed off waivers by the

. In his first season with the Angels, Mayers was their most effective reliever throughout the season, recording an ERA of 2.10 with 43 strikeouts in 30 innings. In 2021, Mayers recorded a 3.84 ERA with 90 strikeouts in 75 innings. On May 26, 2022, Mayers was designated for assignment by Los Angeles. In 15 games, Mayers posted a 5.40 ERA with 14 strikeouts. He cleared waivers and was sent outright to the Triple-A Salt Lake Bees on June 2. On August 6, Mayers was selected back to the major league roster. On September 27, Mayers was once again designated for assignment. He cleared waivers and was again sent outright to Salt Lake on October 2. Working as both a starter and reliever in 2022, he made 24 total appearances and registered a 5.68 ERA with 45 strikeouts in 50.2 innings pitched. He elected free agency on October 6.

Kansas City Royals

On December 22, 2022, Mayers signed a minor league contract with the

. He was assigned to the Triple-A

Omaha Storm Chasers The Omaha Storm Chasers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. They are located in Papillion, Nebraska, a suburb southwest of Omaha, Nebraska, Omah ...

to begin the 2023 season, where he made 8 starts and posted a 6.88 ERA with 29 strikeouts in 34.0 innings pitched. On May 17, 2023, Mayers' contract was selected to the active roster. In 6 games (2 starts) for Kansas City, he logged a 1–2 record and 6.15 ERA with 17 strikeouts in innings of work. On June 18, Mayers was designated for assignment following the promotion of Brooks Kriske. He cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple–A Omaha on June 21.

Chicago White Sox

On July 12, 2023, Mayers was traded to the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

in exchange for cash considerations. In 16 games for the Triple–A

Charlotte Knights The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field ...

, he posted a 5.29 ERA with 28 strikeouts in 34.0 innings of work. On October 2, Mayers elected free agency.

Toronto Blue Jays

On March 19, 2024, Mayers signed a minor league contract with 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 ...

. In 31 outings for the Triple–A Buffalo Bisons, he struggled to a 2–5 record and 6.10 ERA with 46 strikeouts over innings pitched. Mayers was released by the Blue Jays organization on August 2.

References

External links

Ole Miss Rebels bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayers, Mike 1991 births Living people Baseball players from Franklin County, Ohio Bourne Braves players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Gulf Coast Cardinals players Kansas City Royals players Los Angeles Angels players Major League Baseball pitchers Memphis Redbirds players Ole Miss Rebels baseball players Palm Beach Cardinals players People from Grove City, Ohio Peoria Chiefs players Springfield Cardinals players St. Louis Cardinals players