Paul Douglas Richan (born March 26, 1997) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Moder ...

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 was drafted by the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

in the 2nd round of the

2018 Major League Baseball draft The 2018 Major League Baseball draft began on June 4, 2018. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was determined based on the reverse order of the 2017 MLB season final standings. In addition, compensation pi ...

Amateur career

Richan attended Hart High School in

Santa Clarita, California Santa Clarita (; Spanish for "Little St. Clare") is a city in northwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a 2020 census population of 228,673, it is the third-most populous city in Los Angeles County, the 17th-most popul ...

. In 2015, his senior year, he went 5–2 with a 1.65 ERA and 71 strikeouts. Undrafted in the

2015 Major League Baseball draft The 2015 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 8 through June 10, 2015, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2014 MLB season standings. As the Diamondbacks finished the 2014 season ...

, he enrolled at the

University of San Diego The University of San Diego (USD) is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in San Diego, California, United States. Chartered in 1949 as the independent San Diego College for Women and San Diego University ...

(USD) 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, ...

. In 2016, as a freshman at USD, Richan appeared in 13 games (making one start), pitching to a 1–1 record with an 8.88 ERA with twenty strikeouts over 24 innings. As a sophomore in 2017, he pitched in 18 games (11 starts), going 5–2 with a 3.05 ERA, earning All-

West Coast Conference The West Coast Conference (WCC) — known as the California Basketball Association from 1952 to 1956 and then as the West Coast Athletic Conference until 1989 — is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I consisting o ...

Honorable Mention. In 2018, his junior season, Richan transitioned into a full-time starter, pitching to a 4–6 record with a 4.62 ERA across 13 starts, striking out 101 in innings.

Professional career

Chicago Cubs

After his junior year at USD, Richan was selected by the

in the second round (78th overall) of the

. Richan signed with the Cubs and made his professional debut with the

Eugene Emeralds The Eugene Emeralds (nicknamed the Ems) are a Minor League Baseball team in the northwest United States, based in Eugene, Oregon. The Emeralds are members of the Northwest League and the High-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Eugene plays ...

. Over ten games (nine starts), he went 0–2 with a 2.12 ERA, striking out 31 and walking only five across innings. In 2019, he began the year with the

Myrtle Beach Pelicans The Myrtle Beach Pelicans are a Minor League Baseball team in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and the Single-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs of the National League in Major League Baseball. The Pelicans compete in the Carolina League. Home games a ...

with whom he was named a

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

All-Star.

Detroit Tigers

On July 31, 2019, Richan was traded along with

Alex Lange Alexander Craig Lange (born October 2, 1995) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball at Louisiana State University (LSU). He was drafted by the Chicago Cubs wi ...

to the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

in exchange for

Nicholas Castellanos Nicholas Alexander Castellanos (; born March 4, 1992) is an American professional baseball right fielder and third baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Detroit Tigers, Chicago Cubs a ...

. He was assigned to the High–A

Lakeland Flying Tigers The Lakeland Flying Tigers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Lakeland, Florida, and play their home games at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium. ...

, and finished the season there. Over 22 starts between Myrtle Beach and Lakeland, Richan pitched to a 12–7 record and a 4.00 ERA, striking out 115 over innings. He did not play 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 ...

. To begin the 2021 season, he was assigned to the Double–A

Erie SeaWolves The Erie SeaWolves are an American professional baseball team based in Erie, Pennsylvania. They compete in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) as a member of the Eastern League's Southwest Division, serving as the Double-A affiliate of the Detroit Ti ...

. In late June, he was placed on the

injured 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 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

and missed the rest of the season. Over eight starts, he compiled a 3.72 ERA and 26 strikeouts over 29 innings. Richan began the 2022 season on injured list with Erie, and made three rehab appearances for Single–A Lakeland. On May 20, 2022, the Tigers released Richan. On August 25, Richan announced his retirement from professional baseball via Instagram, following another surgery.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Richan, Paul 1997 births Living people Baseball pitchers Eugene Emeralds players Lakeland Flying Tigers players Myrtle Beach Pelicans players People from Newhall, Santa Clarita, California William S. Hart High School alumni San Diego Toreros baseball players Baseball players from Santa Clarita, California Erie SeaWolves players