Robert Donald Whalen (born January 31, 1994) is an American

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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("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 attempts to e ...

for the

Acereros de Monclova The Acereros de Monclova (English: Monclova Steelers) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Monclova, Coahuila, Mexico. Their home ballpark is Estadio de Béisbol Monclova, which has a capacity of 11,000 people. The Ace ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

. He previously played 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 (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in B ...

and the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...

Early life

Whalen's parents are from

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

, and moved to the

Pocono Mountains The Pocono Mountains, commonly referred to as the Poconos , are a geographical, geological, and cultural region in Northeastern Pennsylvania. They overlook the Delaware River and Delaware Water Gap to the east, Lake Wallenpaupack to the north, ...

to raise their children. After Whalen's older sisters graduated from high school, the Whalens moved to

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

, where Whalen would have a better opportunity to pursue a career in baseball. He graduated from

Haines City High School Haines City Senior High School (HCHS) is a public high school in Haines City, Florida. The school has existed in three separate locations. Overview Haines City Senior High School belongs to the Polk County School Board and is a member of Polk Di ...

Haines City, Florida Haines City is a city in Polk County, Florida, Polk County, Florida, United States. Its population was 13,174 at the 2000 census and 20,535 at the 2010 census. It is the third most populous city in Polk County. It is part of the Lakeland, Florida, ...

Professional career

New York Mets

The

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major leagu ...

selected Whalen in the 12th round of the 2012 MLB Draft. Whalen had committed to attend

Florida Atlantic University Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, and satellite campuses in Dania Beach, Davie, Fort Lauderdale, Jupiter, and Fort Pierce. FAU belongs to the 1 ...

to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

for the Florida Atlantic Owls. After pitching for the Savannah Sand Gnats of the Class A

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

during the 2014 season, Whalen pitched in the

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

, where he worked on the development of his

changeup A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball and fastpitch softball. The changeup is a staple off-speed pitch often used in a pitcher's arsenal, usually thrown to look like a fastball but arriving much more slowly to the plate. Its reduced speed ...

. The Mets assigned him to the St. Lucie Mets of the

Class A-Advanced High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

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 follow ...

to begin the 2015 season.

Atlanta Braves

On July 24, the Mets traded Whalen and

John Gant John Michael Gant (born August 6, 1992) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, St. Louis Cardi ...

to the

for Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson. The Braves assigned Whalen to their A Advanced affiliate, the Carolina Mudcats of the

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 un ...

. In 2016, Whalen began the season with the Mississippi Braves of the

Class AA Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League ...

Southern League, and was promoted to the

Gwinnett Braves The Gwinnett Stripers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They play their home games at Coolray Field in unincorporated Gwinnett County, Georgia (with a Lawrencevi ...

of the

Class AAA Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL ...

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ( ...

in July. The Braves promoted Whalen to make his major league debut on August 3, 2016. He faced the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. Founded as part o ...

, and allowed four earned runs over five innings to earn the victory. Whalen was placed on the disabled list with a diagnosis of shoulder fatigue on August 25, and did not pitch for the rest of the season. In September, the Mississippi Braves named Whalen Pitcher of the Year.

Seattle Mariners

On November 28, 2016, Whalen and

Max Povse Max Walter Povse (born August 23, 1993) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Hagerstown Flying Boxcars of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners. Back ...

were traded to the

organization in exchange for Alex Jackson and Tyler Pike. Whalen was designated for assignment on September 1, 2018. Whalen announced his retirement from professional baseball on February 25, 2019, citing his battle with depression and anxiety as the main reason for doing so.

New York Mets (second stint)

On January 27, 2020, Whalen came out of retirement and signed a minor league contract with the

organization. Whalen 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, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

. He was released on May 20, 2020.

Minnesota Twins

On March 5, 2021, Whalen signed with the West Virginia Power of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's ...

. However, on May 5, before the ALPB season began, Whalen signed a minor league contract with the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area ...

organization. In 11 appearances split between the Double-A

Wichita Wind Surge The Wichita Wind Surge are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Wichita, Kansas, and began play in 2021 at Riverfront Stadium. The Wind Surge were supposed to b ...

and the Triple-A St. Paul Saints, Whalen struggled to an 0-4 record with an 8.63 ERA and 19 strikeouts. On August 10, 2021, Whalen was released by the Twins.

Washington Wild Things

On August 23, 2021, Whalen became the first former MLB player to sign with the Washington Wild Things. In 4 appearances in the regular season, Whalen went 2-0 with 15.1 innings pitched, a 1.76 ERA, 18 strikeouts and a 1.43 WHIP. In the postseason, he started 3 games and went 1-2 with 19 innings pitched, a 3.78 ERA, 22 strikeouts and a 1.16 WHIP. In the semi-finals, he lost Game 1 vs

Équipe Québec Equipe or Équipe may refer to: ''Équipe'' Équipe may refer to: * team, in French language * '' L'Équipe'', a French newspaper devoted to sports * ''L'Équipe'' (TV series), a television series broadcast in many versions and in many countrie ...

but pitched 8 shutout innings in Game 5 to help clinch the finals vs the Schaumburg Boomers. In the finals, he lost Game 4 after pitching 7 innings with 3 runs allowed and struck out 9. Washington would ultimately lose the finals the next day, blowing a 2-1 series lead. On February 10, 2022, Whalen re-signed with the Wild Things for the 2022 season. On December 5, 2022, Whalen was released by the Wild Things by having his contract option declined.

Acereros de Monclova

On December 14, 2022, Whalen signed with the

of the

Pitching style

Despite being an effective ground ball pitcher, Whalen stated that he would actively seek the strikeout whenever a two-strike count arose. By not focusing on the strikeout, at the suggestion of Mississippi Braves pitching coach Dennis Lewallyn, Whalen's strikeouts per nine innings actually rose throughout the 2016 season, and led to his promotion to the major leagues.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whalen, Rob 1994 births Living people People from Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania People from Haines City, Florida Baseball players from Pennsylvania Baseball players from Florida Major League Baseball pitchers Atlanta Braves players Seattle Mariners players Kingsport Mets players Savannah Sand Gnats players Gulf Coast Mets players Scottsdale Scorpions players St. Lucie Mets players Carolina Mudcats players Mississippi Braves players Gwinnett Braves players Tacoma Rainiers players Everett AquaSox players Arkansas Travelers players Wichita Wind Surge players St. Paul Saints players Washington Wild Things players