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Brandon Finnegan

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Brandon Finnegan
Finnegan with the Cincinnati Reds.
Pitcher
Born: (1993-04-14) April 14, 1993 (age 31)
Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.
Bats: Left
Throws: Left
MLB debut
September 6, 2014, for the Kansas City Royals
MLB statistics
(through 2018 season)
Win–loss record16–18
Earned run average4.11
Strikeouts230
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Brandon Kyle Finnegan (born April 14, 1993) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals and the Cincinnati Reds.

Prior to his professional career, Finnegan attended Texas Christian University (TCU) and played college baseball for the TCU Horned Frogs baseball team. He was drafted by the Royals in the first round of the 2014 MLB Draft, and made his MLB debut that season. The Royals traded Finnegan to the Reds during the 2015 season.

Amateur career

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Finnegan attended Southwest High School in Fort Worth, Texas. The Texas Rangers selected Finnegan in the 45th round of the 2011 Major League Baseball Draft, but he did not sign and attended Texas Christian University (TCU) and play college baseball for the TCU Horned Frogs.[1]

As a freshman in 2012, Finnegan pitched in 23 games with 11 starts. He finished the season 4–5 with a 3.47 earned run average (ERA) with 56 strikeouts in 62+1⁄3 innings. As a sophomore in 2013 he pitched in 16 games with 15 starts, going 0–8 but with a 3.18 ERA and 86 strikeouts in 79+1⁄3 innings. After the 2013 season, he briefly played collegiate summer baseball with the Falmouth Commodores of the Cape Cod Baseball League,[2] and also pitched for the United States collegiate national team.[3][4] After not winning a game during his sophomore season, he earned a victory in his first start of his junior season in 2014.[5] During the season, he missed a few starts due to a minor injury.[6][7] He finished the year 9–3 with a 2.04 ERA and 134 strikeouts in 105+2⁄3 innings.

Professional career

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Kansas City Royals

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Finnegan was considered a top prospect for the 2014 Major League Baseball draft.[8] The Kansas City Royals selected Finnegan in the first round, 17th overall, of the draft.[9] He signed with the team on June 28, receiving a signing bonus the $2,200,600 slot value of the 17th pick.[10]

Finnegan with the Royals in 2015

The Royals promoted Finnegan to the major leagues for the first time on September 1, 2014, becoming the first player from the 2014 draft to be promoted to the majors.[11] He made his major league debut on September 6 against the New York Yankees. He struck out Jacoby Ellsbury for his first Major League strikeout. He earned his first major league hold on September 22 by pitching a scoreless seventh inning against the Cleveland Indians. He made his MLB postseason debut in the American League Wild Card game vs the Oakland Athletics on September 30, 2014. He pitched 2+1⁄3 innings, allowing one earned run while striking out three in the extra innings victory.[citation needed]

On October 3, 2014, in the second game of the 2014 American League Division Series, Finnegan came in relief and picked up the 4–1 win, becoming the youngest relief pitcher in Royals postseason history to log a win.[12] Finnegan became the first player to play in a College World Series and an MLB World Series in the same year when he took the mound in the seventh inning of Game 3 of the 2014 World Series against the San Francisco Giants.[13] Finnegan took the loss in Game 4, allowing five runs in one inning of work.[14]

In 2015, Finnegan began the season with the Omaha Storm Chasers of the Triple–A Pacific Coast League, working as a starting pitcher.[15] During the season, the Royals promoted him to the major leagues, shifting him between the starting rotation and bullpen.[16]

Cincinnati Reds

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On July 26, 2015, Finnegan was traded to the Cincinnati Reds, along with John Lamb and Cody Reed, for Johnny Cueto and cash considerations.[17] Although Finnegan was traded from the team before the Royals won the 2015 World Series, Finnegan was awarded a World Series ring for his contributions before the trade. After the trade, he pitched for the Reds’ Class AAA affiliate, the Louisville Bats, as a starting pitcher and was promoted to the majors on September 1 as a relief pitcher.[16]

Finnegan began the 2016 season pitching out of the rotation for Cincinnati, opening as the team's second starter behind Raisel Iglesias due to a plethora of injuries. In 5 starts in April, Finnegan went 1–1 with a 3.86 ERA, striking out 23 and walking 15 in 28 innings. In 6 starts in May, Finnegan went 0–3 with a 4.37 ERA, striking out 21 and walking 16 in 35 innings. However, in one of his losses, Finnegan threw a complete 8 innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers, giving up one run and losing to Clayton Kershaw's two-hit shutout.[18] He finished the 2016 season with a 10–11 record and a 3.98 ERA in 31 starts.

Finnegan began the 2017 season in the Reds rotation, but on April 15, he was placed on the disabled list with a shoulder injury. On June 26, he was activated off the disabled list. However, on June 27, in his first start back off the disabled list against the St. Louis Cardinals, he re-injured his shoulder and had to leave the game. He was put back on the DL the next day.[19] He finished the year with 4 starts and was 1–1 with a 4.15 ERA in 13 innings. He was designated for assignment on March 28, 2019.[20] On April 2, 2019, he cleared waivers and was outrighted off the 40 man roster.[21]

Finnegan spent the 2019 season with the Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts, struggling to a 6.60 ERA in 13 appearances for the team. Finnegan did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[22] In 2021, Finnegan spent the year with the Triple-A Louisville Bats, recording a 5.53 ERA with 57 strikeouts in 55.1 innings of work across 40 games. He was released by the Reds on November 18, 2021.[23][24]

Chicago White Sox

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On December 11, 2021, Finnegan signed a minor league contract with the Chicago White Sox.[25] Finnegan was assigned to the Triple-A Charlotte Knights to begin the 2022 season. He appeared in 31 games, pitching to a 1–2 record and 6.13 ERA with 45 strikeouts in 39.2 innings of work. He was released by the organization on August 10, 2022.

Kansas City Monarchs

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On March 4, 2023, Finnegan signed with the Acereros de Monclova of the Mexican League.[26] However, prior to the season on April 17, Finnegan signed with the Kansas City Monarchs of the American Association of Professional Baseball.[27] In 19 starts 104 innings he went 7-5 with a 4.33 ERA and 89 strikeouts. After the 2023 season, he became a free agent.

Finnegan announced his retirement in September of 2024 via his Instagram.

References

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  1. ^ "Rangers draft 3 area high school products". ESPN. June 8, 2011.
  2. ^ "Brandon Finnegan". pointstreak.com. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  3. ^ Stevenson, Stefan (July 26, 2013). "TCU's Brandon Finnegan leaves 0-fer behind with Team USA". Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
  4. ^ Kavner, Rowan (April 29, 2013). "TCU pitcher Brandon Finnegan invited to USA Baseball Collegiate National Team". The Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
  5. ^ Fitt, Aaron (February 18, 2014). "TCU's Finnegan changes his luck, wins opener". USABaseball.com. Archived from the original on May 15, 2014. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
  6. ^ Mayo, Jonathan (April 29, 2014). "Finnegan on path back from injury". MLB.com.
  7. ^ Callis, Jim. "TCU's Finnegan impresses in return to mound". MLB.com.
  8. ^ "2014 Top 100 Draft Prospects List". Baseball America. May 14, 2014.
  9. ^ Kaegel, Dick (June 6, 2014). "Royals draft TCU lefty Finnegan with first pick". MLB.com. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 7, 2014.
  10. ^ "Royals sign first round pick Brandon Finnegan at slot value, $2,200,600". June 28, 2014.
  11. ^ Grathoff, Pete (September 1, 2014). "Less than three months after being drafted, Brandon Finnegan is in a Royals uniform". The Kansas City Star.
  12. ^ Cassavell, AJ (October 4, 2014). "Royals trust Shields to send them to ALCS". MLB.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  13. ^ Calcaterra, Craig (October 20, 2014). "Brandon Finnegan to be the first player to play in two World Series in one year". Hardball Talk. NBC Sports. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  14. ^ "2014 World Series Game 4, Kansas City Royals at San Francisco Giants, October 25, 2014".
  15. ^ "Royals". Kansas City Star. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  16. ^ a b "Cincinnati Reds' plans in tune with Louisville Bats pitcher Brandon Finnegan". The Courier-Journal. September 7, 2015. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  17. ^ Sheldon, Mark (July 26, 2015). "Royals finalize deal for ace Cueto with Reds". MLB.com. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
  18. ^ Buchanan, Zach (May 24, 2016). "Kershaw outduels Finnegan in Reds' 8th straight loss". Cincinnati Enquirer.
  19. ^ "Brandon Finnegan injured again, who's next?". June 26, 2017.
  20. ^ "Cincinnati Reds claim Jose Lopez, designate Brandon Finnegan for assignment". March 28, 2019.
  21. ^ Cincinnati Reds (April 2, 2019). "Brandon Finnegan has cleared waivers and been outrighted to the minor leagues". Twitter.
  22. ^ "2020 Minor League Season Canceled". mlbtraderumors.com.
  23. ^ "The Cincinnati Reds release Brandon Finnegan". November 24, 2021.
  24. ^ "Minor League Transactions: Nov. 5-21, 2021". Baseball America. November 24, 2021.
  25. ^ "White Sox Sign Brandon Finnegan To Minor League Deal". MLB Trade Rumors. December 11, 2021.
  26. ^ "Acereros: Brandon Finnegan estará en la pretemporada".
  27. ^ "American Association of Professional Baseball - 2023 Transactions".
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