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Kyle Freeland

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Kyle Freeland
Freeland with the Colorado Rockies in 2022
Colorado Rockies – No. 21
Pitcher
Born: (1993-05-14) May 14, 1993 (age 31)
Denver, Colorado, U.S.
Bats: Left
Throws: Left
MLB debut
April 7, 2017, for the Colorado Rockies
MLB statistics
(through 2024 season)
Win–loss record60–73
Earned run average4.46
Strikeouts820
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams
Medals
Men's baseball
Representing  United States
World Baseball Classic
Silver medal – second place 2023 Miami Team

Kyle Richard Freeland (born May 14, 1993) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball at Evansville and was drafted by the Rockies with the eighth pick in the first round of the 2014 Major League Baseball draft.

Amateur career

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High school

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Freeland attended Thomas Jefferson High School in Denver, Colorado.[1] He lettered in baseball three years. In his senior season in 2011, he set a state record with 145 strikeouts, was named an all-state player, and had an 8–2 record with a 1.39 ERA and 17 walks in 65 innings.[2]

College

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The Philadelphia Phillies selected Freeland in the 35th round of the 2011 Major League Baseball draft. He did not sign and attended the University of Evansville, playing college baseball for the Evansville Purple Aces.[3][4]

As a freshman in 2012, Freeland had a 4–5 win–loss record with a 4.55 earned run average (ERA) and 70 strikeouts in 91 innings across 14 games started. He threw two complete game shutouts. As a sophomore in 2013, he again started 14 games, going 4–8 with a 4.34 ERA and 84 strikeouts in 93+1⁄3 innings. That summer, he played in the Cape Cod League with the Hyannis Harbor Hawks, where he had a 2.25 ERA and a league leading 48 strikeouts. He was named a league all-star.[2][5][6] As a junior, he was 10–2 with a 1.90 ERA and 128 strikeouts over 99+2⁄3 innings, again starting 14 games. He was named a first-team All-American by Baseball America and Perfect Game.[2]

Professional career

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Draft and minor leagues

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Considered a top prospect for the 2014 Major League Baseball draft,[7][8] the Colorado Rockies selected Freeland in the first round, with the eighth overall pick, of the 2014 Major League Baseball Draft.[9] Freeland debuted professionally that summer with the Grand Junction Rockies and was promoted in August to the Asheville Tourists. He started five games for both clubs, with a combined 3–0 record and a 1.15 ERA.[10]

Freeland did not start pitching in 2015 in July, due to shoulder fatigue and surgery to remove bone chips in his elbow.[11] He started twice for Grand Junction before advancing to the Modesto Nuts. He had a combined 4.05 ERA in seven starts. After the regular season, Freeland started six games for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, with a 2.84 ERA and just 13 strikeouts in 26+1⁄3 innings. In 2016, Freeland began the season with the Hartford Yard Goats, and was promoted to the Albuquerque Isotopes in June.[10] Freeland posted an 11–10 record with a 3.89 ERA between the two clubs, starting 26 games.[12]

Major leagues

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Freeland with the Rockies in 2017

2017: Rookie of the Year consideration

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Freeland made his major league debut with the Rockies on April 7, 2017, against the Los Angeles Dodgers and earned his first MLB win.[13] He also had his first major league hit, a single.[14] It was the first time in 51 years that a starting pitcher made his MLB debut in his team's home opener in the state where he was born. Chuck Dobson last did so for the Kansas City Athletics in 1966.[14] Freeland hit his first major league home run on May 21, off Cincinnati Reds pitcher Bronson Arroyo.[15] On July 9, Freeland took a no-hitter into the 9th inning against the Chicago White Sox before allowing a one-out a single to Melky Cabrera. He finished the season with an 11–11 record and 4.10 ERA in 156 innings, tying for the team lead in wins and hit batsmen with fellow rookie Germán Márquez. Both Rockies rookies received Rookie of the Year votes, with Freeland finishing seventh, two spots below Márquez.[16]

2018: Breakout and playoffs

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Freeland had a career year in 2018. He broke Ubaldo Jimenez's single season ERA franchise record at 2.84 and ended the year with a 17–7 record in 33 starts.[17][18] He struggled badly in his first four starts, going 0–3 with a 5.85 ERA, but went 17–4 with a 2.52 ERA the rest of the season.[19] Unlike most pitchers, Freeland excelled at the hitter-friendly Coors Field, setting the single-season Rockies record for home ERA at 2.40.[20] He pitched 202+1⁄3 innings in 33 starts, striking out 173 batters against 70 walks and 182 hits and holding opponents to a .240 batting average. Additionally, 24 of his 33 starts were quality starts, including 11 consecutive quality starts from August 6 through the end of the season. Freeland finished fourth in Cy Young Award voting.[21]

In his only postseason appearance, Freeland started the 2018 National League Wild Card Game.[22] He pitched 6+2⁄3 scoreless innings, striking out six while allowing four singles and one walk as the Rockies defeated the Chicago Cubs 2–1 in 13 innings.[23][24] Freeland also became the first Rockies pitcher to have a scoreless start in a postseason game.[25]

Kyle Freeland with the Albuquerque Isotopes in 2019
Freeland with the Isotopes in 2019

2019–2021

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Freeland followed up his best season with one of his worst.[26] He was the Rockies Opening Day starter, but began the year going 2–6 with a 7.13 ERA through 12 starts before being demoted to Triple-A on May 31.[27][28] He returned to pitch for to Colorado in July, but his performance was only slightly better, going 1–5 with a 6.20 ERA in 10 starts.[27] He tied with Antonio Senzatela for the most losses on the team, which tied for the 10th most in the National League (NL) that season.[29]

Freeland had a bounce-back season in 2020. Freeland was one of the Rockies most dependable starters in the shortened 60-game season. Despite a poor final outing, in 13 starts, he went 2–3 with a 4.33 ERA, led the NL in quality starts with 9, and led all pitchers in inducing 15 double plays. His 2.0 strikeout-to-walk ratio was the lowest among NL qualified pitchers, but finished 14th in wins above replacement among NL pitchers at 1.9, as calculated by Baseball Reference.[30]

Freeland began the 2021 season on the injured list with a shoulder strain,[31] missing the first month and a half of the season. He started slow, with two losses and 9.58 ERA after his first five starts, but ended the season with a 7–8 record and 4.33 ERA in 23 starts. He struck out 105 batters in 120+2⁄3 innings.[32]

2022–2024: extension and injuries

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The Rockies named Freeland their starting pitcher for Opening Day.[33] On April 19, Freeland agreed to a five-year, $64.5 million contract extension with the Rockies.[34] On the year, Freeland was 9–11 with a 4.63 ERA in 31 starts covering 174+2⁄3 innings.[18] Batters had a .342 on base percentage against Freeland, the highest of any qualified pitcher.[35] He led MLB with 9 sacrifice flies allowed and 8 triples allowed.[36][37][18]

Freeland was 6–14 with a 5.03 ERA in 2023. While it was the most losses he suffered in a single season, he led the depleted Rockies rotation in ERA, innings pitched, starts, strikeouts, and home runs and hits allowed.[18][38] His 29 home runs allowed were fourth-most in the NL.[39]

Freeland was the Rockies' Opening Day starter for the third time in his career to begin 2024 but allowed 10 runs while getting only 8 outs in a blowout loss to the reigning National League champion Arizona Diamondbacks.[40] He struggled to an 0–3 record and 13.21 ERA across his four starts, after which the Rockies placed him on the injured list with a left elbow strain on April 19.[41] The team transferred him to the 60-day injured list on May 24.[42] Freeland was activated on June 23.[43] He was effective for the last-place Rockies in his return, going 5–5 with a 3.96 ERA in 17 starts from late June until the end the season.[44] In 2024, he had the lowest walk rate of his career, walking only 5.3 percent of batters faced, which was in the top 10 percent of qualified pitchers. However, he ranked in the bottom 10 percent of many advanced metrics, including strikeout percentage, whiff percentage, and expected opponents' batting average and slugging percentage.[45]

International career

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Freeland pitched for the United States in the 2023 World Baseball Classic. He pitched in two games, allowing 2 runs and striking out 5 batters in 6 innings, including a solo home run to Kazuma Okamoto in the championship game loss to Japan.[46][47]

Personal life

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Freeland and his wife Ashley married in 2021. They live in Scottsdale, Arizona. Freeland's parents are Don and Susan Freeland. He has an older brother, Colin.[48]

Freeland lettered in golf four years in high school.[2]

References

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  1. ^ Neil Devlin (May 5, 2014). "Kyle Freeland, former TJ star pitcher, tearing it up for Evansville". The Denver Post. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d "Kyle Freeland - Baseball". University of Evansville Athletics. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  3. ^ "University of Evansville". www.gopurpleaces.com. June 8, 2011. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  4. ^ Ryan Casey (June 8, 2011). "Seven Colorado products go on MLB draft's third day". The Denver Post. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  5. ^ Jonathan Lintner (May 30, 2013). "Freeland going to Cape Cod League". Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  6. ^ Paul Suellentrop (April 11, 2014). "Evansville's Freeland strikes out 15 Shockers". The Wichita Eagle. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  7. ^ Michael Salfino (April 23, 2014). "Evansville's Kyle Freeland Is College Baseball's Fastest-Rising Draft Prospect". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  8. ^ "Freeland continues to carve up opposing hitters". Major League Baseball. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  9. ^ Thomas Harding (June 5, 2014). "Rockies take college lefty with local roots in Round 1". Colorado Rockies. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  10. ^ a b "Kyle Freeland College, Amateur, Minor & Fall Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  11. ^ Aberle, Jeff (August 18, 2015). "PuRP No. 5: Kyle Freeland". Purple Row. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  12. ^ "Kyle Freeland Stats, Age, Position, Height, Weight, Fantasy & News". MiLB.com. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  13. ^ Ken Gurnick; Thomas Harding (April 7, 2017). "Freeland dazzles in debut as Rox down LA". MLB.com. Archived from the original on July 30, 2017. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
  14. ^ a b "Freeland wins debut as Rockies top Dodgers 2-1". ESPN. Associated Press. April 8, 2017. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  15. ^ "Kyle Freeland Career Home Runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  16. ^ "2017 Colorado Rockies Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  17. ^ "Colorado Rockies Top 10 Single-Season Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  18. ^ a b c d "Kyle Freeland Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More". Baseball-Reference.com.
  19. ^ "Kyle Freeland 2018 Pitching Game Logs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  20. ^ "Best Home Era In One Season Rockies Pitcher Minimum 50 Innings". StatMuse. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  21. ^ Saunders, Patrick (September 29, 2018). "Saunders: German Marquez's fire, Kyle Freeland's ice give Rockies best pitching duo in club history". Denver Post.
  22. ^ "Kyle Freeland Postseason Pitching Game Logs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  23. ^ Keri, Jonah (October 3, 2018). "NL Wild Card Game: How Kyle Freeland and the Rockies neutralized one of the Cubs' most dangerous hitters". CBSSports.com.
  24. ^ "2018 National League Wild Card (NLWC) Game 1, Colorado Rockies vs Chicago Cubs: October 2, 2018". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  25. ^ Nightengale, Bob. "Winter is here: Stunned Cubs prepare for change after shocking postseason elimination". USA TODAY.
  26. ^ "Kyle Freeland - Stats - Pitching". FanGraphs Baseball. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  27. ^ a b "Kyle Freeland 2019 Pitching Game Logs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  28. ^ "Rockies Option Kyle Freeland". MLB Trade Rumors. May 31, 2019.
  29. ^ "Major League Leaderboards - 2019 - Pitching". FanGraphs Baseball. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  30. ^ "2020 National League Standard Pitching". Baseball-Reference.com.
  31. ^ "Rockies To Activate Antonio Senzatela From Injured List". MLB Trade Rumors. May 10, 2021. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  32. ^ "Kyle Freeland 2021 Pitching Game Logs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  33. ^ "Kyle Freeland named Rockies' opening day starter against Dodgers". April 2, 2022.
  34. ^ "Pitcher Kyle Freeland, Colorado Rockies agree to five-year, $64.5 million contract extension". ESPN. April 19, 2022. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
  35. ^ "Statcast Custom Leaderboards". baseballsavant.com.
  36. ^ "Splits Leaderboards | FanGraphs". www.fangraphs.com.
  37. ^ "Statcast Custom Leaderboards". baseballsavant.com.
  38. ^ "2023 Colorado Rockies Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  39. ^ "Major League Leaderboards - 2023 - Pitching". FanGraphs Baseball. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  40. ^ "Colorado Rockies vs Arizona Diamondbacks Box Score: March 28, 2024". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  41. ^ "Kyle Freeland lands on IL but Rockies pitcher says injury was not related to base-running collision". cbssports.com. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
  42. ^ "Rockies Select John Curtiss, Matt Carasiti". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
  43. ^ Franco, Anthony (June 23, 2024). "Rockies Reinstate Kyle Freeland From 60-Day Injured List". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved November 6, 2024.
  44. ^ "Kyle Freeland 2024 Pitching Game Logs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  45. ^ "Kyle Freeland Stats: Statcast, Visuals & Advanced Metrics". baseballsavant.com. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  46. ^ "2023 World Baseball Classic Stats | Pitching | United States". MLB.com. 2023. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  47. ^ "Kazuma Okamoto clubs solo homer to left-center in 4th | 03/21/2023". MLB.com. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  48. ^ "Kyle Freeland Stats, Age, Position, Height, Weight, Fantasy & News". MLB.com. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
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