Luke Hochevar
| Luke Hochevar | |
|---|---|
 Hochevar pitching for the Royals on 2011 |
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| Kansas City Royals – No. 44 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: September 15, 1983 | |
| Bats: Right | Throws: Right |
| MLB debut | |
| September 8, 2007 for the Kansas City Royals | |
| Career statistics (through 2011) |
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| Win-Loss | 30–43 |
| Earned run average | 5.29 |
| Strikeouts | 387 |
| Teams | |
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| Medal record | ||
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| Men’s baseball | ||
Competitor for  United States |
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| World University Championship | ||
| Gold | 2004 Tainan | Team |
Luke Anthony Hochevar (
/hoʊˈtʃeɪvər/; born September 15, 1983)[1] is an American professional baseball starting pitcher for the Kansas City Royals organization of Major League Baseball. He is an alumnus of the University of Tennessee. He throws and bats right-handed.
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[edit] High school
While attending Fowler High School in Fowler, Colorado, he was the 2A Player of the Year (senior year). During his senior year, he was also a member of the National Honor Society.[citation needed]
[edit] Draft & college
Hochevar was selected by Los Angeles Dodgers in the 39th round (1,191st overall) of the 2002 MLB amateur entry draft, but decided on college instead. Hochevar attended University of Tennessee. In 2005, he struck out a school record 154 batters while posting a 15-3 record and 2.26 ERA for the season. He was named the Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Year and Roger Clemens Award.[2]
The Dodgers would select Hochevar again, this time in the first round (40th overall) of the 2005 draft. After heated, desperate negotiations between the Dodgers, Hochevar, and his agent Scott Boras, Hochevar suddenly switched agents to Matt Sosnick, accepted a $2.98 million signing bonus from scouting director Logan White, then returned to Boras the next day and reneged on the deal. Several months of lukewarm talks continued with Hochevar pitching in an independent league (where he struck out 34 batters in 22.2 innings), but amidst much bitterness, the two sides never came close to reaching a new agreement.
He re-entered the draft again in 2006 and was selected first overall by the Kansas City Royals. On August 3, nearly two months after the draft, Hochevar signed a four-year major league contract worth $5.3 million guaranteed with the Royals. He received a $3.5 million signing bonus with the ability to earn as much as $7 million over the four years.
[edit] Major League career
Hochevar made his major league debut September 8, 2007 in a game against the New York Yankees.
In 2008, he had the lowest run support of all pitchers, with an average of 2.8 runs per game started, while going 6-12, but had a high 5.51 ERA. [2]
[edit] 2009
Following the Royals' 2009 spring training camp, he was sent to the Triple-A Omaha Royals to learn to "use both sides of the plate with more consistency" and to stay away from big innings.[3] He was called up to the Royals starting rotation on May 10.[4]
In his 2009 debut, Hochevar lasted just two innings and surrendered eight runs. On June 12, 2009, Hochevar pitched an 80 pitch complete game, only allowing 3 hits and 1 run; this was a feat that had only been accomplished by 5 pitchers in American League the previous 20 years.[5] On July 25, 2009, Hochevar recorded a career high 13 strikeouts in 7 innings in a 6-3 win over the Texas Rangers.
Despite these accomplishments, Hochevar struggled with his consistency through the '09 season, posting the highest ERA of AL starters (6.55) while going 7-13.
[edit] 2010
In his first start of the year on April 7, 2010, Hochevar threw 7⅔ scoreless innings in a 3-2 win in 11 innings over the Detroit Tigers. Through June 2010, Hochevar was 5-4 with a 4.96 ERA. He was on the Disabled List with a right elbow strain from mid-June until September.
[edit] 2011
Hochevar was the Royals' opening day starter in 2011. At the All-Star break, he had a win-loss record of 5-8 with a 5.46 ERA. He fared significantly better after the break, ending the season with an 11-11 record and a 4.68 ERA. Also notable is his 1.28 WHIP.
[edit] References
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This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (April 2009) |
- ^ MLB.com
- ^ Molony, Jim (2006-06-06). "Royals tab Hochevar as No. 1 pick". MLB.com. http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060606&content_id=1490897&vkey=news_kc&fext=.jsp&c_id=kc. Retrieved 2009-03-09.
- ^ Royals Option Hochevar to Omaha SI.com, April 1, 2009
- ^ Kaegel, Dick (2009-05-10). "Closer Soria place on disabled list". MLB.com. http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090510&content_id=4667710&vkey=news_kc&fext=.jsp&c_id=kc. Retrieved 2009-05-10.
- ^ [1] Kansas City Star, June 12, 2009
[edit] External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
- Healthy Hochevar Poised For Success
- Hochevar Wins Clemens Award
- Royals, Hochevar Agree To Terms
- Luke Hochevar Blog
| Preceded by Justin Upton |
First overall pick in the MLB Entry Draft 2006 |
Succeeded by David Price |
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