Chris Archer

Christopher Alan Archer (born September 26, 1988) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the organization of the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut on June 20, 2012. Before beginning his professional career, he attended Clayton High School in Clayton, North Carolina.

Early life and High-school baseball career

Archer attended Clayton High School in Clayton, North Carolina, where he played for the school's baseball team. He signed a letter of intent to attend the University of Miami.^[1] After pitching to a 8–3 win–loss record with a 1.75 earned run average (ERA) during his senior season at Clayton,^[1]

Career

Archer was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the fifth round of the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft. Archer agreed to sign with the Indians.^[2] He joined the Gulf Coast Indians of the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League after signing.^[3] He also pitched in one game for the Burlington Indians of the Rookie-level Appalachian League.^[4]

Archer remained with the Gulf Coast Indians to start the 2007 season.^[5] In 2008, Archer had a 4–8 win–loss record in 27 games started for the Lake County Captains of the Class A South Atlantic League.^[6] On December 31, 2008, he was traded with John Gaub and Jeff Stevens to the Chicago Cubs for Mark DeRosa.^[7]

Archer pitched for the Peoria Chiefs of the Class A Midwest League during the 2009 season.^[8] In 2010, Archer had a 15–3 win-loss record with a 2.34 earned run average (ERA) between the Daytona Cubs of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League and Tennessee Smokies of the Class AA Southern League. With Daytona, he had a streak of 41 innings pitched without allowing an earned run.^[9] He was named the Cubs' Minor League Pitcher of the Year,^[10] and the Cubs added him to their 40 man roster to protect him from being selected by another team in the Rule 5 Draft.^[11] After the season, he pitched for the United States national baseball team in the qualifying tournament for the 2011 Pan American Games.^[12] Defeating the Cuban national baseball team, USA Baseball called Archer's game the International Performance of the Year.^[13]

Tampa Bay Rays (2011-present)

In January 2011, the Cubs traded Archer to the Tampa Bay Rays with Hak-Ju Lee, Brandon Guyer, Robinson Chirinos and Sam Fuld for Matt Garza, Fernando Perez and Zac Rosscup.^[14][15] At the start of the season, he was rated the 27th best prospect in baseball by the publication Baseball America. Pitching for the Montgomery Biscuits of the Southern League, Archer had a 5.85 ERA through the first two months of the season^[16] and a 5.27 ERA at the end of the first half of the season.^[17] In the second half, he made a turnaround, going 5–4 with a 3.45 ERA.^[17] He received a promotion to the Durham Bulls of the Class AAA International League, making two starts for the Bulls at the end of the season, and allowing only one run.^[17]

2012 season

Baseball America rated Archer as the Rays' third best prospect and the 89th best prospect in baseball before the 2012 season.^[18] Archer pitched to a 4–8 win–loss record with a 4.81 ERA in 14 games started for Durham to start the 2012 season. He was promoted to the major leagues for the first time on June 20, starting in place of the injured Jeremy Hellickson.^[19] In his MLB debut, Archer allowed three hits and three runs (one earned run) while recording seven strikeouts in six innings, becoming the first pitcher the Rays did not draft to start a game for the team since Matt Garza on September 30, 2010.^[20]

Archer became the first pitcher to register an at-bat at Oriole Park at Camden Yards when he finished an at-bat for injured Ryan Roberts, striking out under orders not to swing. He recorded his first major league win on September 19, 2012 against the Boston Red Sox at Tropicana Field after going 5 innings and giving up 3 earned runs.

2013 season

Archer began the 2013 season with Triple-A Durham. He was called up on June 1, 2013 to start against the Cleveland Indians. In his first extended action in the Majors, he went 9-7 with a 3.22 ERA in 23 starts. Among AL rookies, Archer ranked first in ERA, opponents' average (.226), complete games (two), shutouts (two), hits per nine innings (7.5) and WHIP (1.13). He was named the AL Pitcher of the Month and AL Rookie of the Month for July. He finished third in voting for AL rookie of the year, behind Detroit's Jose Iglesias and teammate Wil Myers.^[21][22][23]

Scouting profile

Archer is listed at 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) and 200 pounds (91 kg). He throws a fastball between 92 to 94 miles per hour (148–151 km/h) that can reach 96 to 98 miles per hour (154–158 km/h). His secondary pitches include a slider and a changeup.^[24]

Personal

Archer's mother, Sonya Clark, is Caucasian. His biological father, a firefighter, is African American. Sonya has two other children with a different father. Chris was raised by Donna and Ron Archer, his maternal grandparents, who adopted him when he was two years old.^[25]

References

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)