Kevin Kiermaier

Kevin James Kiermaier (born April 22, 1990) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut on September 30, 2013. He played college baseball at Parkland College, where he was twice named a National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) All-American and winning the NJCAA National Championship.

Career

Kiermaier attended Bishop Luers High School in Fort Wayne, Indiana.^[1] Playing for the school's baseball team, Bishop Luers won the state championship in Kiermaier's senior year. After being recruited by college programs for their American football teams and almost committing to attend Purdue University, Kiermaier opted to play college baseball instead. He enrolled at Parkland College, competing in baseball in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). As a freshman, Parkland won the NJCAA National Championship. Kiermaier was named a NJCAA All-American in his two years at Parkland.^[2]

The Tampa Bay Rays selected Kiermaier in the 31st round of the 2010 Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft. Purdue again offered Kiermaier a scholarship, but he decided to sign with the Rays instead of transfer to Purdue.^[2] Kiermaier spent the 2013 season in Class AA and Class AAA, and was named the best defensive player in the Rays' organization and the most valuable player of the Montgomery Biscuits of the Class AA Southern League.^[3] After the completion of the minor league season, he was called up to the majors for the first time on September 30, 2013.^[4] Kiermaier made his major-league debut in that evening's wild card tie-breaker game, as a ninth-inning defensive replacement.^[5]

On May 18, 2014, Kiermaier hit his first major league home run against Mike Morin of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.^[6]

References

External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• Kevin Kiermaier on Twitter