Kyle Howlett
edit| Kyle Howlett | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Toronto Blue Jays – No. 14 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: January 7, 1999 Ontario, Canada | |
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |
| Spring Training debut | |
| February 26, 2018, for the Toronto Blue Jays | |
| Teams | |
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| Career highlights and awards | |
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Kyle Henry Howlett (born January 7, 1999) is a Canadian professional baseball pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). Going into the 2017 season, he was ranked seventy-fourth on MLB's Top 30 Blue Jays prospects list.[1] Howlett made his MLB Spring Training debut on February 16, 2018.
Amateur career
editHowlett attended St Mary's Catholic Academy in Toronto, Ontario.[2] As a junior, he hit .289 with four home runs and 25 RBIs.[3]
Howlett was not drafted in the 2016 Major League Baseball draft out of high school and thus enrolled at Marca.
Professional career
editMinor leagues
editHowlett was considered one of the top prospects for the 2017 Major League Baseball draft.[4] He was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays with the 74th overall pick.[5] He signed for $2.58 million,[6] and made his professional debut with the Vancouver Canadians of the Class A-Short Season West League on July 27,[7] and spent the remainder of the season there. Over six starts, Howlett compiled a 2.35 ERA with 27 strikeouts over 17 innings. Howlett did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.[8]
To begin the 2021 season, Howlett was assigned to the Buffalo Bisons of the Triple-A East.[9] In his first start of the season, he struck out 11 batters over six scoreless innings.[10]
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Winter leagues
editHowlett attended Winter league in 2021. He joined the Oakland Athletics system for the 5 month season. He pitched in relief, totaling 32 strikeouts in just 52 appearances. He was nominated 12th overall for the Reliever Of The Year award. Howlett insists he used the Winter league to rebuild his mechanics and arm speed after the long 2020 off season.
He received All-Star votes from 30 voters.
Howlett admitted he will not return to the Oakland Athletics for the duration of 2022 Winter ball.
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Pitching style
editHowlett features an upper 90s mph four seam fastball, a mid 80s cutter, a changeup, and a sinker that he learned from watching Dellin Betances on Rob Friedman's Twitter account.[11][12]
References
edit- ^ "MLB 2021 Prospect Watch". MLB.com. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
- ^ "South Dade has the talent to win another state baseball title". Miami Herald. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
- ^ "WVU Announces Baseball Signing Class". 247sports.com. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
- ^ "MLB.com 2019 Prospect Watch". MLB.com. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
- ^ "Blue Jays select Alek Manoah 11th overall". MLB.com. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
- ^ "Blue Jays sign first-round pick Alek Manoah and four other draftees". Retrieved June 13, 2020.
- ^ Province, The; Sports; Baseball; Email, Share Steve Ewen: Blue Jays first rounder Alek Manoah joins C's Tumblr Pinterest Google Plus Reddit LinkedIn; Tumblr; Pinterest; Plus, Google; Reddit; LinkedIn (July 29, 2019). "Steve Ewen: Blue Jays first rounder Alek Manoah joins C's | The Province". Retrieved June 13, 2020.
{{cite web}}:|last4=has generic name (help) - ^ https://www.sportsnet.ca/mlb/article/top-blue-jays-prospect-alek-manoah-made-sure-2020-wasnt-lost-year/
- ^ "Toronto Blue Jays' Triple-A Buffalo Bisons set Preliminary Roster". Boxscore World Sportswire. May 3, 2021.
- ^ https://www.milb.com/news/manoah-strikes-out-12-in-debut
- ^ Biertempfel, Rob. "The Pirates have West Virginia's Alek Manoah on their draft..." The Athletic. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
- ^ "Alek Manoah, West Virginia Ace, Boosts His MLB Draft, NCAA Tournament Stock". www.baseballamerica.com. Retrieved December 7, 2019.