David Phelps (baseball)

David Edward Phelps (born October 9, 1986) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for the New York Yankees from 2012 to 2014. He bats and throws right-handed, is 6 feet and 2 inches tall, and weighs 200 pounds.^[1] Prior to beginning his professional career, Phelps played college baseball at the University of Notre Dame.

Amateur career

Phelps attended Hazelwood West High School in Hazelwood, Missouri, where he played basketball and baseball. For the baseball team, he was named to the All-Conference Team as both an outfielder and pitcher as a sophomore, and as team captain and to the All-Conference, All-Metro Performer, and team captain as a junior and senior. He was a member of the National Honor Society.^[2]

David Phelps' pitching motion.

Though he was ranked as the sixth best prospect from Missouri prior to the 2005 Major League Baseball Draft, he was not selected due to his strong commitment to enroll at the University of Notre Dame, where he pitched for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish baseball team.^[2] As a freshman, Phelps pitched sparsely as a reliever. As a sophomore, he pitched in the starting rotation, earning Big East All-Conference First Team, Academic All-District and Academic All-American honors.^[2] He struggled in his junior season.^[2] While in college, he also pitched for the Mat-Su Miners of the Alaska Baseball League and Falmouth Commodores of the Cape Cod League.^[2]

Professional career

New York Yankees

While pitching at Notre Dame, Damon Oppenheimer, the scouting director for the New York Yankees, noticed Phelps while on a visit to scout Kyle Weiland, Phelps' teammate. Based on Oppenheimer's recommendation, the Yankees selected Phelps in the 14th round of the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft.^[3] Phelps was named to the 2010 Eastern League All-Star Game.^[4] In 2011, he played for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees.^[1] Phelps was named the Yankees minor league pitcher of the year for 2010.^[5] He was added to the Yankees 40-man roster after the 2011 season to protect him from the Rule 5 draft,^[6] and on April 4, 2012, it was announced that Phelps had made the Yankees' Major League roster.

On April 29, 2012, Phelps was moved into the starting rotation to replace the struggling Freddy García. Phelps started 0–0 with a 3.57 ERA in six games before the switch. After making two starts for the Yankees, the team shifted him back to the bullpen when they promoted Andy Pettitte.^[7] Phelps was sent down to Triple-A after David Robertson came off from the disabled list.

He returned to the team as a starter when Pettitte and CC Sabathia were placed on the DL with injuries.^[8]

During a game against the New York Mets on May 29, 2013, Phelps surrendered 5 runs (4 earned) in the first inning and only lasted  ¹⁄₃ of an inning. It was the shortest outing for any Yankees starting pitcher at the new Yankee Stadium. On July 6, 2013, Phelps was placed on the 15-day disabled list due to a right forearm strain. On August 15, 2013, Phelps was transferred to the 60-day disabled list. On September 14, 2013 Phelps was reinstated from the 60-day disabled list.^[9]

In 2014, Phelps had a 5-5 record with a 4.38 ERA in 113 innings having 92 Strikeouts and 42 walks in 32 games, 17 started.

Miami Marlins

On December 19, 2014, the Yankees traded Phelps and Martín Prado to the Miami Marlins for Nathan Eovaldi, Garrett Jones, and Domingo Germán.^[10]

At the start of the 2016 season, Phelps was installed as the Marlins primary setup reliever, usually called in to pitch the eighth inning. Through 25 games, he has maintained an ERA of 1.93^[11]

Pitching style

Phelps throws four pitches. He has a four-seam fastball (90–92), two-seam fastball (89–92), cutter (86–88) and a changeup (82–85). The two-seamer is his primary pitch to left-handed hitters, and his four-seamer is his primary pitch to right-handers. He uses his changeup exclusively against lefties. He likes to use his cutter in 2-strike counts against righties.^[12]

Personal

Phelps is a devout Christian.^[13] Phelps attended the University of Notre Dame, where he met his wife, Maria, when they had to work together on an assignment.

Phelps and his wife had their first child, daughter Adeline, on March 22, 2012,^[14] and a second daughter, Eloise Susan, in December 2013.^[15]

References

External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• Player Bio: David Phelps – University of Notre Dame Official Athletics Site
• Phelps Breaking Out – Scout.com
• Prospect Profile: David Phelps | River Ave. Blues