Austin Stone Bergner (born May 1, 1997) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

organization. He previously played college baseball for the

North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to individuals from the state of North Carolina, the ''Tar Heel ...

Career

Amateur career

Bergner initially attended West Orange High School in Winter Garden, Florida, where he started receiving national attention as a sophomore. He represented the United States U18 team that won a gold medal at the 2014 COPABE Pan American Championships in Mexico. In a game against Cuba, he was brought in to close out the game in the ninth inning, earning the save in a 5–4 win. He subsequently represented Team USA at the 2015 WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, where they also won gold. In their opening game against the Czech Republic, he struck out nine batters in six innings to lead USA to an 11–1 mercy rule win. He transferred to Windermere Prep in 2015, the summer before his junior year. That season, he had a 6–1 win–loss record and 0.40 earned run average (ERA) in 52.2

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

. Sports Illustrated named him the #3 high school pitcher in the nation from the class of 2016, and USA Today selected him as the #14 most promising prospect in his class. After his senior year, he was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 38th round of the

2016 MLB draft The 2016 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 9, 2016, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2015 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks will be d ...

, but he did not sign, and instead chose to attend the University of North Carolina to play college baseball. In 2017 and 2018, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the Chatham Anglers of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

. Bergner throws a fastball between 90–93 miles per hour (144–149 km/h), a

curveball In baseball and softball, the curveball is a type of pitch thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball, causing it to dive as it approaches the plate. Varieties of curveball include the 12–6 curve ...

and a changeup.

Professional career

Bergner was drafted by the

in the 9th round of the

2019 MLB draft The 2019 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 3 to 5, 2019. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was set based on the reverse order of the 2018 MLB season standings. In additi ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bergner, Austin Living people 1997 births American people of Colombian descent People from Windermere, Florida Baseball players from Florida Baseball pitchers North Carolina Tar Heels baseball players Chatham Anglers players Gulf Coast Tigers players Connecticut Tigers players