Blaine Anthony Knight (born June 28, 1996) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

who is a free agent. He was drafted by the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

in the third round of the

2018 Major League Baseball draft The 2018 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 4, 2018. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was determined based on the reverse order of the 2017 MLB season final standings. In a ...

Ameteur career

Knight attended and graduated from Bryant High School in

Bryant, Arkansas Bryant is a city in Saline County, Arkansas, United States and a suburb of Little Rock. According to the 2010 Census, the population of the city was 16,688. It is part of the Central Arkansas region. History European settlers established themsel ...

. In 2014, as a junior, he was 11–0 with a 0.49 ERA, helping lead Bryant to a state title. As a senior in 2015 he compiled a 6–2 record and 1.34 ERA while striking out 77 batters and walking only four in innings pitched. He was not drafted out of high school in the

2015 Major League Baseball draft The 2015 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 8 through June 10, 2015, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2014 MLB season standings. As the Diamondbacks ...

and enrolled at the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

to play college baseball for the

Arkansas Razorbacks The Arkansas Razorbacks, also known as the Hogs, are the intercollegiate athletics teams representing the University of Arkansas, located in Fayetteville. The University of Arkansas student body voted to change the name of the school mascot (ori ...

. As a freshman at Arkansas in 2016, Knight made 18 appearances on the mound (seven starts), compiled a 2.98 ERA and struck out 46 batters in innings pitched for the Razorbacks. In 2017, as a sophomore, he was the Razorbacks number one starter, and in April was named to the midseason watch list for

Golden Spikes Award The Golden Spikes Award is bestowed annually to the best amateur baseball player in the United States. The award, created by USA Baseball and sponsored by the Major League Baseball Players Association, was first presented in 1978. It is given to ...

, an award given annually to the best amateur baseball player in the United States, after compiling a 5–1 record and 1.94 ERA in eight starts. Knight finished the season with an 8–4 record and 3.28 ERA in innings. After the season, he was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 29th round of the

2017 Major League Baseball draft The 2017 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 12, 2017. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first 36 picks, including the first round and compensatory picks, were broadcast on MLB Network on J ...

but did not sign and returned to Arkansas. In 2018, as a junior, Knight was named to the All-SEC Second Team, and to the College World Series All-Tournament Team. He finished his 2018 season with a 14-0 record and a 2.80 ERA over 19 starts.

Professional career

Knight was selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the third round (87th overall) in the

, and he signed for $1.1 million. He made his professional debut with the

Aberdeen IronBirds The Aberdeen IronBirds are a Minor League Baseball team based in the city of Aberdeen in Harford County, Maryland. They are the High-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles and compete in the South Atlantic League. They were previously members of the ...

of the

Class A-Short Season Class A Short Season (officially Short-Season A) was a level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States from 1965 through 2020. In the hierarchy of minor league classifications, it was below Triple-A, Double-A, Class A-Advanced (cre ...

New York-Penn League New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

and spent the remainder of 2018 there, posting a 0-1 record with a 2.61 ERA in four starts. Knight began 2019 with the

Delmarva Shorebirds The Delmarva Shorebirds are a Minor League Baseball team based in Salisbury, Maryland. They are members of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. Their home games are played at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium. The Shor ...

of the Class A

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

and was their Opening Day starter. He was promoted to the

Frederick Keys The Frederick Keys are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. The Keys are based in Frederick, Maryland. The franchise is named for "Star-Spangled Banner" writer Francis Scott Key, a native of Frederick County. A new team masco ...

of the

Class A-Advanced High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

after posting a 3-0 record with a 0.68 ERA and 33 strikeouts in five starts (26 innings pitched) with Delmarva. Over 18 games (17 starts) with Frederick, Knight went 1-12 with a 6.13 ERA, striking out 56 and walking 39 over innings. Knight did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. To begin the 2021 season, he was assigned to Aberdeen, new members of the

High-A East The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its h ...

. He was promoted to the Bowie Baysox of the

Double-A Northeast AA, Aa, Double A, or Double-A may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''America's Army'', a 2002 computer game published by the U.S. Army * '' Ancient Anguish'', a computer game in existence since 1992 * Aa!, a J-Pop musical group * Do ...

in early June, and earned another promotion to the

Norfolk Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's location on the Chesapea ...

of the

Triple-A East The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

in mid-August. Over 22 games (13 starts) between the three clubs, Knight went 3-6 with a 5.40 ERA and 71 strikeouts over innings. He returned to Norfolk for the 2022 season. Over 34 games (seven starts), he went 4-4 with a 7.38 ERA and seventy strikeouts over 72 innings. Knight was released by the Orioles on March 26, 2023.

Personal life

Knight and his wife, Rachel (a former catcher for the Arkansas Razorbacks softball team), married in 2019. Their first child, a son, was born in 2021.

References

External links

Arkansas Razorbacks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knight, Blaine Minor league baseball players 1996 births Living people Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Arkansas Arkansas Razorbacks baseball players Delmarva Shorebirds players Aberdeen IronBirds players Frederick Keys players Bowie Baysox players Norfolk Tides players