Brendan Michael Donovan (born January 16, 1997) is an American professional baseball

utility player In sports, a utility player is one who can play several positions competently. Sports in which the term is often used include association football, American football, baseball, rugby union, rugby league, softball, ice hockey, and water polo. The ...

for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). Born in Würzburg, Germany, and raised in

Enterprise, Alabama Enterprise is a city in the southeastern part of Coffee County and the southwestern part of Dale County in Southeastern Alabama, United States. Its population was 28,711 at the 2020 census. Enterprise is the primary city of the Enterprise micr ...

, Donovan played college baseball at the University of South Alabama before the Cardinals selected him in the seventh round of the

2018 MLB 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 ...

. He was a part of their minor league system before making his MLB debut in 2022, becoming a consistent member of their lineup as a

. Following the conclusion of his rookie season, he was named the first-ever recipient of the National League

Gold Glove Award The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in bo ...

for a utility player and was also a finalist for National League Rookie of the Year.

Amateur career

Donovan attended and played baseball at Enterprise High School in

, where he batted .467 with four home runs, 44 runs batted in (RBIs), 17 doubles, and six

triples TripleS (stylized as tripleS; Help:IPA/English, /ˈtɹɪpəl:ɛs/; ) is a South Korean girl group formed by MODHAUS. They aim to be the world's first decentralized K-pop idol group. The members will rotate between the group, sub-unit, and solo ac ...

as a senior in 2015. He attended the University of South Alabama and played college baseball for the South Alabama Jaguars. In 2017, 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 Hyannis Harbor Hawks 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 ...

. In 2018, his junior year, he batted .302 with five home runs and 55 RBIs over 57 games.

Professional career

Minor leagues

The St. Louis Cardinals selected Donovan in the seventh 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 ...

. He signed with St. Louis and made his professional debut with the State College Spikes of the Class A Short Season New York–Penn League, playing in four games. He spent most of the 2019 season with the Peoria Chiefs of the Class A Midwest League and played in one game with the Memphis Redbirds of the Class AAA

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

, batting .268 with eight home runs and 53 RBIs over 114 games for the season. Bdonovan2023stl

Donovan did not play for a minor league team during the 2020 season, which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He started 2021 with Peoria (now members of the High-A Central) before being promoted to the Springfield Cardinals of the Double-A Central in early June and to Memphis (now members of the Triple-A East) in mid-August. Over 108 games between the three teams, he slashed .304/.399/.455 with 12 home runs and 66 RBIs. Donovan was selected to play in the Arizona Fall League for the

Glendale Desert Dogs The Glendale Desert Dogs are a baseball team that plays in the West Division of the Arizona Fall League. They play their home games at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona. The ballpark is also the spring training facility of the Chicago White Sox ...

after the season where he was named to the Fall Stars Game. He was selected to the 40-man roster after the season on November 19, 2021. Donovan returned to Memphis to begin the 2022 season.

Major leagues

On April 25, 2022, Donovan was promoted to the major leagues. He made his MLB debut that night against the New York Mets as a pinch runner and scored on a single by

Tyler O'Neill Tyler Alan O'Neill (born June 22, 1995) is a Canadian professional baseball left fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut on April 19, 2018. He has represented Canada in international play, winn ...

. The next night, Donovan made his first major league start; he went 0-for-2 and was hit by a pitch in a 0–3 loss to the Mets. On April 28, 2022, Donovan recorded his first career hit: a pinch-hit single against fellow rookie

Tyler Holton Weston Tyler Holton (born June 13, 1996) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Career Amateur career Holton graduated from ...

of the Arizona Diamondbacks. On May 10, he hit his first MLB home run, off Dillon Tate of the Baltimore Orioles. On September 22, Donovan hit his first career grand slam off of Nick Martinez of the San Diego Padres. Donovan finished his rookie season batting .281/.394/.379 with five home runs, 45 RBIs, and 21 doubles over 126 games. Defensively, he played left field, right field, first base, second base, shortstop, and third base, and was named the first ever recipient of the National League

for a utility player. He was named a finalist for the National League Rookie of the Year Award, alongside Michael Harris II and

Spencer Strider Spencer Robert Strider (born October 28, 1998) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball for the Clemson Tigers, and was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the four ...

. He finished in third place as Harris won the award. In 2023, Donovan played in 95 contests for the Cardinals. In 327 at–bats, he hit .281/.362/.419 with 11 home runs and 34 RBIs. On August 2, 2023, it was announced that Donovan would undergo season–ending surgery to repair a flexor tendon injury in his throwing arm.

Personal life

Donovan was born in Würzburg, Germany, when his father was stationed overseas, and represented the Germany national baseball team in the

2023 World Baseball Classic qualification The qualifying round of the 2023 World Baseball Classic will be held in September 2022. Teams which participated at the 2017 World Baseball Classic automatically qualified for the 2023 tournament. The qualifying round is to consist of two tourna ...

. He married his wife Aly in 2022 and the couple welcomed a daughter in March 2024.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Donovan, Brendan 1997 births Living people Baseball players from Alabama Glendale Desert Dogs players Gold Glove Award winners Hyannis Harbor Hawks players Major League Baseball infielders Major League Baseball players from Germany Memphis Redbirds players Peoria Chiefs players South Alabama Jaguars baseball players Springfield Cardinals players St. Louis Cardinals players State College Spikes players