Caleb Timothy Dirks (born June 9, 1993) 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.

Career

Atlanta Braves

Dirks attended

Woodcrest Christian High School Woodcrest Christian High School is a private Christian high school located in Riverside, California, United States, in the census-designated place of Woodcrest. It is part of the Woodcrest Christian School System, which includes the Woodcrest C ...

and California Baptist University in

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States, in the Inland Empire metropolitan area. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. It is the most populous city in the Inland Empire an ...

. In 2014, as a junior at California Baptist, he went 4–1 with a 2.85 ERA in 41 relief innings pitched. He was selected in the 15th round of the

2014 MLB draft The 2014 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 5 through June 7, 2014, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first two rounds were conducted on June 5, followed by rounds three through ten on June ...

by the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

. After signing with the Braves, Dirks was assigned to the Danville Braves before being promoted to the

Rome Braves The Rome Braves are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They are located in Rome, Georgia, and play their home games at AdventHealth Stadium. From 2003 to 2020, the team served ...

. In 32.1 relief appearances between the two teams he posted a 1–0 record and 2.23 ERA. He began 2015 with Rome and was promoted to the Carolina Mudcats in May. On July 2, 2015, the Braves traded Dirks and Jordan Paroubeck to the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

in exchange for an international signing bonus slot worth $249,000. The Dodgers assigned him to the

Rancho Cucamonga Quakes The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Rancho Cucamonga, California, and play their home games at LoanMart Field. The franc ...

and was promoted to the

Tulsa Drillers The Tulsa Drillers are a minor league baseball team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The team, which plays in the Texas League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers major-league club. Stadium The Drillers play at ONEOK Field (pronounc ...

in August. In 40 relief appearances between Danville, Carlolina, Rancho Cucamonga, and Tulsa, he was 3–2 with a 0.90 ERA. Dirks began 2016 with Tulsa. On June 30, 2016, the Dodgers traded Dirks and

Philip Pfeifer Philip James Pfeifer (born July 15, 1992) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Canberra Cavalry of the Australian Baseball League. He previously played college baseball for the Vanderbilt Commodores of Vanderbilt University. Amate ...

to the Braves for Bud Norris, Dian Toscano, a player to be named later (Alec Grosser), and cash. The Braves assigned him to the Mississippi Braves and he finished the season there. In 49 appearances out of the bullpen he was 5–3 with a 1.18 ERA and 1.00 WHIP. Dirks spent 2017 with the

Gwinnett Braves The Gwinnett Stripers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They play their home games at Coolray Field in unincorporated Gwinnett County, Georgia (with a Lawrencevil ...

where he compiled a 2–2 record and 4.02 ERA in 27 relief appearances. He did not pitch in 2018 due to injury. Dirks began the 2019 season on the injured list, and was subsequently placed on the Florida Fire Frogs roster, where he made his first 2019 season appearances in July. The Braves released Dirks in May 2020.

Eastern Reyes del Tigre

In July 2020, Dirks signed on to play for the Eastern Reyes del Tigre of the

Constellation Energy League The Constellation Energy League was an independent baseball league that operated in Texas during 2020 because of COVID-19 restrictions limiting travel, and as a way to create opportunities for minor league players. History The league consisted of ...

(a makeshift 4-team independent league created as a result of 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 ...

) for the 2020 season.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dirks, Caleb 1993 births Living people Baseball players from California People from Arcadia, California Baseball pitchers Rome Braves players Mississippi Braves players Rancho Cucamonga Quakes players Tulsa Drillers players Carolina Mudcats players Danville Braves players Gwinnett Braves players California Baptist Lancers baseball players