David Jeffrey Bednar (born October 10, 1994) 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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

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 ...

for the Pittsburgh Pirates of

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). He previously played in MLB for the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

Amateur career

Bednar attended

Mars Area High School Mars Area High School is a high school located in Mars, Pennsylvania. Notable alumni * David Bednar, Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher * Chloe Lukasiak, Dance Moms Cast Member and Famous Dancer, Actress and Author *Will Bednar, Mississippi ...

Mars, Pennsylvania Mars is a borough in southern Butler County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,458 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. History In 1873, Samuel Parks constructed a home and a water-powered grist ...

. Undrafted out of high school, Bednar attended

Lafayette College Lafayette College is a private liberal arts college in Easton, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter and other citizens in Easton, the college first held classes in 1832. The founders voted to name the college after General Laf ...

Easton, Pennsylvania Easton is a city in, and the county seat of, Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city's population was 28,127 as of the 2020 census. Easton is located at the confluence of the Lehigh River, a river that joins the Delaware R ...

, where he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

for the

Leopards The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus ''Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, a ...

Professional career

San Diego Padres

Bednar was drafted by the

in the 35th round, with the 1,044th overall selection, of the 2016 MLB draft. He split the 2016 season between the

Tri-City Dust Devils The Tri-City Dust Devils are a Minor League Baseball team in the northwest United States, based in Pasco, Washington. The Dust Devils are members of the Northwest League and are affiliated with the Los Angeles Angels. Tri-City plays their home ga ...

and the

Fort Wayne TinCaps The Fort Wayne TinCaps are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. They are located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and play their home games at Parkview Field. They won their lone Midwest Le ...

, combining to go 4–4 with a 2.32 ERA in 31 innings. He split the 2017 season between Fort Wayne and the

Lake Elsinore Storm The Lake Elsinore Storm are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The Storm plays their home games at Lake Elsinore Diamond (Pete Lehr Field), which opened in 1994; the park s ...

, going a combined 1–4 with a 2.64 ERA in 60 innings. He spent the 2018 season in Lake Elsinore, going 2–4 with a 2.73 ERA in 69 innings. Bednar played for the San Antonio Missions in the 2018

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

playoffs. In 2019, he spent the minor league season with the

Amarillo Sod Poodles The Amarillo Sod Poodles, nicknamed the Soddies, are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are located in Amarillo, Texas, and play their home games at Hodgetown in downtown ...

, going 2–5 with a 2.95 ERA in 58 innings. On September 1, 2019, the Padres selected Bednar's contract and promoted him to the major leagues. He made his major league debut that day versus the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...

, pitching a scoreless inning in relief. Bednar produced a 0–2 record with a 6.55 ERA and 14 strikeouts over 11 innings in 2019. In 2020 for San Diego, Bednar recorded a 7.11 ERA with 5 strikeouts in 6.1 innings of work.

Pittsburgh Pirates

On January 19, 2021, Bednar was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates as part of a three-team trade that also sent Omar Cruz,

Drake Fellows Below are the rosters of the minor league affiliates of the Pittsburgh Pirates: Players Carter Bins Carter Bins (born October 7, 1998) is an American professional baseball catcher in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. Bins attended Angelo Rod ...

, Hudson Head and Endy Rodríguez to the Pirates,

Joe Musgrove Joseph Anthony Musgrove (born December 4, 1992) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played within the Toronto Blue Jays, Houston Astros, and Pittsburgh Pirates organ ...

to the Padres and Joey Lucchesi to the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

. In his first full season in the major leagues, Bednar was 3–1 with a 2.23 ERA and 77 strikeouts in 61 appearances. Bednar received a single vote in

National League Rookie of the Year In Major League Baseball, the Rookie of the Year Award is given annually to two outstanding rookie players, one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL), as voted on by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). The aw ...

voting, tying him for eighth place with Vladimir Gutiérrez.

Personal life

Bednar's younger brother, Will, is a pitcher in the

organization. His nickname, "The Renegade", is in homage to the Styx song of the same name; commonly used as a pump-up song for his hometown Pittsburgh Steelers.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bednar, David 1994 births Living people Baseball players from Pittsburgh Major League Baseball pitchers San Diego Padres players Pittsburgh Pirates players National League All-Stars Lafayette Leopards baseball players Tri-City Dust Devils players Fort Wayne TinCaps players Lake Elsinore Storm players San Antonio Missions players Amarillo Sod Poodles players Peoria Javelinas players 2023 World Baseball Classic players