Dean Allen Kiekhefer (born June 7, 1989) is an American former

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 ...

. He played in

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) for the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

and

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

between 2016 and 2018.

Career

St. Louis Cardinals

Kiekhefer was drafted by the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

in the 37th round of the

2007 Major League Baseball draft The 2007 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players and was held on June 7, 2007 and June 8, 2007. The first day session of the draft included the f ...

out of

Oldham County High School Oldham County High School (OCHS) is a public high school in Buckner, Kentucky, United States. It was founded in 1953 and has a student body of approximately 1,600 students in 9th through 12th grades. OCHS was given the National Blue Ribbon School ...

in Buckner, Kentucky. He did not sign with the Indians and 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 pl ...

at the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of ...

. In 2009, 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

Wareham Gatemen The Wareham Gatemen are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Wareham, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Gatemen play their home games at Clem Spillane Fi ...

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 ...

. He was drafted by the

in the 36th round of the

2010 Major League Baseball draft The 2010 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held on June 7–9, 2010 at the MLB Network Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey. First-round selections The draft order was determined based on the 2009 MLB standings, with the worst team pic ...

and signed. After signing, Kiekhefer was assigned to the

Johnson City Cardinals The Johnson City Cardinals were a Minor League Baseball team based in Johnson City, Tennessee. The team was affiliated with the St. Louis Cardinals organization from 1975 through 2020 and played in the Rookie-level Appalachian League. The team won ...

, and after one game, was promoted to the

Quad Cities River Bandits The Quad Cities River Bandits are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. Their home games are played at Modern Woodmen Park (formerly John O'Donnell Stadium) in Davenport, Iowa, one ...

where he finished the season with a 5.14

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

in 28 innings pitched out of the bullpen. In 2011, he returned to Quad Cities where he pitched to a 4-1 record and 1.26 ERA in 57 relief innings, and in 2012 he played for the

Palm Beach Cardinals The Palm Beach Cardinals are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in the town of Jupiter in Palm Beach County, Florida, and play their home games at Roge ...

where he was 2-2 with a 2.24 ERA in 46 relief appearances. He spent 2013 with Palm Beach and the

Springfield Cardinals The Springfield Cardinals are a Minor League Baseball team based in Springfield, Missouri. They compete as a member of the Texas League's North Division. The Cardinals began play in 2005. The team is owned by the 11-time Major League Baseball ...

where he was a combined 4-5 with a 3.43 ERA in 36 games between both teams, 2014 with Springfield and the

Memphis Redbirds The Memphis Redbirds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in Memphis, Tennessee, and are named for their Major League Baseball affiliate. The Redbir ...

where he posted a combined 2-5 record and 2.90 ERA in 55 relief appearances, and 2015 with Memphis where he was 2-1 with a 2.41 ERA in 50 games. The Cardinals added him to their

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, and ...

after the 2015 season. He began 2016 with Memphis. The Cardinals called Kiekhefer up to the major league roster on May 13,

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

. The following day, he made his major league debut in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

in the sixth inning against the

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 ...

, allowing no walks and striking out four in innings. The only hit and run charged to him—both firsts of his career—was a home run to

Corey Seager Corey Drew Seager (born April 27, 1994), nicknamed "Seags", is an American professional baseball shortstop for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Seager was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the first round of the 2012 Ma ...

. He was optioned to Memphis and recalled to St. Louis multiple times during the season before being recalled for the remainder of the season on August 29. In 29 appearances for Memphis he was 6-1 with a 2.08 ERA, and in 22 innings pitched for St. Louis he compiled a 5.32 ERA.

Seattle Mariners

Kiekhefer was claimed off waivers by the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

on November 4, 2016. He spent all of 2017 with the

Tacoma Rainers The Tacoma Rainiers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They are located in Tacoma, Washington, and play their home games at Cheney Stadium, which opened in 1960 ...

where he pitched to a 3-3 record with a 4.47 ERA in 49 games. He elected free agency on November 6, 2017.

Cincinnati Reds

On February 17, 2018, Kiekhefer signed a minor league deal with the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

. He began the season with the

Pensacola Blue Wahoos The Pensacola Blue Wahoos are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are based in Pensacola, Florida, and play their home games at Admiral Fetterman Field. In 2012, the team rel ...

. On April 30, he was released.

Oakland Athletics

On May 2, 2018, Kiekhefer signed a minor league deal with the

. He began the season with the

Midland RockHounds The Midland RockHounds are a Minor League Baseball team based in Midland, Texas. The team, which plays in the Texas League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics major league club. The RockHounds play in Momentum Bank Ballpark, whic ...

before being promoted to the

Nashville Sounds The Nashville Sounds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, and are named for the ci ...

. He was promoted to the major leagues on September 1, 2018. Kiekhefer elected free agency on October 15, 2018. He resigned a minor league deal on October 18, 2018. He became a free agent following the 2019 season.

Post-playing career

Kiekhefer announced his retirement from professional baseball on Twitter on November 7, 2019. He was hired by the Cardinals for the 2020 Season to be a minor league pitching coach for their State College (Short-Season A Ball). In 2021, he was reassigned to the

, their Low-A affiliate.

References

External links

Louisville Cardinals bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kiekhefer, Dean 1989 births Living people Oldham County High School alumni Baseball players from Louisville, Kentucky Major League Baseball pitchers St. Louis Cardinals players Oakland Athletics players Louisville Cardinals baseball players Wareham Gatemen players Johnson City Cardinals players Quad Cities River Bandits players Palm Beach Cardinals players Springfield Cardinals players Salt River Rafters players Memphis Redbirds players Surprise Saguaros players Tacoma Rainiers players Pensacola Blue Wahoos players Midland RockHounds players Nashville Sounds players Las Vegas Aviators players