Dylan Chowles Unsworth (born 23 September 1992) is a South African

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 Karachi Monarchs of Baseball United. He previously played for the

Fubon Guardians The Fubon Guardians () are a professional baseball team in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) in Taiwan. The team is owned by Fubon Financial Holding Co. and play their home games at Xinzhuang Baseball Stadium in New Taipei City. ...

of the

Chinese Professional Baseball League The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL; ) is the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan. The league was established in 1989 and played the first season in 1990. CPBL eventually absorbed the competing Taiwan Major League in 20 ...

(CPBL), and also pitches for the South African national baseball team.

Career

Seattle Mariners

Unsworth attended the European Baseball Academy in Italy in 2009, where he was discovered and signed 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) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...

on June 20, 2010. In 2010 in the Rookie League he was 2–5 with a 3.93

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 50.1 innings (in which he allowed only one

walk Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an ' inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults ...

). In 2011 in 12 starts in the Rookie League he was 6–5 with a 5.16 ERA in 61.0 innings. In 2012 in 14 starts in Class A (Short) he was 7–2 with a 3.90 ERA in 85.1 innings. In 2013 he pitched for two teams in 14 starts in the Rookie League and Class A and was 4–1 with a 2.50 ERA in 72.0 innings (in which he allowed only two walks), and was a mid-season All Star in the

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

. According to ''Baseball America'', in 2013 he was the top control pitcher in the Mariners system. In 2014 in 26 starts in Class A+ he was 6–9 with a 5.88 ERA. In 2015, for two minor league teams in Class A+ and Class AA he was 5–10 with a 3.95 ERA in 107.0 innings. In 2016, he pitched in 9 starts for the

Jackson Generals The Jackson Generals were a professional baseball team located in Jackson, Tennessee. From 1998 to 2020, they were a part of Minor League Baseball's Southern League (SL) as the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs (1998–2006), Seattle Mari ...

of the

Class AA Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League ...

Southern League, and was 3–1 with a 1.16 ERA in 46.2 innings despite his

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. " Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thr ...

not reaching 90

miles per hour Miles per hour (mph, m.p.h., MPH, or mi/h) is a British imperial and United States customary unit of speed expressing the number of miles travelled in one hour. It is used in the United Kingdom, the United States, and a number of smaller cou ...

, and a mid-season Southern League All Star, and had his season cut short by a

hamstring injury Straining of the hamstring, also known as a pulled hamstring, is defined as an excessive stretch or tear of muscle fibers and related tissues. Hamstring injuries are common in athletes participating in many sports. Track and field athletes are ...

. He was named to appear in the 2016 All-Star Futures Game. He pitched in 22 starts for the

Tacoma Rainiers 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 ...

of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League and the

Arkansas Travelers The Arkansas Travelers, also known informally as The Travs, are a Minor League Baseball team based in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The Travelers are affiliated with the Seattle Mariners as members of the Texas League. History The team succeeded ...

of the Class AA

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 ...

in 2017, and was a combined 9–9 with a 3.30 ERA in 128.1 innings. He became a free agent on November 6, 2017.

Los Angeles Angels

On January 17, 2018, Unsworth signed a minor league contract with the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team h ...

. Pitching in Class AA with the

Mobile BayBears The Mobile BayBears were a Minor League Baseball team based in Mobile, Alabama, United States. The team, which played in the Southern League, served as the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres (1997–2006), Arizona Diamondbacks (2007–2 ...

and Class AAA with the

Salt Lake Bees The Salt Lake Bees are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. They are located in Salt Lake City, Utah, and play their home games at Smith's Ballpark. The ballpark o ...

in 2018, he was a combined 6–4 with a 5.75 ERA in 103.1 innings in 15 starts and 9 relief appearances. On November 2, 2018, he became a free agent. Through 2018, in the minor leagues he was 48–46 with a 4.17 ERA, as in 773.1 innings he gave up 847 hits (9.9 per 9 innings) and 121 walks (1.4 per 9 innings) while striking out 625 batters (7.3 per 9 innings). He is known for not overpowering batters with velocity, but rather relying on a good

changeup A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball and fastpitch softball. The changeup is a staple off-speed pitch often used in a pitcher's arsenal, usually thrown to look like a fastball but arriving much more slowly to the plate. Its reduced speed ...

and excellent control.

El Águila de Veracruz

On February 11, 2020, Unsworth signed with the

Pericos de Puebla The Pericos de Puebla (English: "Puebla Parrots") are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Puebla, Mexico. History The state of Puebla came upon baseball in the early 1920s when returning Poblanos that had come from militar ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

. However, he did not pitch with the team as the season was canceled due to 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 identi ...

. On February 18, 2021, Unsworth signed with

El Águila de Veracruz El Águila de Veracruz (English: ''The Veracruz Eagle'') is a professional baseball team that plays in the Mexican League. Based in Veracruz, Mexico, they play their home games at the Estadio Universitario Beto Ávila. History Baseball was intro ...

of the

for the 2021 season. On May 28, Unsworth threw a no-hitter against the

Diablos Rojos del México The Diablos Rojos del Mexico (English: Mexico Red Devils) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Mexico City, Mexico. The team was founded in 1940 by Salvador Lutteroth and Ernesto Carmona. The Diablos Rojos play their hom ...

. In 8 appearances with Veracruz, Unsworth recorded a 4–0 record and 2.57 ERA with 27 strikeouts in 42.0 innings of work.

Fubon Guardians

On July 22, 2021, Unsworth signed with the

of the

(CPBL). Unsworth made his CPBL debut on November 6. He became a free agent following the season.

El Águila de Veracruz (second stint)

On January 21, 2022, Unsworth signed with

of the

. He was released on May 25, 2022, after suffering a knee injury that would keep him out for several weeks.

Karachi Monarchs

On October 23, 2023, Unsworth was drafted in the sixth round by the Karachi Monarchs, with the 41st overall pick, of the 2023 Baseball United inaugural draft.

International career

As a member of the South African national baseball team, Unsworth competed in the

2009 Baseball World Cup The 2009 Baseball World Cup (BWC) was the 38th international Men's amateur baseball tournament. The tournament was sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation, which titled it the Amateur World Series from the 1938 tournament through t ...

2013 World Baseball Classic Qualification The Qualifying Round of the 2013 World Baseball Classic was held from September 19 to November 19, 2012. Although the 2006 and 2009 editions of the World Baseball Classic were contested by the same pre-selected field of 16 teams, for the 2013 tou ...

, and the

2017 World Baseball Classic Qualification The Qualifying Round of the 2017 World Baseball Classic was held from February 11 to September 25, 2016. Teams which participated at the 2013 World Baseball Classic were automatically qualified for the 2017 tournament except the four nations which ...

. He competed at the Africa/Europe 2020 Olympic Qualification tournament in Italy in September 2019.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Unsworth, Dylan 1992 births Living people Arizona League Mariners players Arkansas Travelers players Baseball pitchers Bakersfield Blaze players Clinton LumberKings players El Águila de Veracruz players Everett AquaSox players Fubon Guardians players High Desert Mavericks players Jackson Generals (Southern League) players Leones del Caracas players Mobile BayBears players Peoria Javelinas players Pulaski Mariners players Salt Lake Bees players South African expatriate baseball players in the United States Sportspeople from Durban Tacoma Rainiers players White South African people South African expatriate baseball players in Australia Expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Expatriate baseball players in Taiwan Expatriate baseball players in Mexico