Kenneth Scott Koplove (born August 2, 1993) is an American

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

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 has played internationally with the

Israel national baseball team The Israel national baseball team ( he, נבחרת ישראל בבייסבול) represents Israel in international competitions. It is managed by Israeli-American former Major League Baseball World Series champion, World Baseball Classic champion, ...

and is currently a free agent. In high school, as a senior Koplove was named the 2012 Gatorade Pennsylvania Player of the Year. As a junior at

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

in 2015, he struck out 37 batters in 25.1 innings, while setting the school's single-season record with 11 saves. He was selected in the 17th round of the 2015 Major League Baseball Draft by the Philadelphia Phillies. Koplove was on the roster of Team Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic.

Early life

Koplove was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, Pennsylvania, and grew up in

South Philadelphia South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south and the Schuylkill River to the west."Kenny Koplove Bio,"
GoDuke.com. He is the younger brother of former major league pitcher Mike Koplove, who is 17 years older."Kenny Koplove Stats, Highlights, Bio,"
MiLB.com Stats. He also has two older sisters; named Andrea and Erica.

High school

Koplove played high school baseball for

William Penn Charter School William Penn Charter School (commonly known as Penn Charter or simply PC) is an independent school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1689 at the urging of William Penn as the "Public Grammar School" and chartered in 1689 to be op ...

. He was named 2009 Southeastern Pennsylvania Rookie of the Year by the ''Philadelphia Inquirer'', and the Inter-Academic League (Inter-Ac High School League) Most Valuable Player. He was then named the 2011 Southeastern Pennsylvania Top Junior Pitcher by the ''Pennsylvania Inquirer''. As a senior in 2012, Koplove was 9–1 with a 2.06 ERA, and 80 strikeouts in 48.0 innings, and batted .347, and was named the 2012 Gatorade/ESPN Pennsylvania Player of the Year, as well as 2012 Rawlings Baseball First Team All-Atlantic Region. He was three-time First-Team All-State and First-Team All Inter-Ac League. His fastball reached 94

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 ...

College

Koplove played shortstop and pitched in college for

for the Blue Devils. As a freshman in 2013, he started 45 games at shortstop, and pitched in three games. He played for the

Chatham Anglers The Chatham Anglers, more commonly referred to as the Chatham A's and formerly the Chatham Athletics, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Chatham, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in t ...

of the

Cape Cod 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 ...

over the summer, batting .296 and making one relief appearance. As a sophomore in 2014 he started 55 games at shortstop. As a junior in 2015 he was the team's starting shortstop, starting 43 games, and primary closer, pitching 21 times in relief with a 2.13 ERA while striking out 37 batters in 25.1 innings, and setting the school's single-season record with 11 saves.

Minor leagues

Philadelphia Phillies

Koplove was selected in the 17th round of the 2015 Major League Baseball Draft by the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

, and signed for a $75,000

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

. In 2015, he pitched for the

Williamsport Crosscutters The Williamsport Crosscutters are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and play their home games at Muncy Bank Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field. From 1994 to 2020, they were a ...

of the Class A (short-season)

New York-Penn League New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

, and in 23 games in relief went 2–3 with a 4.50 ERA. In 2016 Koplove split the season between the Crosscutters, for whom in 16 games in relief he had a 3.76 ERA, and the

Lakewood BlueClaws The Jersey Shore BlueClaws (formerly Lakewood BlueClaws) are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Lakewood, New Jersey, and are named for their locat ...

of the Class A

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

, for whom in 11.2 innings he had a 15.43 ERA.

Miami Marlins

In May 2017 he was released by the Phillies, and the following month he was signed by the

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

organization. For the season, he played for the

and the

Batavia Muckdogs The Batavia Muckdogs are a collegiate summer baseball team in the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL). They are located in Batavia, a city in Genesee County, New York, United States. Their home field is Dwyer Stadium in the city of Ba ...

of the Class A-

, and pitched a combined 3–2 with one save and a 7.84 ERA in 20.2 innings, in which he struck out 26 batters. He had elbow surgery in November 2017, and was released by the Marlins organization on March 31, 2018.

Sussex County Miners

On April 11, 2018, Koplove signed with the

Sussex County Miners The Sussex County Miners are a professional independent league baseball team based in the Augusta section of Frankford Township in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. The Miners are members of the East Division of the Frontier League, an ...

of the independent

Can-Am League The Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball, commonly known as the Can-Am League, was a professional, independent baseball league with teams in the Northeast United States and Eastern Canada, founded in 2005 as a reorganization ...

. Pitching for them in 2018 he was 7–4 with 2 saves and a 2.61 ERA (3rd in the league) over 31 games, 9 of which were starts, limiting opposing batters to a .201 batting average. In the playoffs in 2018, he was 2–0 with a save and a 1.68 ERA over 3 games.

Colorado Rockies

In November 2018, the Miners sold Koplove's contract to the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

. He spent the majority of the 2019 season with the Class-A Advanced

Lancaster JetHawks The Lancaster JetHawks were a baseball team located in Lancaster, California. They were named for the city's association with the aerospace industry and played their home games at The Hangar. From 1996 to 2020, they were members of Minor League ...

, pitching to a 2–1 record with a 3.60 ERA, with 16 strikeouts in 15 innings, as well as one scoreless three-inning appearance in which he struck out five batters with the Class AAA

Albuquerque Isotopes The Albuquerque Isotopes are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They play home games at Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at an e ...

of the

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 ...

, before he was released on June 7, 2019.Kenny Koplove College, Minor & Independent Leagues Statistics & History , Baseball-Reference.com
/ref>

Kansas City T-Bones

On June 19, 2019, Koplove signed with the

Kansas City T-Bones The Kansas City Monarchs are a professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Kansas. Formerly known as the Kansas City T-Bones, they are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball; which, in 2020, became designated as a Majo ...

of the independent

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

, with whom he was 2–3 with a 6.37 ERA in 29.2 innings over six starts. He was released by the club on December 19, 2019.

Team Israel; World Baseball Classic

Koplove was on the roster of Team Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic.Todd Zolecki (February 8, 2017)
">"Ten Phillies to play in World Baseball Classic,"
mlb.com.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Koplove, Kenny 1993 births Living people Baseball players from Philadelphia Chatham Anglers players Duke Blue Devils baseball players Jewish American baseball players Kansas City T-Bones players Lakewood BlueClaws players Lancaster JetHawks players Sussex County Miners players William Penn Charter School alumni Williamsport Crosscutters players 2017 World Baseball Classic players 21st-century American Jews