Kyle Edward Finnegan (born September 4, 1991) 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 ...

for the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

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).

Amateur career

Finnegan attended

Kingwood High School Kingwood High School is a Humble Independent School District secondary school located in the Kingwood community of Houston, Texas, United States and serves Portions of Kingwood and Atascocita. Ted Landry had been principal since May 29, 2011 unti ...

Kingwood, Texas Kingwood is a 14,000 acre (57 km²) master-planned community located in northeast Houston, Texas, United States. The majority of the community is located in Harris County with a small portion in Montgomery County. Known as the "Livable F ...

. He earned all-district first team honors while helping his team to a 27–7 mark as a senior and a district championship. Finnegan also played in the HABCA All-Star Game. Finnegan enrolled at

Texas State University Texas State University is a public research university in San Marcos, Texas. Since its establishment in 1899, the university has grown to the second largest university in the Greater Austin metropolitan area and the fifth largest university ...

. As a freshman, he had a 1–0

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...

, a 6.97

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA), struck out four batters in 10 1/3 innings of work. He earned the victory in his lone start of the season against

Prairie View A&M Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU or PV) is a public historically black land-grant university in Prairie View, Texas. Founded in 1876, it is one of Texas's two land-grant universities and the second oldest public institution of higher learning ...

and pitched three scoreless innings of relief against

McNeese State McNeese State University is a public university in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Founded in 1939 as Lake Charles Junior College, it was renamed McNeese Junior College after John McNeese, an early local educator. The present name was adopted in 1970. ...

. In his sophomore year, Finnegan appeared in 15 games, starting 14. He threw a career-high 8 innings twice, against

UT Arlington The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA or UT Arlington) is a public research university in Arlington, Texas. The university was founded in 1895 and was in the Texas A&M University System for several decades until joining the University of Te ...

and

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by bo ...

. He finished the year with a 3.28 ERA in 93 1/3 innings, limited opponents to just a .242 average, struck out 75 batters while walking just 26. He began the season 4–0, with wins in each of his first four starts. Finnegan fanned a season-high 12 opponents in 7 innings without allowing a run against Notre Dame. He allowed just two earned runs in 27 innings over his first four starts to begin the year. He threw a scoreless inning in his only relief appearance of the year, as part of an 8–4 win against TCU and struck out eight without walking any in 7 1/3 innings against

Sam Houston State Sam Houston State University (SHSU or Sam) is a public university in Huntsville, Texas. It was founded in 1879 and is the third-oldest public college or university in Texas. It is one of the first normal schools west of the Mississippi River and ...

. Following his sophomore season at Texas State, Finnegan was invited to play in 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 ...

where he played for the

Cotuit Kettleers The Cotuit Kettleers are a collegiate summer baseball team based in the village of Cotuit, Massachusetts, which is in the southwest corner of the town of Barnstable. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the lea ...

, helping them to a regular season championship.

Professional career

Oakland Athletics

The

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 ...

selected Finnegan in the sixth round (191st overall) of the

2013 MLB draft The 2013 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2013. The first two rounds were broadcast from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. Each team received one selection per round, going in ...

. Pitching for the

Vermont Lake Monsters The Vermont Lake Monsters are a collegiate summer baseball team located in Burlington, Vermont. From 1994 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's New York–Penn League (NYPL). They play their home games at Centennial Field, on ...

of the

Class A-Short Season Class A Short Season (officially Short-Season A) was a level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States from 1965 through 2020. In the hierarchy of minor league classifications, it was below Triple-A, Double-A, Class A-Advanced (cre ...

New York–Penn League The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed th ...

, he had a 3–3 record and a 2.70 earned run average in 2013. Also in the same year, pitching for the Class A

Beloit Snappers The Beloit Sky Carp are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in Beloit, Wisconsin, and play their home games at ABC Supply Stadium. They previously played at Harry C ...

of 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 ...

, he had a 1–1 record and a 9.82 ERA. In 2014, pitching for Beloit, he had 7–9 record and a 3.69 earned run average and 55 strikeouts. Finnegan was later named the starting pitcher for the west team in the 2014 Midwest League All-Star Game, where he earned the win tossing one shutout inning. Receiving a promotion to 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 ...

of the Double-A

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 ...

, he had a 0–1 record with an 11.81 earned run average. He spent the 2015 season with the

Stockton Ports The Stockton Ports are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. They are located in Stockton, California, and are named for the city's seaport. The team plays its home games at Ba ...

, going 9–9 with a 5. 44 ERA over 127 innings. He split the 2016 season between Stockton and Midland, going a combined 2–3 with a 2.54 ERA over 63.2 innings. He split the 2017 season between Midland and 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 ...

, going a combined 2–4 with a 3.88 ERA over 59 innings. He split the 2018 season between the

AZL Athletics The Arizona Complex League Athletics are a Minor League Baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona, which plays as a Rookie-level team in the Arizona Complex League and has served as a farm team for the Oakland Athletics organization since 1988. They ...

, Midland, and Nashville, going 1–3 with a 4.84 ERA over 44.2 innings. He split the 2019 season between Midland and the

Las Vegas Aviators The Las Vegas Aviators, formerly known as the Las Vegas 51s and Las Vegas Stars, are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. They are located in Summerlin South, Nevad ...

, going a combined 3–2 with a 2.31 ERA over 50.2 innings. He was named a 2019 Texas League All-Star. He became a free agent following the 2019 season.

Washington Nationals

On December 8, 2019, Finnegan signed a major league contract with the

. He made his major league debut on July 25, 2020 against the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

, allowing one hit and no runs in one inning of relief. Finnegan finished his rookie year with an ERA of 2.92 and 27 strikeouts in 25 appearances for the big league club. On May 5, 2021 in a game against 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 ...

, Finnegan pitched the fifth

immaculate inning In baseball, a strikeout occurs when a pitcher throws three strike zone, strikes to a Batting (baseball), batter during his time at bat. An immaculate inning occurs when a pitcher strikes out all three batters he faces in one inning, using the mi ...

in Nationals history, striking out

Austin Riley Michael Austin Riley (born April 2, 1997) is an American professional baseball third baseman for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). The Braves selected him in the first round, 41st overall, of the 2015 MLB Draft. Born in Memphis ...

Dansby Swanson James Dansby Swanson (born February 11, 1994) is an American professional baseball shortstop for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Atlanta Braves. The Arizona Diamondbacks selected him firs ...

, and William Contreras on nine pitches. He finished the season with a 3.55 ERA, 68 strikeouts and 34 walks in 66 innings. On January 13, 2023, Finnegan agreed to a one-year, $2.325 million contract with the Nationals, avoiding salary arbitration.

References

External links

Texas State Bobcats bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Finnegan, Kyle 1991 births Living people People from Kingwood, Texas Baseball players from Texas Major League Baseball pitchers Washington Nationals players Texas State Bobcats baseball players Cotuit Kettleers players Arizona League Athletics players Vermont Lake Monsters players Beloit Snappers players Stockton Ports players Midland RockHounds players Nashville Sounds players Naranjeros de Hermosillo players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Las Vegas Aviators players Águilas Cibaeñas players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks players