Philip James Pfeifer (born July 15, 1992) 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

Canberra Cavalry The Canberra Cavalry (nicknamed Cavs) is a professional baseball team from Canberra, ACT, Australia. Established in 2010, the team is a founding member of the Australian Baseball League (ABL). The Cavs home ground is Narrabundah Ballpark, kno ...

of the

Australian Baseball League The Australian Baseball League (ABL) is a professional baseball league in Australia. The league is governed by the Australian Baseball Federation (ABF). It uses the same name as a now-defunct competition held during the 1990s, and though it ...

. He previously 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 ...

for the

Vanderbilt Commodores The Vanderbilt Commodores are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Vanderbilt University, located in Nashville, Tennessee. Vanderbilt fields 16 varsity teams (6 men's teams and 10 women's teams), 14 of which compete at the National ...

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

Amateur career

Pfeifer graduated from

Farragut High School Farragut High School, located at 11237 Kingston Pike, serves as a high school in Farragut, a suburb of Knoxville, Tennessee. Knox County Schools, the unified Knox County, Tennessee school district, operates the school. The school serves the ma ...

Farragut, Tennessee Farragut is a suburban town located in Knox and Loudon counties in the State of Tennessee, United States. The town's population was 23,506 at the 2020 census. It is included in the Knoxville Metropolitan Area. The town is named in honor of Hispa ...

. He played for the school's baseball team, and set a state record by recording 46 wins. He enrolled at

to play

for the

Vanderbilt Commodores baseball The Vanderbilt Commodores baseball team is an American National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) college baseball team. From Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, the team participates in the Eastern division of the Southeastern Co ...

team. In 2012, 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 Orleans Firebirds 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 ...

. Pfeifer was suspended for the 2014 season due to substance abuse issues, but returned to the team in 2015.

Professional career

Los Angeles Dodgers

The

Los Angeles 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 ...

selected Pfeifer in the third round, with the 101st overall selection, of the

2015 MLB Draft Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak album ...

. The Dodgers signed Pfeifer and assigned him to the

Ogden Raptors The Ogden Raptors are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. They are located in Ogden, Utah and play their home games at Lindquist Field. Pitcher ...

where he pitched scoreless innings for the season. Pfeifer began 2016 with the

Great Lakes Loons The Great Lakes Loons are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Midland, Michigan, and play their home games at Dow Diamond, which opened in April 2007. Histor ...

and was later promoted to the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes.

Atlanta Braves

On June 30, 2016, the Dodgers traded Pfeifer and Caleb Dirks to 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 ...

for

Bud Norris David Stefan "Bud" Norris (March 2, 1985) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Baltimore Orioles, San Diego Padres, Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles ...

, Dian Toscano, a

player to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

(Alec Grosser), and cash. The Braves assigned Pfeifer to the

Carolina Mudcats The Carolina Mudcats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Zebulon, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh, and play their home games at Five County Stadium. ...

and he was promoted to the

Mississippi Braves The Mississippi Braves, or M-Braves as they are referred to locally, are a Minor League Baseball team based in Pearl, Mississippi, a suburb of Jackson. The team is the Double-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves and plays in the Southern League. ...

in July. In 34 combined games between Great Lakes, Rancho Cucamonga, Carolina and Mississippi, Pfeifer posted a 4–1 record and 3.02 ERA with sixty strikeouts in total innings. In 2017, he played for both Mississippi and the

Gwinnett Braves The Gwinnett Stripers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They play their home games at Coolray Field in unincorporated Gwinnett County, Georgia (with a Lawrencevil ...

, pitching to a combined 1–5 record and 3.49 ERA in 41 total games between both clubs, and in 2018, he returned to pitch for both Mississippi and Gwinnett, going 2–3 with a 5.73 ERA in 39 games. He returned to Mississippi to begin 2019 before being promoted to the

Gwinnett Stripers The Gwinnett Stripers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They play their home games at Coolray Field in unincorporated Gwinnett County, Georgia (with a Lawrencevil ...

. Over thirty games (18 starts) between both clubs, Pfeifer went 6–8 with a 2.97 ERA, striking out 159 over innings. Pfeifer was added to the Braves 40–man roster following the 2019 season. Following his father's death on July 1, 2018, Pfeifer planned to retire from professional baseball and enroll in law school after the 2019 season ended. Instead, Pfeifer continued pitching in the

, was added to the Braves 40–man roster, and participated in spring training at the major league level. He did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by 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 identif ...

. On February 23, 2021, Pfeifer was designated for assignment by Atlanta after the signing of

Jake Lamb Jacob Ryan Lamb (born October 9, 1990) is an American professional baseball infielder in the Los Angeles Angels organization. He made his MLB debut with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2014, and was an All-Star in 2017. He has also played in MLB fo ...

was made official. On February 26, Pfeifer was outrighted to the Triple-A

. On March 14, 2021, Pfeifer was released.

San Francisco Giants

On March 20, 2021, Pfeifer signed a minor league contract with 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 Yor ...

organization that included an invitation to Spring Training. He pitched to a 7.13ERA over 35.1 innings between AAA Sacramento and AA Richmond, making 4 starts and 10 appearances in relief. He elected free agency at the end of the season on November 7, 2021.

Canberra Cavalry

On November 12, 2022, Pfeifer signed with the

of the

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pfeifer, Philip 1992 births Living people Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Knoxville, Tennessee Canberra Cavalry players Carolina Mudcats players Farragut High School alumni Florida Fire Frogs players Great Lakes Loons players Gwinnett Braves players Gwinnett Stripers players Mississippi Braves players Ogden Raptors players Orleans Firebirds players Rancho Cucamonga Quakes players Richmond Flying Squirrels players Sacramento River Cats players Vanderbilt Commodores baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Australia