Robert Charles Orlan (born September 28, 1990) is a left-handed-throwing, right-handed batting 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 is currently a free agent. In high school in Virginia, he was All-District as a pitcher as a junior, All-State as a utility player as a senior, and All-District Academic three years. He was drafted by the Washington Nationals in the 30th round of the

2012 Major League Baseball draft The 2012 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held from June 4 through June 6, 2012, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Houston Astros, with the first overall pick, selected Carlos Correa from the Puerto R ...

out of the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

. In 2016, he led the Class A-Advanced

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

hold Hold may refer to: Physical spaces * Hold (ship), interior cargo space * Baggage hold, cargo space on an airplane * Stronghold, a castle or other fortified place Arts, entertainment, and media * Hold (musical term), a pause, also called a Fermat ...

s, with eight. He pitched for Team Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic, in March 2017.

Early life

Orlan was born in

Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania Bryn Mawr, pronounced , from Welsh for big hill, is a census-designated place (CDP) located across three townships: Radnor Township and Haverford Township in Delaware County, and Lower Merion Township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It i ...

, grew up in Glen Allen, Virginia, and is Jewish."R.C. Orlan Minor Leagues Statistics & History,"
Baseball-Reference.com."R.C. Orlan Biography,"
goheels.com. He is the son of Adam and Margie Orlan. His father ran for the Wolverines track team at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, and became a corporate executive in New York.Matt Clements (May 17, 2009)
"Signee Profile: Robert Orlan - North Carolina,"
Scout. His paternal grandfather was Herbert Orlan, who was born in

the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

, New York, to Abraham and Flora (Rothouse) Orlansky, and his paternal grandmother is Marilyn Orlan.

High school

Orlan attended

Deep Run High School Deep Run High School is a part magnet high school in Henrico County, Virginia, United States. It is named after Deep Run School, one of Henrico County's first schools which was a two-room schoolhouse that can still be found on the grounds of Short ...

(2009) in Glen Allen, where he pitched and played first base and outfield for the baseball team while batting right-handed. He was All-District as a pitcher as a junior, All-State as a utility player as a senior, and All-District Academic three years. He threw a

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 thro ...

circle change In baseball, a circle changeup (also called the "okay changeup", related to the thumb and index finger touching) is a pitch thrown with a grip that includes a circle formation, hence the name circle changeup. The circle is formed by making a ...

curveball In baseball and softball, the curveball is a type of pitch thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball, causing it to dive as it approaches the plate. Varieties of curveball include the 12–6 curve ...

, and

slider Slider or Sliders may refer to: Arts * K.K. Slider, a fictional character within the ''Animal Crossing'' franchise * ''The Slider'', a 1972 album by T. Rex * Sliders (TV series), ''Sliders'' (TV series), an American science fiction and fantasy t ...

. He was timed at 7.41 in the

60-yard dash 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

. He was drafted by 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 ...

in the 44th round of the 2009 Major League Baseball draft from Deep Run High School, but did not sign and instead elected to attend college.

College

For college, Orlan attended the

, where he majored in Management and pitched for the

Tar Heels Tar Heel is a nickname applied to the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is also the nickname of the University of North Carolina athletic teams, students, alumni, and fans. The origins of the Tar Heel nickname trace back to North Carolina's promi ...

. As a freshman in 2010, he pitched 12.1 innings."Baseball Announces 2012 Award Winners,"
goheels.com, June 8, 2012. In the summer of 2010 he pitched for the

Bourne Braves The Bourne Braves are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Bourne, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Braves play their home games at Doran Park on the c ...

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 ...

, and had a 3.06 ERA. As a sophomore in 2011, in 32 games he was 2-0 with a 3.79 ERA, striking out 24 batters in 19 innings. In the summer of 2011 he again pitched for the Bourne Braves, and had a 1.50 ERA with 21 strikeouts in 18 innings. As a junior in 2012, in 38 games (leading the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

) Orlan was 8-1 with a 2.21 ERA, striking out 66 batters in 57 innings as he walked 11 hitters. He was drafted by 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 ...

in the 30th round of the

from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and signed in January 2013."R.C. Orlan Stats, Highlights, Bio,"
MiLB.com.

Minor leagues

He began his professional career in 2013 with the

Auburn Doubledays The Auburn Doubledays are a collegiate summer baseball team of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL) that is located in Auburn, New York. From 1958 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's New York–Penn League (NYPL) ...

of the A (Short)

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, ...

, starting 11 of the 13 games in which he pitched, and going 1-5 with a 3.65 ERA. In 2014 Orlan pitched again for Auburn, going 1-0 with a 4.19 ERA in 17 relief appearances as he struck out 37 batters in 34.1 innings, and pitched for the

Hagerstown Suns The Hagerstown Suns were a Minor League Baseball team based in Hagerstown, Maryland. They were a member of the South Atlantic League and, from 2007 through 2020, were the Class A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They played their home g ...

of the 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 ...

, going 0-2 with a 6.28 ERA in 6 relief appearances as he struck out 21 batters in 14.1 innings. In 2015 Orlan pitched again for Hagerstown, going 3-1 with a 3.23 ERA and 4 saves in 27 relief appearances as he stuck out 68 batters in 55.2 innings, and pitched for the

Potomac Nationals The Potomac Nationals were a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League. They were located in Woodbridge, Virginia, and played their home games at Northwest Federal Field at Pfitzner Stadium. After the 2019 season, the team relocated to Fr ...

of the Class A-Advanced

, going 0-0 with a 2.20 ERA and a save in 8 relief appearances while striking out 17 batters in 16.1 innings. In 2016, he again pitched for the Potomac Nationals, going 5-6 with a 3.93 ERA and 8

s (leading the league) in 41 relief appearances (4th in the league) as he held his opponents to a .211 batting average. In 2017, Orlan began the season pitching for the Potomac Nationals, and was 2-1 with a 3.21 ERA with 5 saves and 29 strikeouts in 28 innings.Byron Kerr (April 19, 2017)
"Harper rewriting record books; another Ross moving up,"
MASNSports.com. He was promoted to the

Harrisburg Senators The Harrisburg Senators are a Minor League Baseball team of the Eastern League, and the Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, who play their home games at FNB Field on City Island, which opened in 1987 a ...

of the AA Eastern League, where he was 1-3 with a 5.09 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 23 innings. 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 ...

drafted Orlan in the minor league Rule 5 draft in December 2017. Orlan pitched for five minor league teams in 2018, primarily for the

Akron RubberDucks The Akron RubberDucks are a Minor League Baseball team based in Akron, Ohio. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They play in Canal Park, located in downtown Akron, which seats 7,630 ...

in the AA Eastern League, going 1-0 with 3 saves and an 0.61 ERA in 23 games over 29.2 innings, in which he walked 7 batters and struck out 39.R.C. Orlan Minor Leagues Statistics & History , Baseball-Reference.com
/ref> The Indians re-signed Orlan to a minor league contract for the 2019 season on October 25, 2018. The deal included an invitation to the Indians' 2019 major league spring training camp. In 2019 he pitched for the

Columbus Clippers The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy Merchant ship, mercha ...

of the Class AAA

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

, and was 0-2 with a 7.53 ERA in 14.1 innings. Orlan was released by the Indians on May 14, 2019.

World Baseball Classic; Team Israel

Orlan was on the roster to pitch for

Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic Team Israel has competed in the World Baseball Classic since the 2013 World Baseball Classic qualifier round. In 2017 Israel competed at a World Baseball Classic qualifier for the second time, and for the first time qualified for the main tourname ...

qualifier. Although he did not pitch, his father was quoted saying "I am very proud of Team Israel, it has been a fun experience." Orlan pitched for Team Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic main tournament in March 2017. He relieved in two games, getting five outs while giving up one hit and one earned run."Lefty R.C. Orlan goes from Team Israel to Potomac Nationals"
''Prince William Times''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Orlan, R. C. 1990 births Living people Auburn Doubledays players Baseball players from Virginia Bourne Braves players Hagerstown Suns players Harrisburg Senators players Jewish American baseball players North Carolina Tar Heels baseball players Potomac Nationals players 2017 World Baseball Classic players People from Henrico County, Virginia 21st-century American Jews