Christopher Ryan Rowley (born August 14, 1990) is an American former 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 t ...

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 ...

. He played in

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) for the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

. He is also a

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a ...

in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

, assigned to the

Individual Ready Reserve The Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) is a category of the Ready Reserve of the Reserve Component of the Armed Forces of the United States composed of former active duty or reserve military personnel. Its governing statute is codified at . For so ...

(IRR). Upon his major-league debut in August 2017, Rowley became the first

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

graduate to play in MLB.

High school and college

Rowley attended South Forsyth High School in

Cumming, Georgia Cumming is a city in Forsyth County, Georgia, United States, and the sole incorporated area in the county. It is a suburban city, and part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. In the 2020 census, the population is 7,318, up from 5,430 in 2010. Su ...

, where he set school records in wins,

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), and strikeouts. After high school, Rowley was offered

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 p ...

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholars ...

s by

Mercer University Mercer University is a private research university with its main campus in Macon, Georgia. Founded in 1833 as Mercer Institute and gaining university status in 1837, it is the oldest private university in the state and enrolls more than 9,000 s ...

and the United States Military Academy (also called West Point). He chose the Military Academy over Mercer, as the Army Black Knights offered him a chance to start games, while the

Mercer Bears The Mercer Bears are the college athletics, athletic teams of Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, United States. Mercer is the only private university in Georgia with an NCAA Division I athletic program and fields teams in eight men's and nine wo ...

wanted him in the bullpen, working as a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weat ...

. In his first season with Army, he appeared in three games for the Black Knights and posted a 13.00 ERA in nine innings pitched. The following year, Rowley pitched to a 5–4

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 matc ...

, 4.68 ERA, and 54 strikeouts in 73 total innings. Rowley finished the 2012 campaign with an 11–1 record, which included six complete games and five

shutouts In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

, and added a 2.40 earned run average and 80 strikeouts in 97 innings. Following the season, he was named the Patriot League's Pitcher of the Year. In his final season with the Black Knights, Rowley went 9–4 with a 2.67 ERA and 75 strikeouts in 97 innings pitched.

Professional career

Toronto Blue Jays

Minor leagues and military

Undrafted after graduation, Rowley was invited by the

to play for the

Gulf Coast League Blue Jays The Florida Complex League Blue Jays are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Blue Jays. The team plays i ...

for the remainder of the 2013 season, after which he would begin his five-year

active duty Active duty, in contrast to reserve duty, is a full-time occupation as part of a military force. In the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth of Nations, the equivalent term is active service. India The Indian Armed Forces are considered to be o ...

obligation to the

. In nine games played, he pitched to a 4–0 record, 1.10 ERA, and 39 strikeouts in 32 innings. Rowley began his military service assigned to Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and was later assigned to

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

and

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

as a Field Artillery fire support officer. While assigned to Bulgaria for Operation Atlantic Resolve,

Rowley pitched to his company's senior medic to keep his arm in shape. After serving 30 months in the military, Rowley's application for an exception to the remainder of his commitment was approved on January 22, 2016, and he was assigned to Individual Ready Reserve. He played the entire year with the Advanced-A

Dunedin Blue Jays The Dunedin Blue Jays are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and are the Single-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays Major League Baseball club. They are located in Dunedin, Florida, and play their home games at TD Ballpar ...

, and posted a 10–3 win–loss record, 3.49 ERA, and 86 strikeouts in a career-high 123 innings. He was assigned to the Double-A

New Hampshire Fisher Cats The New Hampshire Fisher Cats are a Minor League Baseball team based in Manchester, New Hampshire. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays major league club. During the team's first seaso ...

to begin the 2017 season, and earned a promotion to the Triple-A

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen ...

on June 19. Rowley initially pitched out of the bullpen for Buffalo, and joined the starting rotation on July 4.

Major leagues

On August 12, 2017, Rowley was called up from Triple-A Buffalo to start against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He pitched 5 innings and allowed a single run on five hits and one walk with three strikeouts, and earned the win in the 7–2 victory. In his rookie season, Rowley recorded a 6.75 ERA and 1–2 record in 6 games. Rowley was outrighted off the 40-man roster on November 20, 2017. On January 24, 2018, the Blue Jays invited him to spring training as a non-roster invitee. He did not make the club and was assigned to Triple-A Buffalo to begin the year. Rowley was added to the active roster on July 14, 2018. In two games for Toronto in 2018, Rowley allowed four runs in innings pitched.

Texas Rangers

On July 23, 2018, Rowley was claimed off waivers by the Texas Rangers. He spent the remainder of the season with the Triple-A

Round Rock Express The Round Rock Express are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Round Rock, Texas, and play their home games at the Dell Diamond. The team is named ...

, logging a 2–3 record and 3.46 ERA in 7 games. On September 10, Rowley was outrighted off of the 40-man roster. He declared free agency on October 5, 2018.

San Diego Padres

On February 28, 2019, Rowley signed a minor league contract with the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

organization. He was assigned to the Triple-A

El Paso Chihuahuas The El Paso Chihuahuas are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. They are located in El Paso, Texas, and play their home games at Southwest University Park, which opened ...

, where he pitched to a 11.02 ERA in 16.1 innings of work, missing much of the year due to injury. He became a free agent following the 2019 season.

Minnesota Twins

On January 28, 2020, Rowley signed a minor league contract with the Minnesota Twins organization. Rowley did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of 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 ...

. He became a free agent on November 2, 2020.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rowley, Chris 1990 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Army Black Knights baseball players Baseball players from Atlanta Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Dunedin Blue Jays players El Paso Chihuahuas players Gulf Coast Blue Jays players Major League Baseball pitchers New Hampshire Fisher Cats players Round Rock Express players Toronto Blue Jays players United States Army officers United States Military Academy alumni