Steven Kent (baseball)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Steven Kent | |
|---|---|
| Canberra Cavalry – No. 23 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: 8 May 1989 Canberra, Australia | |
Bats: Left Throws: Left | |
| Stats at Baseball Reference |
Steven John Kent (born 8 May 1989) is an Australian professional baseball pitcher for the Canberra Cavalry of the Australian Baseball League.
Kent is a four time ABL All-Star.[1][2][3]
Atlanta Braves
Kent signed with the Atlanta Braves as an international free agent in 2005 for a $370,000 signing bonus.[4][5] In 2007 the Australian Baseball Federation named him the youth player of the year.[6] He started his professional career in 2006 playing for the GCL Braves of the rookie-level Gulf Coast League. After a successful return from Tommy John surgery during the 2015–16 ABL season Kent trialed with the Kansas City Royals.[7] In January 2016 it was announced that Kent has signed with his former club the Atlanta Braves.[8] Kent spent the majority of the 2016 season playing with Atlanta's AA side the Mississippi Braves. In September 2016 Kent was promoted to Atlanta's AAA side the Gwinnett Braves.[9]
Canberra Cavalry
Kent has played for the Canberra Cavalry[10] in the Australian Baseball League since their opening season in 2010. Before the 2013–14 ABL season he hurt his ulnar collateral ligament in a Baseball ACT game, and had a Tommy John surgery on 2 December 2015, sidelining him for the entire 2013–14, and most of the 2014–15 ABL season.[11]
On 14 November 2015 he threw a 7-inning complete game shutout against the Brisbane Bandits.[12] On 21 November he threw 8+2⁄3 shutout innings against the Melbourne Aces, but gave up a 2-run home run against Brad Harman.[13] He was named as the Pitcher of the Week of 12–15 November and 19–22 November.[14]
On 15 March 2018, against the Belconnen Bandits, he set a new Baseball Canberra single-game strikeout record, striking out 23 hitters in a complete-game shutout.[15] Kent finished the 2018–19 ABL season with a team record and league-leading 7 wins and was named as the best Cavalry player of the season.[16]
On 12 February 2019 he was invited for spring training of Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) with Steven Chambers.[17][18]