Ricky Karcher

Ricky T. Karcher (born September 18, 1997) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Cincinnati Reds organization. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut in 2023.

Ricky Karcher
Karcher with the Louisville Bats in 2023
Cincinnati Reds
Pitcher
Born: (1997-09-18) September 18, 1997
Saline, Michigan, U.S.
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
MLB debut
June 12, 2023, for the Cincinnati Reds
MLB statistics
(through 2023 season)
Win–loss record0–0
Earned run average0.00
Strikeouts0
Teams

Early life and amateur career

Karcher grew up in Ponte Vedra, Florida, and initially attended Ponte Vedra High School.[1] Prior to his senior year of high school his family relocated to Saline, Michigan, and he transferred to Saline High School.[2] In his lone season at Saline, Karcher had a 9–0 win–loss record with 0.41 earned run average (ERA).[3]

Karcher enrolled at the University of Michigan and began his college baseball career with the Michigan Wolverines. After his freshman season, he transferred to Walters State Community College.[4] Karcher went 7–3 with a 4.27 ERA in 15 appearances with 12 starts in his lone season at Walters State.[5]

Professional career

The Cincinnati Reds selected Karcher in the 13th round of the 2017 Major League Baseball draft.[6] He spent his first three seasons with the team primarily as a starting pitcher and was assigned to the Arizona League Reds, Greeneville Reds, and Billings Mustangs.[5] Karcher did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[7]

He began the 2021 season with the Daytona Tortugas of Low-A Southeast and was moved to the bullpen.[8] He made nine appearances and struck out 19 batters with Daytona before being promoted to the High-A Dayton Dragons.[5] Karcher was assigned to the Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts at the start of the 2022 season. He was promoted to the Triple-A Louisville Bats after posting a 3.24 ERA with 42 strikeouts in 25 innings pitched.[9] On November 15, 2022, the Reds added Karcher to their 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.[10]

Karcher was optioned to the Triple-A Louisville Bats to begin the 2023 season.[11] On June 9, 2023, he was promoted to the major leagues for the first time after Graham Ashcraft was placed on the injured list.[12] Karcher made his debut on June 12, 2023, in the 10th inning of the Reds' 5–4 victory over the Kansas City Royals and earned the save after pitching a scoreless inning to end the game.[13] In 29 appearances for Louisville, he struggled to a 7.18 ERA with 36 strikeouts and 2 saves in 31+1⁄3 innings pitched. On July 6, Karcher was designated for assignment after Tony Santillan was activated from the injured list.[14] He cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple–A Louisville on July 10.[15]

References
  1. "Cincinnati Reds draft former Shark Ricky Karcher". Ponte Vedra Recorder. June 22, 2017. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
  2. "How Saline baseball became a midwest college breeding ground". MLive.com. March 30, 2016. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  3. Wickliffe, Greg (June 9, 2023). "Cincinnati Reds call up former Saline pitcher Ricky Karcher for MLB debut". MLive.com. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  4. Hawkins, Kenny (June 14, 2017). "Five players with Walters State ties selected in MLB Draft". WJHL.com. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  5. Nichols, Tom (March 29, 2022). "Dayton Dragons 2022 Team Preview: Part 8—The Relief Pitchers". MiLB.com. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
  6. "2017 MLB draft: Players taken with Tennessee ties". The Tennessean. June 13, 2017. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  7. "2020 Minor League Baseball season cancelled". mlb.com. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  8. "Cincinnati Reds Minor League Daytona Tortugas have top pitching staff". Cincinnati Enquirer. May 27, 2021. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  9. "Cincinnati Reds top prospects: Brandon Williamson promoted to Triple=A". Cincinnati Enquirer. June 28, 2022. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  10. "De La Cruz, Marte among 6 added to Reds' 40-man spot". mlb.com. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
  11. "Reds' Ricky Karcher: Optioned to Triple-A". cbssports.com. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  12. "Reds' Ricky Karcher: Summoned to big leagues". cbssports.com. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  13. Sheldon, Mark (June 13, 2023). "Karcher earns save in debut to remember". MLB.com. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  14. "Reds' Ricky Karcher: Designated for assignment". cbssports.com. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  15. "Reds' Ricky Karcher: Remains in organization". cbssports.com. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
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