Austin Davis (baseball)


Austin Richard Davis is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball. He was drafted by the Phillies in the 12th round of the 2014 Major League Baseball draft. Davis made his major league debut in.

Early life

Davis was born to Rick and Jeri Davis and grew up in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he was born. He attended Desert Mountain High School in Scottsdale, where he played baseball and was a first team All-Region and All-City.
Davis attended California State University, Bakersfield, and he played college baseball for the Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners. In two seasons with the Roadrunners, Davis posted a 5–10 record with a 4.56 ERA and 95 strikeouts over 28 appearances. The Philadelphia Phillies selected Davis in the 12th round of the 2014 MLB draft.

Career

Minor leagues

After signing, Davis made his professional debut in 2014 with the Rookie Gulf Coast League Phillies where he was 1–1 with three saves and a 2.59 ERA and 27 strikeouts in innings pitched. In 2015, he played for the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws with whom he pitched to a 5–6 record with a 3.76 ERA in 33 games with 81 strikeouts in 95.2 innings.
In 2016, he split time between Lakewood and the Class A-Advanced Clearwater Threshers. In 13 relief innings pitched for Lakewood, Davis was 1–0 with one save and 17 strikeouts and did not give up an earned run, averaging 11.8 strikeouts per 9 innings, and in innings pitched for Clearwater, he was 0–1 with one save and a 5.28 ERA with 18 strikeouts in innings, averaging 10.6 strikeouts per 9 innings. He missed the first two months of the season due to injury.
Davis spent 2017 with both Clearwater and the Double-A Reading Fightin Phils, pitching to a 6–2 record with two saves and a 2.60 ERA and 75 strikeouts in innings in 42 relief appearances between both clubs. He began 2018 with Reading and was promoted to the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs on June 1. Between the two teams, in 2018 he was 1–2 with a 2.82 ERA, and 50 strikeouts in innings, averaging 11.7 strikeouts per 9 innings.
In 2019 for Lehigh Valley, Davis was 4-1 with three saves and a 2.75 ERA, in 37 relief appearances in which he pitched 52.1 innings and struck out 64 batters, averaging 11.0 strikeouts per 9 innings. He was an International League mid-season All Star.

Philadelpia Phillies

Philadelphia promoted Davis to the major leagues on June 18, 2018. He made his Major League debut on June 20 against the St. Louis Cardinals. He was the first Cal State Bakersfield baseball player to play in Major League Baseball. He finished his first Major League season with a 1–2 record, along with a 4.15 ERA and 38 strikeouts over the course of 32 appearances, averaging 9.9 strikeouts per 9 innings.
In 2019 for the Phillies, Davis was 0-0 with a 6.53 ERA, as in 14 relief appearances he pitched 20.2 innings and struck out 24 batters, averaging 10.5 strikeouts per 9 innings.