Kyle Crick


Kyle Daniel Crick is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball. He previously played for the San Francisco Giants, for whom he made his MLB debut in 2017.

Career

High School career

Crick attended Sherman High School in Sherman, Texas. He played for the school's baseball team as a first baseman and third baseman, and only occasionally as a pitcher. He became a full-time pitcher in his senior year, and he had a 7–2 win–loss record and a 1.11 earned run average with 95 strikeouts. Crick committed to attend Texas Christian University to play college baseball for the TCU Horned Frogs.

San Francisco Giants

The San Francisco Giants selected Crick in the first round, with the 49th overall selection, of the 2011 Major League Baseball draft. Citing arm injuries suffered by TCU pitchers, Crick opted to sign with the Giants rather than attend college. He received a $900,000 signing bonus. After signing, he made his professional debut that year with the AZL Giants of the Rookie League Arizona Fall League, going 1–0 with a 6.43 ERA in seven relief innings pitched. Crick pitched to a 7–6 record and 2.51 ERA with 128 strikeouts in innings pitched in 23 games for the Augusta GreenJackets of the Class A South Atlantic League in 2012.
Prior to the 2013 season, Baseball America ranked Crick as the Giants' best prospect. He was also ranked as the 86th best prospect in baseball by MLB.com. He pitched for the San Jose Giants of the Class A-Advanced California League in 2013, and was the Giants' lone representative in the All-Star Futures Game. Crick pitched to a 3–1 record and a 1.57 ERA with 95 strikeouts in innings pitched in 14 starts for San Jose. He missed two months of the season with an oblique injury, and was assigned to the Scottsdale Scorpions of the Arizona Fall League to make up for missed innings. He earned comparisons to Giants pitcher Matt Cain.
Before the 2014 season, MLB.com ranked him as the 32nd best prospect in all of baseball, jumping 54 spots from his previous ranking of 89th overall in 2013. He was also ranked by Baseball America as the 33rd best prospect in baseball. Crick pitched for the Richmond Flying Squirrels of the Class AA Eastern League in 2014, compiling a 6–7 record and 3.79 ERA in 23 games. Crick returned to Richmond in 2015, and struggled with his control, walking 66 batters in 63 innings pitched. He was removed from the starting rotation and used as a relief pitcher. In 36 games for Richmond, he was 3–4 with a 3.29 ERA and 1.79 WHIP. After the 2015 season, the Giants added Crick to their 40-man roster to protect him from being eligible for selection in the Rule 5 draft.
Crick returned to Richmond in 2016 as a starting pitcher. In 23 starts, he pitched to a 4–11 record and a 5.04 ERA. After a strong performance in spring training in 2017, he was assigned to the Sacramento River Cats of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League to begin the season. As a relief pitcher, he had a 1–2 record and a 2.76 ERA in innings pitched across 24 appearances, with 39 strikeouts.
On June 20, the Giants promoted Crick to the major leagues as a middle reliever. He made his major league debut on June 22. Crick remained with the Giants for the remainder of the season and had a 3.06 ERA in major league innings, striking out 28 and allowing 17 walks.

Pittsburgh Pirates

On January 15, 2018, the Giants traded Crick, Bryan Reynolds and $500,000 of international bonus slot money to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for Andrew McCutchen and cash considerations. Crick began the 2018 season with the Indianapolis Indians of the Class AAA International League, and was promoted to the Pirates on April 13. Crick spent the entire season pitching out of the bullpen, leading the team in ERA with a 2.39 in 64 games. He struck out 65 batters in innings.
Crick had a 4.96 ERA in 52 games for Pittsburgh in 2019. On September 10, Crick and Felipe Vázquez got into a clubhouse fight. Crick broke his finger, requiring season-ending surgery on the tendon.

Personal life

Crick has a fraternal twin named Kevin.