Hunter Luke Harvey (born December 9, 1994) is an American professional baseball relief pitcher for the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals.

Hunter Harvey
Harvey with the Baltimore Orioles in 2019
Kansas City Royals – No. 56
Pitcher
Born: (1994-12-09) December 9, 1994 (age 29)
Catawba, North Carolina, U.S.
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
MLB debut
August 17, 2019, for the Baltimore Orioles
MLB statistics
(through August 4, 2024)
Win–loss record9–11
Earned run average3.30
Strikeouts190
Saves11
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams

The Orioles selected Harvey with the 22nd pick in the first round of the 2013 MLB draft, and he made his major league debut with the team in 2019. He played for the Orioles through 2021 and played for the Nationals from 2022 to 2024 before being traded to the Royals.

Career

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Baltimore Orioles

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Harvey attended Bandys High School in Catawba, North Carolina. The Baltimore Orioles selected him in the first round of the 2013 Major League Baseball draft.[1] He signed with the Orioles on June 20, 2013,[2] and made his professional debut that season for the Gulf Coast Orioles of the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League.[3] In August he was promoted to the Aberdeen IronBirds of the Low-A New York-Penn League.[4][5] Overall, he started eight games, pitching to a 0–1 win–loss record with a 1.78 earned run average (ERA) with 33 strikeouts in 25+13 innings pitched.

Prior to the 2014 season, Harvey was ranked by Baseball Prospectus as the 58th-best prospect in baseball.[6] He spent the season with the Delmarva Shorebirds of the Single-A South Atlantic League[7] where at 19 years of age he pitched to a 7–5 record and 3.18 ERA in 17 starts covering 87.2 innings. His 10.9 strikeouts per 9 innings were tops in the league of all pitchers who had pitched 70 or more innings.[8] He was named an SAL mid-season All Star and an MiLB Organization All Star.

Harvey did not pitch in 2015 or 2016. On May 12, 2015, Harvey was shut down for six weeks due to tightness in his elbow.[9] He did not pitch for a minor league team in 2015. Harvey threw in an instructional league in September 2015.[10] He began the 2016 season on the disabled list, and then underwent Tommy John surgery in July which ended his season.[11] In 2017, Harvey pitched for Aberdeen and Delmarva, along with three rehab games with the Gulf Coast Orioles, pitching to an 0–1 record and 0.96 ERA with 30 strikeouts in 18+23 total innings pitched between the three teams (14.5 strikeouts per 9 innings).[12]

The Orioles added Harvey to their 40-man roster after the 2017 season.[13] They assigned him to the Bowie Baysox of the Double-A Eastern League to begin the 2018 season, but promoted him to the major leagues on April 9, to provide a fresh player for the relief corps.[14] However, he did not make his major league debut and was optioned back to Bowie two days later, and spent the remainder of the year there. In nine starts, he compiled a 1–2 record with a 5.57 ERA in 32+13 innings.[15]

On August 17, 2019, Harvey was promoted to the major leagues.[16] He made his major league debut that night versus the Boston Red Sox, striking out two batters over one scoreless inning.[17] He was credited with his first major-league win on August 20.[18] In 2019 in the minor leagues he was 3–6 with one save and a 5.00 ERA with 83 strikeouts in 75+23 innings. With the Orioles, he was 1–2 with a 1.40 ERA in seven relief appearances covering 6+13 innings in which he struck out 11 batters.[19]

In 2020 for the Orioles, Harvey was 0–2 and pitched to a 4.15 ERA with 6 strikeouts in 8.2 innings pitched in 10 games.[20]

On March 16, 2021, Harvey was placed on the 60-day injured list with an oblique strain.[21] He was activated off of the injured list on June 4.[22] Harvey was placed back on the injured list on July 2 with a right lat strain. In Triple-A, with the Norfolk Tides, he was 2–1 with an 8.10 ERA in 10 innings. With the Orioles, he was 0–0 with a 4.15 ERA in nine relief appearances covering 8.2 innings.[19]

Washington Nationals

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On November 5, 2021, Harvey was claimed off waivers by the San Francisco Giants.[23] He was designated for assignment on March 14, 2022, to create room on the roster for free agent signing Jakob Junis.

On March 21, 2022, Harvey was claimed off of waivers by the Washington Nationals.[24] Harvey was placed on the injured list on April 21 with a right forearm strain, later being transferred to the 60-day IL on June 14.[25] He was activated on July 10.[26]

Kansas City Royals

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On July 13, 2024, Harvey was traded to the Kansas City Royals in exchange for minor league prospect Cayden Wallace and a Competitive Balance Round A pick in the 2024 Major League Baseball draft.[27]

Personal life

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Harvey is the son of former Major League Baseball pitcher Bryan Harvey.[28][29] His brother Kris Harvey played in Minor League Baseball from 2005 to 2012.[30]

Harvey married Summer on December 31, 2021.[31]

References

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  1. ^ "O's go with bloodlines in taking Harvey at No. 22 | orioles.com: News". June 10, 2013. Archived from the original on June 10, 2013.
  2. ^ Melewski, Steve (June 20, 2013). "Orioles reach agreement with top draft pick Hunter Harvey". Masnsports.com. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  3. ^ "Harvey pitches one scoreless inning in his pro baseball debut". Hickoryrecord.com. July 19, 2013. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  4. ^ Daniel Gallen, The Baltimore Sun (August 20, 2013). "Hunter Harvey strikes out five in Aberdeen debut". Articles.baltimoresun.com. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  5. ^ "Harvey promoted to Aberdeen, will start tonight". Hickoryrecord.com. August 20, 2013. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  6. ^ Meoli, Jon (May 8, 2014). "Orioles prospect Hunter Harvey and the rise of an Internet darling". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  7. ^ Melewski, Steve (March 1, 2014). "After impressive pro debut, Hunter Harvey looks to take next step in 2014". Masnsports.com. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  8. ^ "2014 South Atlantic League Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com.
  9. ^ "Orioles pitching prospect Hunter Harvey shelved with elbow tightness". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  10. ^ "Orioles notebook: Hunter Harvey and Dylan Bundy expected to pitch in instructional league". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  11. ^ "Harvey looking forward to proving he's healthy". MLB.com. Retrieved March 30, 2018.
  12. ^ "Hunter Harvey Stats, Highlights, Bio – MiLB.com Stats". MiLB.com. Retrieved March 30, 2018.
  13. ^ "Orioles add pitchers Hunter Harvey and David Hess, catcher Austin Wynns to 40-man roster". Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  14. ^ "Orioles give pitching prospect Hunter Harvey his first big league callup". Baltimore Sun. March 20, 2018. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  15. ^ "Hunter Harvey Stats, Highlights, Bio – MiLB.com Stats – The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  16. ^ Jessica Camerato (August 18, 2019). "Harvey impresses in long-awaited MLB debut". MLB.com. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
  17. ^ Nathan Ruiz (August 17, 2019). "Hunter Harvey's dazzling debut comes in Orioles' 4–0 loss to Red Sox". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
  18. ^ Trezza, Joe. "Lights-out Harvey gets big lift for first MLB win," MLB.com, Tuesday, August 20, 2019. Retrieved August 20, 2019
  19. ^ a b "Hunter Harvey Minor Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com.
  20. ^ "Hunter Harvey Stats, Fantasy & News". MLB.com.
  21. ^ Franco, Anthony (March 16, 2021). "Orioles Sign Maikel Franco, Place Hunter Harvey On 60-Day IL". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  22. ^ "Orioles Make Several Roster Moves". MLB Trade Rumors.
  23. ^ "Giants Claim Hunter Harvey Off Waivers From Orioles". MLB Trade Rumors.
  24. ^ Adams, Steve (March 21, 2022). "Nationals Claim Hunter Harvey, Place Carter Kieboom On 60-Day Injured List". mlbtraderumors.com.
  25. ^ "Nationals' Hunter Harvey: Shifts to 60-day IL". cbssports.com. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  26. ^ "Nationals' Hunter Harvey: Back from IL". cbssports.com. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
  27. ^ Passan, Jeff (July 13, 2024). "Royals acquire Hunter Harvey from Nationals to bolster bullpen". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  28. ^ With MLB draft Thursday, Hunter Harvey knows his path Archived June 24, 2013, at archive.today
  29. ^ "COMMENTARY: Hunter Harvey's journey begins with Thursday's draft". Hickoryrecord.com. June 3, 2013. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  30. ^ "The family business: For Hunter Harvey, baseball has always been part of life". Archived from the original on March 27, 2015.
  31. ^ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
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