Austin Kitchen (2020) Headed to MLB With Colorado Rockies
WASHINGTON, Pa. (June 22) – Left-handed pitcher and Mt. Lebanon product Austin Kitchen has had his contract selected by the Colorado Rockies from Triple-A Albuquerque. Kitchen, who played under the Wild Things’ umbrella on a Wild Things’ contract in 2020 with the Steel City Slammin’ Sammies is the third former Wild Thing in the last three weeks to be called up to a big-league roster and the seventh for the team overall.
Kitchen was undrafted out of Coastal Carolina University in 2019 and spent the summer of 2020 with the Slammin’ Sammies. He posted 11 strikeouts and a 1.50 ERA in 12 innings of work before having his contract purchased by the Rockies organization.
He was assigned to Fresno (A) in 2021 and appeared in 19 games (eight starts), logging a 4.97 ERA in 50.2 innings pitched with just 14 walks and 38 strikeouts. Kitchen split times in 2022 between High-A Spokane and Double-A Hartford and was 5-2 with a 3.32 ERA in 36 games (four starts) that season. Kitchen logged 81.1 innings that season and allowed 23 walks and 72 hits to 71 strikeouts. Last season, the southpaw saw time in Double-A Hartford (43 games) and Triple-A Albuquerque (two appearances). He was 6-3 with a 4.45 ERA in 45 total appearances with 54 strikeouts and just 16 walks in 60.2 innings.
This season, after making five appearances with Hartford and allowing just one run, he was promoted to Albuquerque and there he has appeared in 18 games from the pen, logging 24.2 innings with just six walks and 18 strikeouts to the tune of a 3.65 ERA and a 3-0 record.
Now he’s headed to the big leagues with the Rockies and onto the 40-man roster as Geoff Hartlieb was designated for assignment.
“[Austin’s] another great example of the work we did in 2020 paying off and creating opportunities for a local player,” said president and general manager Tony Buccilli. “Austin joined us after college and flourished in his new role out of the pen. He continued to embrace the challenge level by level and we are excited to add his name to our growing list of MLB players.”
Kitchen spent three seasons at Coastal Carolina and was 12-6 with a 4.96 ERA in 62 games (14 starts) and had nine saves. Kitchen logged 148.2 innings in college and struck out 127 to 54 walks in that work. He was a member of the 2016 National Championship team and a freshman All-American. He missed the 2018 season with a knee injury.
At Mt. Lebanon, Kitchen played in the 2015 WPIAL Baseball Coaches Association 12th Annual AAAA vs AAA Al—Star Game, he was named Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and QuadASports.com All-Section 5, tabbed Quad-A Pitcher of the Year and first-team All-Section 5 by the Pittsburgh South Hills Almanac and the paper’s MVP. He was 6-1 with a 2.29 ERA as a senior, registering a program-record (at the time) 85 strikeouts in 51 innings pitched. He was 6-1 with 61 strikeouts and hit .380 as a junior and set at the time, a school record with a 1.07 ERA.
The Rockies are gearing up to play Washington tonight at Coors Field with first pitch slated for 9:10 p.m. ET. Kitchen makes seven former Wild Things to make a big-league roster, as he joins RHP James Meeker (2018-21, North Allegheny HS) and Spencer Bivens (2020-21) as pitchers to do it in the last three weeks. All three played for the Slammin’ Sammies.
