Chris Devenski

Christopher Michael Devenski

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 3", Weight 230 lb.
• School Golden West College, California State University, Fullerton
• High School Gahr High School
• Debut April 8, 2016

• Born November 13, 1990 in Long Beach, CA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Chris Devenski made his AAA debut in the postseason.

Devenski was 1-1 with a 13.03 ERA as a college freshman at Golden West College but improved to 7-1, 4.68 with 60 K in 57 2/3 IP as a sophomore. As a junior, he transferred to Fullerton State, where he went 2-0 with two saves and a 4.98 ERA. He struck out 26 in 21 2/3 IP but allowed 29 hits. The Chicago White Sox took him in the 25h round of the 2011 amateur draft; the scout was Mike Baker.

Chris made his pro debut with the Great Falls Voyagers, allowing two runs in eight innings and saving one game. He opened 2012 with the Kannapolis Intimidators, with a 6-5, 4.23 record and two saves in 19 games. He was then dealt as the player to be named later alongside Matt Heidenreich and Blair Walters to the Houston Astros for Brett Myers. With the Lexington Legends after the trade, he was 2-2 with a 3.07 ERA. He had a huge game in his 13th career start, fanning 16 in a no-hitter on September 1st against the Rome Braves. It was the first individual no-hitter in Lexington Legends history.

In 2013, the Californian right-hander pitched for the Quad Cities River Bandits (4-3, 4.36 in 8 G) and Lancaster JetHawks (4-2, 7.88). Far from being unhittable, his 166 hits allowed led Astros farmhands by 13 over Ross Seaton and he tied for the most runs allowed (91). He improved in 2014, going 5-5 with two saves and a 4.11 ERA for Lancaster (77 K, 12 BB in 76 2/3 IP) and 5-3 with a 3.92 ERA for the Corpus Christi Hooks. His 114 whiffs were 8th in the Houston chain, between Lance McCullers Jr. and Michael Feliz. Baseball America rated him as having the top changeup in the California League.

Devenski was 7-4 with two saves and a 3.03 ERA for the Hooks in 2015, second in the Texas League in ERA, .05 behind Albert Suarez. He was also 6th with 104 strikeouts. He joined Ryan Dull, Jonathan Dziedzic, Jandel Gustave, David Martinez, Suarez, Colin Rea, Arturo Reyes and Nate Smith as the TL All-Star pitchers. He was then called up to AAA Fresno Grizzlies for the Triple-A National Championship game, replacing Dan Straily (who had gone up to the majors). In his AAA debut on such a bright stage, he threw five perfect innings against the Columbus Clippers before Audy Ciriaco singled. He finished with 9 whiffs and one hit in seven shutout innings for the win, setting a record for Ks in the national title game. Jordan Jankowski and James Hoyt completed the shutout and Devenski was named MVP of the game.

Devenski made the Astros' opening day roster in 2016 and made his debut on April 8th when he pitched three innings in relief in a 6-4 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. He gave up only one hit, walked none and struck out none in a fine maiden appearance. It was the harbinger an excellent rookie season during which he went 4-4, 2.16 in 48 games, including 5 starts. He picked up one save and in 108 1/3 innings, gave up only 79 hits and 20 walks while striking out 104 batters.

Notable Achievements

• AL All-Star (2017)
• Won one World Series with the Houston Astros in 2017

Sources

• 2015 Astros Media Guide
• Article on 2012 no-hitter
• Article on 2015 AAA title game
• The Baseball Cube

Further Reading

• Richard Justice: "Devenski serves as Astros' version of Miller", mlb.com, April 6, 2017. [1]

Related Sites

• Chris Devenski on mlb.com
• BR Minors page