Chris O'Dowd

Christopher Kelley O'Dowd

• Bats Both, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 175 lb.
• School Dartmouth College
• High School Regis Jesuit High School

• Born October 4, 1990 in Cleveland, OH USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

The son of Colorado Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd, catcher Chris O'Dowd made his professional debut in 2012.

O'Dowd hit .542 as a high school senior and was invited to try out for the US junior national team. He was selected by the Oakland Athletics in the 40th round of the 2009 amateur draft. He did not sign, opting to attend Dartmouth College instead. As a freshman, he hit .384/.480/.664 with 32 runs in 36 games, splitting Ivy League Rookie of the Year honors with Dario Pizzano. He was second in the Ivy League in OBP and third in average but failed to make All-League. As a sophomore in 2011, O'Dowd fell to .329/.422/.559 but scored 49 runs in 42 contests. He led the Ivy League in runs and was 5th in OBP while tying for 4th in walks (21). He lost All-League honors at catcher to Will Davis. In Chris's junior year, he struggled at .239/.321/.324, a far cry from his first two seasons.

He was then taken by the San Diego Padres in the 23rd round of the 2012 amateur draft. He soon signed and made his pro debut with the Eugene Emeralds on June 17th, lining out as a pinch-hitter for Rodney Daal and staying in the game at catcher. he played for three teams that season, Eugene, the Fort Wayne TinCaps and the Lake Elsinore Storm, putting up a combined batting line of .181/.303/.217 in 37 games. He was released by the Padres before the 2013 season but signed with the Rockies, where he spent the season with the Tri-City Dust Devils and the Asheville Tourists. His bat was much better, as he hit .270/.322/.374 in 58 games. In 2014, he saw regular action between the Modesto Nuts (74 games) and the Tulsa Drillers (39 games) of the AA Texas League. In 113 games and 421 at-bats, he continued to hit creditably, belying his tag as a defensive specialist: his batting line was .271/.335/.385 with 52 runs and 48 RBIs.

On January 30, 2015, he was traded to the Atlanta Braves along with another catcher, Jose Briceno, in return for two pitchers with big league experience, David Hale and Gus Schlosser.

Sources

• Dartmouth bio