Kevin Munson

From BR Bullpen

Kevin Lee Munson

BR Minors page

Biographical Information[edit]

Kevin Munson has pitched as high as AAA.

Munson was All-State as a high school senior. He went 2-0 with 4 saves and a 2.84 ERA as a college freshman then 3-3 with 9 saves, 2.85 ERA and 67 K in 47 1/3 IP as a sophomore. He was All-Colonial Athletic Association as a reliever, leading the conference in saves and finishing 7th in strikeouts. He remained sharp with the Bourne Braves of the Cape Cod League (3 Sv, 1.80 ERA, 24 K in 15 IP, .204 opponent average) and got the final out when the team won its first Cape Cod title. In 2010, the junior was 8-1 with 10 saves, a 1.64 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 55 innings. He was the CAA Pitcher of the Year, leading the CAA in ERA, saves and opponent average (.174). He finished tied for 3rd in CAA history in career saves and tied for 4th in career ERA. In NCAA Division I, he tied for 28th in saves as a junior. Collegiate Baseball and the American Baseball Coaches Association picked him as a third-team All-American. The Arizona Diamondbacks, behind scout Shawn Barton, selected him in the 4th round of the 2010 amateur draft, between Kyle Blair and Cory Vaughn. He signed for a bonus of $243,000.

Munson split his first pro summer between the South Bend Silver Hawks (2-0, 3 Sv, 1.10 ERA in 12 G) and Visalia Rawhide (1 R in 2/3 IP). In 2011, he was with Visalia (4-3, 4.02 in4 2 G, 76 K, 41 BB in 53 2/3 IP) and the Mobile BayBears (0 R in 3 IP). He tied Clay Zavada for 9th in the Diamondbacks farm chain in games pitched. He spent all of 2012 with Mobile, going 3-5 with 3 saves, a 6.28 ERA and 64 strikeouts in 53 innings. In 2013, he pitched for Mobile (2-2, 13 Sv, 3.41 in 29 G) and the Reno Aces (0-2, Sv, 5.09 in 24 G), with a combined 66 strikeouts in 54 2/3 IP. The hard-throwing (95 mph) righty was 7th in the Arizona chain in pitching appearances and 4th in saves (14).

The Philadelphia Phillies took him with the third pick of the 2013 Rule V Draft, two spots after fellow Diamondbacks minor leaguer reliever Patrick Schuster and one slot after Adrian Nieto.

Sources[edit]