David Kent Purcey (born April 22, 1982 in St. Charles, Illinois) is a left-handed pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays. A 6' 5" 240 lb. hard thrower, Purcey originally was drafted in the 2001 entry draft by the Seattle Mariners in the 20th round. His major league nickname is Lefty.

He then was drafted again by the New York Yankees in the 17th round of the 2003 entry draft, and finally drafted once again by Toronto in the 1st round (16th overall) during the 2004 MLB entry draft.

Purcey attended high school at Trinity Christian Academy in Addison, Texas, and then attended the University of Oklahoma, where he played for the Sooners baseball team.

Purcey made his major league debut on April 18, 2008, starting against the Detroit Tigers and allowing one earned run over 4⅓ innings. He was returned to the minor leagues after two major league appearances, but was recalled to the Blue Jays in July, and ended the 2008 season in the team's starting rotation.

On Wednesday August 27, 2008, Purcey started against the Tampa Bay Rays and pitched his first career major league complete game. Purcey recorded 11 strikeouts, scattering 5 hits through 8 innings of work.

Following Spring Training 2009, Purcey earned the third spot in the rotation, but switched spots with Jesse Litsch to separate the left-handers. Purcey was second in the rotation until Friday, May 1, 2009 when he was assigned to the Toronto Blue Jays AAA affiliate Las Vegas 51s. Purcey had a record of 0-2 and an ERA over 7 with Toronto in 2009, as he struggled with his command, which has improved somewhat with Las Vegas.

[edit] External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)

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