Kyle Davies
Kansas City Royals — No. 28
Starting pitcher
Born: September 9, 1983 (1983-09-09) (age 26) Decatur, Georgia
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
MLB debut
May 21, 2005 for the Atlanta Braves
Career statistics (through 2009)
Win-Loss	34-44
Earned run average	5.54
Strikeouts	369
Teams
Atlanta Braves (2005-2007) Kansas City Royals (2007-present)

Hiram Kyle Davies (born September 9, 1983 in Decatur, Georgia) is a Major League Baseball starting pitcher for the Kansas City Royals. He grew up in Stockbridge, Georgia and graduated from Stockbridge High School. Davies signed right out of high school with the Atlanta Braves.

[edit] Baseball career

Kyle was highly recruited by many major college programs, most notably Georgia Tech, but chose to go pro. During his minor league career with the Atlanta Braves he was a member of the 2003 South Atlantic League Champion Rome Braves during their inaugural season. He led the team in strike outs with 148 during that season. ^[1]

Davies was a starting pitcher for the Atlanta Braves and part of the group of rookie players nicknamed the "Baby Braves" that Atlanta called up from its minor league system during the 2005 season.

Davies made his Major League Baseball debut on May 21, 2005, a rainy night at Fenway Park in Boston and dominated six innings against the Red Sox. Braves pitchers John Thomson and Mike Hampton were both put on the disabled list with injuries, and Davies was called up. Davies immediately made an impact, as he did not allow a run in his first three starts in the Major Leagues. When Thomson and Hampton returned to the pitching rotation in August, Davies was sent back to the minor leagues.

Davies began the 2006 season as a starter in Atlanta, after coming to spring training as a probable Triple-A starter. On May 15, 2006, Davies suffered an injury to his right groin while pitching against the Florida Marlins. He was later diagnosed with a torn groin muscle and underwent surgery several days later. As a result of the injury, Davies was put on the disabled list and missed 10 weeks of the season. He ended up making only 14 starts in 2006, with a very poor ERA of 8.38.

Out of spring training in 2007, Davies was initially assigned to Triple-A Richmond. However, due to the injury of Lance Cormier at the end of spring training, he was promoted at the beginning of the year to fill Cormier's spot. Cormier's inability to return to form after rehabilitating and coming off the DL, coupled with the Braves losing Mike Hampton to season ending surgery, allowed Davies role on the pitching staff to cease being a fill-in role. However, in 17 starts, Davies had a terrible time establishing any pattern of reliability and consistency, posting a record of 4-8 with a 5.76 ERA. In a start on July 16 versus the Cincinnati Reds, Davies threw just 22 pitches and did not record an out before being taken out of the game. Consequently, Davies was optioned to Triple-A Richmond on July 19 as rookie Jo-Jo Reyes assumed his spot in the rotation.

On July 31, 2007, Davies was traded to the Kansas City Royals in exchange for pitcher Octavio Dotel. On August 4, Davies made his Royals debut going three innings and giving up five earned runs. He also gave up Alex Rodriguez's 500th homer in the first inning. But on August 9, he was able to bounce back with 6 and 2/3 scoreless innings against the Minnesota Twins, giving up only 3 hits and striking out 4. The Royals won the game by the score of 2-0.

[edit] Personal life

During the offseason, Davies works for his father's construction company.^[2] He currently resides in Stockbridge, Georgia

Kyle's younger brother Jake is currently a freshman LH pitcher for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets baseball team. ^[3]

[edit] References

[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)