Richard Lovelady #55

Richard Tyler Lovelady...Graduated from First Presbyterian High School in Macon, Ga., in 2013... Was selected First Team All-Region in 2012 and 2013...Earned the 2012 GISA Hurler of the Year award and also named a GISA All-Star pitcher...Named All-Region in 2012 and 2013...Spent two years at East Georgia College, before transferring to Kennesaw State...In his lone year there in 2016, he went 4-3 while posting a 2.96 ERA over 37 appearances with four saves, 25 walks, 52 strikeouts, a 1.20 WHIP and a 10.2 K/9...His 37 appearances ranked as the second-most in Kennesaw State program history.

2024

Signed with the Chicago Cubs as a Minor League free agent...Made nine appearances at Spring Training, posting a 6.75 ERA (6 ER/8.0 IP) with four walks and 13 strikeouts...Was then assigned to Triple-A Iowa...Made eight appearances with Iowa, allowing seven earned runs over 10.0 innings (6.30 ERA), while walking none and striking out 15 batters...Selected to the MLB roster on April 28...After being recalled from Triple-A, made his season debut on April 28 at BOS, throwing a shutout inning with a walk and a strikeout...In his time with Chicago, he made a total of seven appearances, posting a 7.94 ERA with a 4.41 FIP, a 7.1% walk rate and a 21.4% strikeout rate...Was designated for assignment on May 14 and then traded to the Tampa Bay Rays on May 18...After being acquired by the Rays, he made his debut for the team on May 20 vs. BOS, throwing one shutout inning...He made eight appearances, allowing six earned runs over 7.1 innings (7.36 ERA), before being placed on the injured list from June 8-Aug. 8...Went on rehab assignment with the Florida Complex League Rays and Triple-A Durham, making 11 appearances allowing six earned runs over 10.1 innings (5.23 ERA) with a pair of walks, 13 strikeouts and a .205 opponent AVG...After being activated from the injured list, he spent the remainder of the season at the MLB level, posting a 3.00 ERA (5 ER/15.0 IP) over 15 appearances with eight walks, 10 strikeouts, a 1.13 WHIP and a .173 opponent AVG...Between the Majors and Triple-A, appeared in 55 games, going 5-8 with a 4.31 ERA (27 ER/56.1 IP) 2.66 FIP, 1.31 WHIP, 5.3% walk rate, 23.8% strikeout rate, 30.6% chase rate and a 52.4% groundball rate.

2023

Was acquired by Atlanta from Kansas City for cash considerations in 2023...In five appearances for Atlanta's Triple-A Gwinnett, recorded four strikeouts in five innings of work, and gave up four earned runs, good for a 7.20 ERA...Oakland claimed Richard off waivers from Atlanta April 13 ... across 27 games with Oakland, Richard recorded a 4.63 ERA (12 ER/23.1 IP) with 24 strikeouts...Was placed on the 15-day injured list with a strained left elbow ... included a brief rehabilitation assignment to Stockton June 30-July 2...Was placed on the 15-day injured list June 16 with a sprained left forearm, retroactive to July 11 ... was transferred to the 60-day IL Aug. 23.

2022

Lovelady spent most of the 2022 season working his way back from an injury suffered in 2021…he returned to the mound in Sept. and pitched 4.0 scoreless innings over four appearances, including 3 with Triple-A Omaha…he struck out nine of the 15 batters he faced and allowed just one hit and one walk.

2020

Made the Opening Day roster for the first time, but made just one appearance before being optioned to the alternate training site on July 26...In his lone outing on July 26 vs. Cleveland, he erased a walk to begin the sixth with a double play, before allowing a solo homer to José Ramírez.

2019

Made his Major League debut and pitched in 25 games across three stints with the Royals…went 0-3 with a 7.65 ERA (17 ER in 20.0 IP) ... Debuted on April 9 vs. Seattle, tossing a 1-2-3 eighth inning, recording a pair of strikeouts ... Allowed runs in just three of his first 15 appearances (April 9-May 17), pitching to a 3.55 ERA (5 ER in 12.2 IP)… however, he surrendered runs in nine of his last 10 outings (May 22-Aug. 20), posting a 14.73 ERA (12 ER in 7.1 IP) ... Suffered all three of his defeats in August: Aug. 2 at Minnesota (11-9), Aug. 7 at Boston (5-4) and Aug. 8 at Detroit (10-8)… his Aug. 7 defeat at Fenway was actually completed on Aug. 22, after the originally scheduled game was suspended due to rain in the 10th inning…he was optioned to Omaha (AAA) following the completion of the suspended game ... Made 24 appearances with the Storm Chasers, going 1-2 with four saves and a 3.08 ERA (9 ER in 26.1 IP)…collected 29 strikeouts (9.91 K/9), compared to just seven walks (4.14 K/ BB ratio).

2018

Named Omaha (AAA) Pitcher of the Year, his second straight pitcher of the year award, also winning in Wilmington (A+) in 2017…also tabbed the Paul Splittorff Pitcher of the Year, which recognizes the top pitcher in the organization ... Spent the entire year with the Storm Chasers, going 3-3 with nine saves and a 2.47 ERA (20 ER in 73.0 IP) in a career-high 46 relief appearances ... Ranked second among Pacific Coast League relievers with a .204 opponents' average (53-for-260), which included holding opponents to a .147 average (14-for- 94) after the All-Star break ... Allowed just three home runs the entire season (0.37 HR/9), including a 41.0-inning homerless streak over his final 24 outings (June 14-end of season) ... Held left-handed batters to a .157/.224/.258 (14-for-89) slashline, with just six extra-base hits (4 doubles, 1 triple, 1 homer) ... During a 14-game stretch (June 14-Aug. 2), allowed one earned run over 27.0 innings (0.33 ERA)…held opponents to a .148 batting average (13-for-88) in that period ... Recorded six outs or more in 22 of his 46 outings, including in four of his nine saves ... Finished the year as the club's No. 13 prospect according to MLB.com Pipeline.

2017

Split the season between Wilmington (A) and Northwest Arkansas (AA), making 21 appearances at each stop… combined to go 4-2 with a 1.62 ERA (12 ER in 66.2 IP) with 10 saves in 14 chances... Named Wilmington Pitcher of the Year as well as a MiLB. com Organization All-Star…selected to the Carolina League All-Star Game, tossing a scoreless eighth inning for the North Division... Made 15 consecutive scoreless appearances (May 7-June 30), which spanned 25.1 innings…he did not allow an unearned run over 19-straight outings (May 7-July 14)... At Wilmington, allowed just four walks and recorded 41 strikeouts in 33.1 innings (1.08 BB/9; 11.07 K/9)... Collected a career-high five strikeouts in an outing three times - June 8 vs. Buies Creek and June 13 at Lynchburg with Wilmington and Aug. 8 vs. Midland with Northwest Arkansas... Between his two stops, held left-handed batters to a .184 average (14-for-76) with just three extra-base hits (all doubles)... Allowed a season-high three earned runs on July 28 vs. Springfield…then allowed three earned runs over his final 12 appearances with the Naturals, spanning 18.2 innings (1.45 ERA).