Luke Anthony Hochevar (; born September 15, 1983) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played college baseball at the University of Tennessee, and played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals from 2007 through 2016. He was the first overall pick in the 2006 MLB draft and a member of the 2015 World Series champions.
Early life
Luke Hochevar was born in Denver, Colorado, raised in Wiley, Colorado, and later moved to Fowler, Colorado, with parents Brian and Carmen Hochevar along with one brother and one sister. His father was a college basketball player at the University of Southern Colorado (now CSU-Pueblo) who had an unsuccessful tryout with the Denver Nuggets and who later turned to coaching, including serving as Luke's baseball coach at Fowler High School. While at Fowler High, Hochevar was named Colorado Division 2A Player of the Year his senior year and was a three-time all-state selection. He was a multi-sport athlete, earning all-state honors in basketball. Hochevar excelled in the classroom as well, and was named an academic all-state four consecutive years.
College career
Hochevar was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 39th round (1,191st overall) of the 2002 MLB amateur entry draft but chose to attend college at the University of Tennessee instead. Hochevar was used primarily as a relief pitcher during his freshman year for the Volunteers, striking out 73 batters and walking 24 in 77 innings of work. After the 2003 season, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod Baseball League. His sophomore season was injury plagued for Hochevar; he missed a total of eight weeks playing time. However, he was good enough to be selected for the USA Baseball National Team, earning the victory in the FISU II World University Baseball Championship against Japan. Hochevar bounced back as a junior, striking out a school record 154 batters, posting a 15–3 record, and 2.26 ERA for the season. For his efforts he was named the Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Year and won the Roger Clemens Award.
Professional career
Draft and minor leagues
The Dodgers selected Hochevar again, this time in the first round (40th overall) of the 2005 draft. After initial negotiations between the Dodgers and Hochevar and his agent Scott Boras, Hochevar switched agents to Matt Sosnick and accepted a $2.98 million signing bonus from scouting director Logan White. However, the next day Hochevar changed his mind on switching agents, returning to Boras and reneging on the deal. Several months of lukewarm talks continued, but amidst much bitterness, the two sides never came close to reaching a new agreement. Hochevar signed with the Fort Worth Cats of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an independent baseball league. He had a 1–1 win–loss record and a 2.38 earned run average (ERA) in four games started with Fort Worth.
Hochevar entered the draft yet again in 2006 and was selected first overall by the Kansas City Royals. On August 3, nearly two months after the draft, Hochevar signed a four-year major league contract worth $5.25 million guaranteed with the Royals. He received a $3.5 million signing bonus with the ability to earn as much as $7 million over the four years. After he signed, the Royals assigned Hochevar to the Burlington Bees of the Class A Midwest League.
Hochevar began the 2007 season with the Wichita Wranglers of the Class AA Texas League. He was chosen to appear in the 2007 All-Star Futures Game.
Kansas City Royals
2007–2010
Hochevar made his major league debut September 8, 2007 in a game against the New York Yankees. In four appearances, Hochevar had a 0–1 record and a 2.13 ERA.
In 2008, he had the lowest run support of all pitchers, with an average of 2.8 runs per game started, finishing with a record of 6–12. His ERA though, was a high one, finishing at 5.51 in 22 starts.
Following the Royals' 2009 spring training, he was optioned to the Triple-A Omaha Royals to learn to "use both sides of the plate with more consistency" and to stay away from big innings. He was called up to the Royals starting rotation on May 10.
In his 2009 debut, Hochevar lasted just two innings and surrendered eight runs. On June 12, 2009, Hochevar pitched an 80 pitch complete game, only allowing 3 hits and 1 run; this was a feat that had only been accomplished by 5 pitchers in American League the previous 20 years. On July 25, 2009, Hochevar recorded a career high 13 strikeouts in 7 innings in a 6–3 win over the Texas Rangers. On September 18, 2009, Hochevar threw his first career shutout in an 11–0 win over the Chicago White Sox.