Mychal Antonio Givens (born May 13, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles, Colorado Rockies, Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs, and New York Mets.
Career
Amateur career
Givens attended Henry B. Plant High School in Tampa, Florida, where he played for the school's baseball team as a pitcher and an infielder. In his junior and senior years, he was named All-State. In 2007, Givens was selected to play for the United States 18-and-under national baseball team.
Givens was selected for the 2008 Aflac All-American High School Baseball Game (East Team) played at Dodger Stadium, in which he both pitched and played shortstop. At the Aflac Banquet, Givens won the Jackie Robinson Award as the nation's top high school player.
Entering his 2009 senior season, Rawlings named Givens to the Preseason Senior All-American First Team and Florida All-Region First Team. As a senior, he had an 8–4 win–loss record and a 1.71 earned run average (ERA) with 113 strikeouts in 78 innings as a pitcher, and a .374 batting average with four home runs and 31 runs batted in as a hitter.
In high school, Givens also played on Plant's basketball team.
Draft and minor leagues
The Baltimore Orioles selected Givens in the second round, with the 54th overall selection, of the 2009 MLB draft. He signed with the Orioles, receiving a reported $800,000 signing bonus rather than enrolling at Oklahoma State University. The Orioles began to develop Givens as a shortstop. Playing for the Delmarva Shorebirds of the Class A South Atlantic League in 2010, he was batting .222 when he sprained his thumb. He required surgery to correct the injury.
In 2011, Givens returned to Delmarva, and hit .195. He was demoted to the Aberdeen IronBirds of the Class A-Short Season New York–Penn League. Givens played for the Perth Heat in 2011–12 Australian Baseball League season and played in the 2011 Australian Baseball League All-Star Game. He batted .243 in Delmarva in 2012.
Before the 2013 season, the Orioles approached Givens about becoming a pitcher. In 2013, he pitched 40 innings for Delmarva, recording 36 strikeouts and a 4.22 ERA. With the Frederick Keys of the Class A-Advanced Carolina League in 2014, he had a 1–2 record and a 3.24 ERA. The Orioles assigned Givens to the Glendale Desert Dogs of the Arizona Fall League after the 2014 season. The Orioles opted not to add Givens on their 40-man roster, which would have prevented him from being eligible in the Rule 5 draft. Givens went unselected.
With the Bowie Baysox of the Class AA Eastern League, Givens began the 2015 season with a 3–1 win–loss record, a 1.60 ERA and 12 saves with 54 strikeouts in innings.
Baltimore Orioles
2015–2016
The Orioles promoted Givens to the major leagues on June 20, 2015. He made his major league debut on June 24, pitching one scoreless inning, striking out one batter, and was optioned back to Bowie the next day. He was named to the Eastern League All-Star Game. On July 31, he was recalled after the Orioles traded Tommy Hunter and designated Bud Norris for assignment. He pitched 1 innings while striking out two batters and earning his first career Major League win against the Detroit Tigers. Givens went 2–0 in 2015 with a 1.80 ERA in 22 games, with 30.0 innings pitched. Givens struck out 38 batters while only walking six and had a WHIP of 0.867.
Givens made the Orioles' 2016 Opening Day roster and made his first relief appearance on Opening Day. He threw 1 innings, giving up two runs while striking out two batters. The Orioles would eventually win the game 3–2 on a walk-off single. After allowing three runs in his first two relief appearances of the season, Givens saw his ERA sitting at 13.50. Givens would go on to throw ten consecutive scoreless innings, before giving up another run. He ended the month of April, having appeared in 12 games, throwing 12 innings, striking out 21, walking seven, and pitching to a 3.00 ERA. Givens also went 2–0 in the month. In May, Givens went 1–0, while pitching to a 1.93 ERA in 11 innings in eight appearances. Givens earned the win for the Orioles on June 2 and 3rd, making him 5–0 on the year and 7–0 for his career. According to STATS, LLC, Givens was the first Orioles pitcher to begin his Major League career with seven consecutive wins as a reliever. Givens would win three more games out of the bullpen in 2016. Givens finished his 2016 season with 96 strikeouts and a 3.13 ERA in 74 innings in 66 appearances. He pitched to a 1.27 WHIP and an 8–2 record while striking out 11.6 batters per nine innings pitched.