Landon Dakota Knack (born July 15, 1997) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2024.
| Landon Knack | |
|---|---|
 Knack at the 2024 championship parade | |
| Los Angeles Dodgers – No. 96 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: July 15, 1997 Johnson City, Tennessee, U.S. | |
Bats: Left Throws: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 17, 2024, for the Los Angeles Dodgers | |
| MLB statistics (through 2024 season) | |
| Win–loss record | 3–5 |
| Earned run average | 3.65 |
| Strikeouts | 69 |
| Teams | |
| |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Career
editKnack attended Science Hill High School in Johnson City, Tennessee, and East Tennessee State University, where he played college baseball for the East Tennessee State Buccaneers.[1][2] He was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the second round of the 2020 MLB draft.[3][4] He did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[5]
Knack made his professional debut in 2021 with the Great Lakes Loons and was promoted to the Tulsa Drillers during the season.[6] Between the two levels, he was 7–1 with a 3.18 ERA in 16 appearances (11 starts) and struck out 82 batters while only walking eight.[7] He was selected to play for the Glendale Desert Dogs of the Arizona Fall League after the season.[8] In 2022, he made 17 starts for Tulsa, with a 2–10 record and 5.01 ERA.[7]
Knack returned to Tulsa to start the 2023 season, making 12 starts with a 2–0 record, 2.20 ERA and 61 strikeouts in 57+1⁄3 innings.[7] On June 17, he was promoted to the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers,[9] where he made 10 starts, with a 3–1 record, 2.93 ERA and 38 strikeouts in 43 innings.[7]
Knack was added to the Dodgers 40-man roster on November 14, 2023, in order to be protected from the Rule 5 draft[10] and he made the Dodgers' Opening Day roster for the 2024 season.[11] However, he did not pitch in either of the Dodgers two games in Seoul, South Korea as part of the MLB World Tour and was optioned back to Oklahoma City for the start of the minor league season.[12] Knack drew the start for Oklahoma City on opening day and struck out six in five scoreless innings.[13] He was promoted to the majors again and made his debut as the starting pitcher against the Washington Nationals on April 17,[14] allowing two runs on four hits with one walk and four strikeouts. His first MLB strikeout was of Nick Senzel.[15] He picked up his first major league win on April 24, also against the Nationals.[16] Overall, Knack was 3–5 with a 3.65 ERA in 15 games (12 starts) with 69 strikeouts in the majors[17] and 4–3 with a 3.71 ERA in 14 games (12 starts) in the minors.[7]
Knack made the postseason roster for the Dodgers[18] and pitched one scoreless inning in the National League Division Series (NLDS).[17] However, he struggled in his next appearance, in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series (NLCS), allowing five runs on five hits and three walks in only two innings.[19] In the 2024 World Series, Knack pitched four innings in Game 4, allowing one run on two hits and one walk, while striking out two. The Dodgers won the series in five games over the New York Yankees.[20]
References
edit- ^ Avento, Joe (April 17, 2020). "Scouting restrictions loosened, Knack hearing from MLB teams". timesnews.net.
- ^ Avento, Joe (March 19, 2020). "Knack's historic start won't be finished". Johnson City Press.
- ^ "Life changed 'in a heartbeat' for Knack". MLB.com.
- ^ Avento, Joe (June 11, 2020). "Dodgers draft pick Knack can keep a secret". timesnews.net.
- ^ "2020 Minor League Baseball season cancelled". mlb.com. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
- ^ Hayes, Tim (July 19, 2021). "LOCALS IN THE PROS: Former ETSU ace Landon Knack off to hot start on Dodgers farm". HeraldCourier.com.
- ^ a b c d e "Landon Knack College & Minor League Stats". Baseball Reference. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
- ^ Harris, Blake (October 6, 2021). "Bobby Miller highlights Dodgers prospects in Arizona Fall League". SB Nation. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
- ^ Stephen, Eric (June 17, 2023). "Landon Knack promoted to Triple-A Oklahoma City". SB Nation. Retrieved June 18, 2023.
- ^ Stephen, Eric (November 14, 2023). "Dodgers add Landon Knack, Nick Frasso & Hunter Feduccia to 40-man roster". SB Nation. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
- ^ Stephen, Eric (March 19, 2024). "Dodgers finalize opening day roster". SB Nation. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
- ^ "Landon Knack Stats, Age, Position, Height, Weight, Fantasy & News". MLB.com.
- ^ Minami, Craig (March 30, 2024). "Dodgers minors: Opening Day, Landon Knack". SB Nation. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
- ^ Stephen, Eric (April 17, 2024). "Dodgers call up Landon Knack for his major league debut". SB Nation. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
- ^ "Nationals vs Dodgers (April 17, 2024) Play-by-Play". ESPN. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
- ^ "Landon Knack gets 1st big-league win as Dodgers crush Nationals". Reuters. April 24, 2024. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
- ^ a b "Landon Knack Stats". Baseball Reference. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
- ^ Toribio, Juan (October 5, 2024). "Dodgers decide to go with youth over vets on NLDS roster". mlb.com. Retrieved October 31, 2024.
- ^ "2024 National League Championship Series (NLCS) Game 2, Mets at Dodgers, October 14". Baseball Reference. Retrieved October 31, 2024.
- ^ "2024 World Series Los Angeles Dodgers over New York Yankees (4-1)". Baseball Reference. Retrieved October 31, 2024.
External links
edit- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)