Duane Underwood Jr. facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Duane Underwood Jr. |
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Underwood with the Chicago Cubs in 2019
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| Gastonia Ghost Peppers – No. 20 | |||
| Pitcher | |||
| Born: July 20, 1994 Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S. |
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| debut | |||
| June 25, 2018, for the Chicago Cubs | |||
| MLB statistics (through 2023 season) |
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| Win–loss record | 5–10 | ||
| Earned run average | 4.63 | ||
| Strikeouts | 179 | ||
| Teams | |||
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Duane Lee Underwood Jr., born on July 20, 1994, is an American professional baseball player. He is a pitcher for the Gastonia Ghost Peppers team in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. Before this, he played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates. He also plays for the Puerto Rico national baseball team.
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Baseball Career Highlights
Early Baseball Days
Duane Underwood Jr. went to Alan C. Pope High School in Marietta, Georgia. He was a talented baseball player there. He decided to play college baseball for the Georgia Bulldogs team.
Playing for the Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs picked Underwood in the second round of the 2012 MLB draft. He signed with the Cubs and started his professional career that same year. He played for different minor league teams like the Arizona League Cubs and Boise Hawks.
In 2015, Underwood played for the Myrtle Beach Pelicans. He had a good earned run average (ERA) of 2.58. An ERA shows how many runs a pitcher allows per game. He then played for the Tennessee Smokies in 2016. After that season, he joined the Cubs' main roster.
Underwood started the 2018 season with the Iowa Cubs. On June 25, 2018, the Cubs called him up to the major leagues. He made his first big league start against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He played in 17 games for the Cubs in 2020.
Time with the Pittsburgh Pirates
On March 7, 2021, the Cubs traded Underwood to the Pittsburgh Pirates. He played in 43 games for the Pirates that year. He had 65 strikeouts in over 72 innings pitched.
In 2022, Underwood pitched in 51 games for the Pirates. He mostly came out of the team's bullpen, which is where relief pitchers wait. He recorded 57 strikeouts that season. In 2023, he pitched in 20 games for Pittsburgh.
Recent Teams and Free Agency
On December 14, 2023, Underwood signed a contract with the New York Yankees. He played in 32 games for their Triple-A team, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. He had a 3.26 ERA and 40 strikeouts there. The Yankees released him on August 5, 2024.
On April 18, 2025, Underwood signed with the Gastonia Ghost Peppers. This team is part of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.
International Baseball Experience
Duane Underwood Jr. has family from Puerto Rico. Because of this, he played for the Puerto Rico national team. This was during the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC). The WBC is a big international baseball tournament.
On March 13, 2023, he pitched in a game against the Israel team. He helped his team win 10–0. The game ended early because of the mercy rule. This rule stops a game if one team is far ahead.
