Full name is Kevin Edward McCarthy...Graduated from Kellenberg Memorial High School in Uniondale, NY in 2010...Attended Marist College (NY), where he earned MAAC All-Academic honors in 2012 and 2013...Entered 2021 as the only Marist alum to play in the majors.
2020
Made his second consecutive Opening Day roster...Appeared in 5 of the Royals’ first 14 games, but did not appear in the next 10 games...Logged three consecutive scoreless appearances from 7/27-8/4 (3.1 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 1 SO)…Following Game 1 of a doubleheader on 8/19 vs. CIN, was optioned to the Alternate Training Site, where he spent the remainder of the season.
2019
Made the Opening Day roster for the first time, but was optioned to Omaha (AAA) on April 9…recalled on May 21 and spent the rest of the season in the Majors ... After allowing eight earned runs over his first six appearances (19.64 ERA), pitched to a 3.49 ERA (22 ER in 56.2 IP) over his final 50 outings (May 22-end of the year) ... His 59.3% groundball rate ranked fifth among AL relievers, trailing only Zack Britton (78.5%), Aaron Bummer (73.3%), Adam Kolarek (64.3%) and Richard Bleier (60.3%) ... Issued six intentional walks, most by a Royal since Tim Collins had eight in 2012 ... Earned his first career save in his 125th career appearance on June 23 vs. Minnesota, recording the final seven outs after entering in the seventh inning with the tying run on deck ... Had a 1.47 ERA (3 ER in 18.1 IP) in 13 outings from May 22-June 30, including wins on May 26 vs. the Yankees and June 25 at Cleveland ... Allowed a run in six of his next eight appearances from July 3-28, before recording seven straight scoreless outings (6.2 IP) from July 30-Aug. 10 ... Went 2-0 with a 2.66 ERA (6 ER in 20.1 IP) over his last 19 appearances from Aug. 19 through season's end, including wins on Sept. 1 vs. Baltimore and Sept. 16 at Oakland ... Ended the season with 9.1 consecutive scoreless innings over nine appearances, beginning on Sept. 13…allowed just five hits and two walks (1 intentional) vs. 35 batters during that span ... Retired 19 of his last 20 batters faced, allowing only a Brian McCann single in the sixth inning on Sept. 24, before retiring the next nine to end the season ... Pitched to a 3.78 ERA (7 ER in 16.2 IP) with three saves in 13 outings with Omaha from April 13-May 17, including a 0.87 ERA (1 ER in 10.1 IP) over his last eight outings.
2018
Made his first three appearances witth Omaha (AAA), before being recalled on April 13, and spent the rest of the seasons with Kansas City... Set career highs at the Major League level in wins (5), appearances (65), innings (72) and strikeouts (46)...Led the Royals with a career-high 17 holds...His 65.2% groundball rate ranked sixth among Major League relievers, and second in the American League to Zach Britton (72.1%) ...His 2.75 ERA (18 ER in 59 IP) in 55 appearances vs. American League opponents ranked ninth among relievers (min. 50 IP)...Held opponents without an earned run in 10 of his first 11 appearances, a stretch in which he had a 2.03 ERA (3 ER in 13.1 IP)...Earned three wins in a six-appearance, 11-day stretch: April 22 at Detroit (0 ER in 1 IP), April 29 vs. White Sox (0 ER in 1.1 IP) and May 3 vs. Detroit (0 ER in 1.2 IP)...Retired all nine batters he faced on just 24 pitches on May 1 at Boston, a 7-6 Royals win in 13 innings, becoming the first Royals reliever to record at least 3.0 innings on 24 pitches or fewer since Dan Reichert on May 18, 2002 at Cleveland (Game 1)...Charged with a career-high-tying four runs on June 12 vs. Cincinnati, a 5-1 loss, capping a 14-outing stretch in which he was 0-3 and had a 6.00 ERA (10 ER in 15 IP)... Recorded 8.0 consecutive scoreless innings over his next seven outings from June 16-July 3...Had a 2.25 ERA (7 ER in 28 IP) in 26 appearances between August and September...Had a 2.03 ERA (9 ER in 40 IP) in 35 appearances at Kauffman Stadium, the seventh-best home ERA in the American League (min. 30 outings)…did not allow a run in his first 11 home games (12.1 IP).
2017
Split the season between the Royals and Omaha (AAA), making a career high 33 appearances in the big leagues… went 1-0 with a 3.20 ERA (16 ER in 45.0 IP), with opponents batting .276 (50-for-181) against him ... Made KC season debut on May 29 vs. Detroit and posted a 1.59 ERA (5 ER in 28.1 IP) over his first 22 appearances… that included a streak of 10-straight appearances (July 19- Aug. 25) without allowing an earned run, amassing 11.1 innings ... Did not allow a home run over his first 22 outings, before surrendering four roundtrippers over his final 11 appearances ... Recorded a 2.20 ERA (9 ER in 16.1 IP) in 13 road appearances, despite allowing a .288 opponents' average (19-for-66)…had a 3.77 ERA (12 ER in 28.2 IP) at home ... Made 24 appearances vs. AL Central foes, posting a 1.85 ERA (7 ER in 34.0 IP), holding them to a .256 average (34- for-133)…this included 10 appearances vs. Detroit, in which he had a 1.38 ERA (2 ER in 13.0 IP) ... Earned his lone win on July 19, recording the final two outs in the ninth ahead of Alex Gordon's walk-off sacrifice fly in a 4-3 victory over Detroit ... Tossed a career-high 3.0 scoreless innings on Sept. 13 vs. the White Sox…also collected a career-high four strikeouts, which tied for the most by a Royals reliever in a single outing in 2017 ... Pitched in 25 games at Omaha, going 1-1 with a 3.09 ERA (11 ER in 32.0 IP) and a 1.28 WHIP.
2016
Selected from Omaha (AAA) on Sept. 6 and made his Major League debut Sept. 9 at the White Sox, retiring his only batter he faced...Earned his first MLB victory the following night in Chicago, striking out his only batter to strand two inherited runners in the sixth inning in a 6-5 triumph...Made a career-high 47 appearances between Omaha and Northwest Arkansas (AA), going 5-6 with a careerbest 16 saves and a 3.04 ERA (23 ER in 68.0 IP)...Recorded 10.1 consecutive scoreless innings over nine outings from July 29-August 22...Ranked fifth in the Texas League with 11 saves, despite being promoted to Omaha on June 16...Earned the win in Northwest Arkansas' 6-5 victory in 12 innings on May 28 at Corpus Christi after retiring all nine batters faced in 3.0 innings of work.
2015
Split the 2015 season Lexington (A), Wilmington (A) and Northwest Arkansas, reaching Double-A for the first time in his career.
2014
In 2014, injured in his second appearance of the year with Lexington and missed the remainder of the season…placed on the disabled list on April 14.
2013
Tied for seventh in the Appalachian League (Rookie) in wins (four) in 2013, his first professional season.
