Houston Astros
The Houston Astros selected Kessinger in the second round of the 2019 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft. He made his minor league debut with the Low–A Tri-City ValleyCats on June 20,2019,where he saw his first professional hit,a two-out double in the 6th inning,in that initial game. [6] Kessinger was called up to Single–A on July 4,to play for the Quad Cities River Bandits. [7] He did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. [8]
Kessinger returned to action in 2021 with the Double-A Corpus Christi Hooks. [9] Across 86 games,he slashed .209/.287/.330 with 9 home runs,26 RBI,and 12 stolen bases. For the 2022 season,Kessinger remained with Corpus Christi,playing in 121 games and batting .211/.327/.366 with career-highs in home runs (16),RBI (58),and stolen bases (23). [10]
Kessinger began the 2023 season with the Triple-A Sugar Land Space Cowboys,playing in 52 games and hitting .284/.400/.443 with 6 home runs and 32 RBI. [11] On June 5,2023,Kessinger was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time. The promotion was made with the intention for Kessinger to fill in for Jose Altuve,who was dealing with an oblique issue. [12] He made his debut on June 7,against the Toronto Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre,playing third base and hitting ninth. Kessinger hit his first career home run,accounting for his first career run batted in,on July 4,off Kyle Freeland of the Colorado Rockies at Minute Maid Park. Kessinger joined his grandfather,Don,and uncle,Keith,as the third generation of his family to hit a home run in Major League Baseball. [13] In 26 games during his rookie campaign,Kessinger batted .200/.289/.325 with one home run and one RBI.
Kessinger made 22 appearances for Houston in 2024,going 0–for–21 with 3 walks. He was designated for assignment by the Astros following the signing of Christian Walker on December 23,2024. [14]
