| Ricky Karcher | |
|---|---|
 Karcher with the Louisville Bats in 2023 | |
| Free agent | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born:September 18, 1997 Saline, Michigan, U.S. | |
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| June 12, 2023, for the Cincinnati Reds | |
| MLB statistics (through 2023 season) | |
| Win–loss record | 0–0 |
| Earned run average | 0.00 |
| Strikeouts | 0 |
| Teams | |
Richard Thomas Karcher (born September 18,1997) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds.
Karcher grew up in Ponte Vedra,Florida,and initially attended Ponte Vedra High School. [1] Prior to his senior year of high school his family relocated to Saline,Michigan,and he transferred to Saline High School. [2] In his lone season at Saline,Karcher had a 9–0 win–loss record with 0.41 earned run average (ERA). [3]
Karcher enrolled at the University of Michigan and began his college baseball career with the Michigan Wolverines. After his freshman season,he transferred to Walters State Community College. [4] Karcher went 7–3 with a 4.27 ERA in 15 appearances with 12 starts in his lone season at Walters State. [5]
The Cincinnati Reds selected Karcher in the 13th round of the 2017 Major League Baseball draft. [6] He spent his first three seasons with the team primarily as a starting pitcher and was assigned to the Arizona League Reds,Greeneville Reds,and Billings Mustangs. [5] Karcher did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. [7]
He began the 2021 season with the Daytona Tortugas of Low-A Southeast and was moved to the bullpen. [8] He made nine appearances and struck out 19 batters with Daytona before being promoted to the High-A Dayton Dragons. [5] Karcher was assigned to the Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts at the start of the 2022 season. He was promoted to the Triple-A Louisville Bats after posting a 3.24 ERA with 42 strikeouts in 25 innings pitched. [9] On November 15,2022,the Reds added Karcher to their 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. [10]
Karcher was optioned to the Triple-A Louisville Bats to begin the 2023 season. [11] On June 9,2023,he was promoted to the major leagues for the first time after Graham Ashcraft was placed on the injured list. [12] Karcher made his debut on June 12,2023,in the 10th inning of the Reds' 5–4 victory over the Kansas City Royals and earned the save after pitching a scoreless inning to end the game. [13] In 29 appearances for Louisville,he struggled to a 7.18 ERA with 36 strikeouts and 2 saves in 31+1⁄3 innings pitched. On July 6, Karcher was designated for assignment after Tony Santillan was activated from the injured list. [14] He cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple–A Louisville on July 10. [15] Karcher elected free agency following the season on November 6. [16]
On November 17, 2023, Karcher signed a minor league contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks. [17] In 21 games for the Triple–A Reno Aces, he struggled to an 8.46 ERA with 31 strikeouts across 22+1⁄3 innings pitched. On June 16, 2024, Karcher was released by the Diamondbacks organization. [18]
On July 4, 2024, Karcher signed a minor league contract with the Kansas City Royals. [19] On November 6, he elected free agency. [20]