Pat Neshek

Who is Pat Neshek?

Patrick J. Neshek is an American professional baseball pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball. The Minnesota Twins selected him in the sixth round of the 2002 MLB draft from Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana. Neshek made his MLB debut for the Twins on July 7, 2006, and played for them until 2010, except 2009, which he missed due to Tommy John surgery. Neshek has also played for the San Diego Padres and Oakland Athletics in eight total MLB seasons. He is signed with the Cardinals through the 2014 season.

Probably best known for an unorthodox pitching delivery, Neshek's arm motion slots about side-armed with an explosive release point, which developed after a baseball struck his forearm in high school. Right-handed batters have difficulty tracking the path of his pitches, resulting in a .181 batting average, .257 on-base percentage and a .315 slugging percentage against Neshek in 555 career plate appearances through 2013. He was selected to his first All-Star Game in 2014.