St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Dean Kiekhefer throws during a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Tuesday, May 24, 2016, in St. Louis. The Cubs won the game 12-3. (AP Photo/Billy Hurst)
Dean Kiekhefer always wanted to call himself a big-league pitcher.
Now, it’s a reality.
The former Oldham County High School star and University of Louisville pitcher’s big-league dreams came true on May 14, when he came out of the Dodger Stadium visitors bullpen in the sixth inning for the St. Louis Cardinals. The left-hander pitched 1 2/3 innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers, striking out four batters before giving up a home run to shortstop Corey Seager in his second inning of work, ending his debut.
“I threw mostly strikes, got quite a few strikeouts, and unfortunately the last pitch of my outing, I left it a little too hittable and gave up a home run,” Kiekhefer said in a phone interview. “Other than that it was a good outing. When (Cardinals manager Mike) Matheny came out to the mound, he told me I did a good job and made quality pitches, and I should be proud.”
Kiekhefer’s parents were able to make the trip out from Louisville to watch his debut in Los Angeles, and they kept the ball from his first strikeout, when the southpaw got Dodgers centerfielder Joc Peterson looking on a changeup low in the zone. Kiekhefer’s first call after the game was to his wife and seven-week-old son, who weren’t able to make the trip out west.
“I called my wife and son and told my wife I just wanted to get one out in the big leagues so I could call myself a big leaguer,” Kiekhefer said. “They were happy for me and telling me how exciting it was.”
“I thought he was very good,” Matheny told reporters after the game. “Four out of the six I think he struck out. It was too bad that last one, you get him straight to 0-2 and it was just a nice swing. The ball was down too. It’s was just a great first outing for him. I think he’s going to be effective for us.”
It’s been a long and winding road for Kiekhefer, a player who many surprised many when he signed with the Cardinals after being drafted in the 36th Round (1,099 overall) of the 2010 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
Kiekhefer rose to stardom with Oldham County in 2006 and 2007 as a junior and a senior. As a sophomore reserve in 2015, he was on the Colonels squad that made it to semistate. He went 9-0 with a 0.24 ERA as a junior, according to his profile on the U of L website, including an impressive 119 strikeouts. He followed that up as a senior with a 7-0 record, a 0.28 ERA, the lowest in the state, and 99 strikeouts.
He recorded a total of 231 strikeouts for his career, along with three no-hitters and two perfect games as a junior, including one perfect game against North Oldham in the 29th District tournament.
“It was great. I really enjoyed going (to Oldham County High), it was something that was good for me and my career,” Kiekhefer said. “I was able to be on varsity as a freshman, so I had four years of varsity in. I think the first couple of years just kind of getting my feet wet on varsity and having some success at that level, I knew that I could compete there.
“My junior and senior year it just took off. It was great. I’ve had a lot of former (high school) teammates already come in and catch games here in St. Louis and get to hang out with them, and others have contacted me via text or phone call.”
The 26-year-old earned all-state honors after his senior season, as well as all-district and all-region honors both as a junior and a senior, paving the way for him to join the Louisville baseball team. He was even drafted in the 37th Round of the 2007 MLB Draft by the Cleveland Indians.
“I think going to college was huge for me,” Kiekhefer said. “In the sense of getting drafted, I only got drafted one round better. I don’t know if I necessarily got a whole lot better in terms of my baseball ability, but learning different things like how to live on your own, which is huge because when you’re in pro ball you’re in a bunch of different cities, money management, and the biggest thing for me was learning how to deal with adversity.
“If you look at my junior and senior year in high school, there wasn’t really any adversity for me on the mound. I was probably going to go out and throw a complete game and strike out more than two guys an inning. Then in college, when the playing field kind of evens out, you learn how to pitch a little more and you learn how to deal with that adversity. You get one runner on and you can’t just fold.”
After three years at U of L, Kiekhefer jumped at the opportunity to become a professional. He began his career in rookie ball and slowly progressed, year after year, up the minor-league ladder. Following his 2015 performance at Triple-A Memphis, where he went 2-1 with a 2.41 ERA, Kiekhefer was added to the Cardinals’ 40-man roster and spent some time at big-league spring training in 2016.
Though he was sent to start the season back in Memphis, Kiekhefer continued to impress, going 1-0 with a 1.35 ERA in 11 games, before finally getting the call he hoped for.
“To be completely honest, I think it’s all about opportunity and just waiting my time,” Kiekhefer said. “I feel like I’ve had pretty good years every year, which is the reason why I’ve been able to progress.”
One of the pitches that has made Kiekhefer successful in the pros is his changeup, which he used to great effect in his debut.
“I worked on my changeup a lot towards the end of the season last year and I carried that over into the Arizona Fall League and then continued progressing on it in big league camp,” said Kiekhefer, whose three-quarter delivery has been proven to fool hitters in the big leagues. “That’s been a big weapon for me against right-handed hitters.”
Since his debut, Kiekhefer has gone on to make five more appearances with the Cardinals, all but one of them successful outings.
Kiekhefer said that the Cardinals haven’t told him whether or not he’d be spending the rest of the year with the club, or whether he’ll be sent back to Triple-A. But no matter what, Kiekhefer can call himself a major league baseball player forever.
“Just knowing that I can finally call myself a big-league pitcher, it’s something special,” Kiekhefer said.