LINCOLN, Nebraska – The Lincoln Saltdogs have sold the contract of RHP Ricky Knapp to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the club has announced.
Knapp, 27, spent the entire 2019 season in Lincoln, where he went 4-10 with a 5.80 ERA in 20 appearances and 18 starts coming off injury. He is the 60th Saltdogs player to have his contract purchased by a big-league club and the 37th since 2011.
The Port Charlotte, Florida native tossed 102.1 innings last year, second only to John Brownell, and no other ‘Dogs pitcher made more starts during the year than Knapp. He allowed 75 runs on 126 hits with 35 walks and 60 strikeouts after spending most of the year as part of Lincoln’s starting rotation.
Knapp has six seasons of affiliated professional baseball in his career – all with the New York Mets organization, including two different stints at Triple-A Las Vegas in 2016 and 2017.
Knapp is one of the all-time great pitchers from Florida Gulf Coast University, where he was drafted by the Mets in the 8th round of the 2013 MLB Draft. Twice Knapp earned first-team All Atlantic Sun honors and in 2012 he was named the A-Sun Pitcher of the Year. In his FGCU career, Knapp finished second all-time in innings pitched (283.1), third in all-time wins (23) and third in all-time starts (38).
Ricky Knapp is also the son of Rick Knapp, who currently serves as the pitching coach for Triple-A Durham (Tampa Bay) and also served as the pitching coach of the Detroit Tigers from 2008-2011.
The Saltdogs are gearing up for their 20th season in Lincoln! Ticket and promotional information will be released at a later date, and you can keep up with the ‘Dogs on our website and social media platforms all offseason long.