Chris Archer

At the start of the season, he was rated the 27th-best prospect in baseball by Baseball America.

Pitching for the Montgomery Biscuits of the Double–A Southern League, Archer had a 5.85 ERA through the first two months of the season and a 5.27 ERA at the end of the first half of the season.

In the second half, he made a turnaround, going 5–4 with a 3.45 ERA.

Archer received a promotion to the Durham Bulls of the Triple–A International League, making two starts for the Bulls at the end of the season, and allowing only one run.

Between the two teams he was a combined 9–7 with a 4.09 ERA, and 130 strikeouts in 147.1 innings, and led the Southern League with 18 wild pitches.

Christopher Alan Archer (born September 26, 1988) is an American former professional baseball pitcher.

He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays, Pittsburgh Pirates and Minnesota Twins.

Archer attended Clayton High School in Clayton, North Carolina.

He was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the fifth round of the 2006 MLB draft.

Archer was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the fifth round of the 2006 MLB draft.

He joined the Rookie-level Gulf Coast Indians after signing.

He also pitched in one game for the Burlington Indians of the Rookie-level Appalachian League.

Archer remained with the Gulf Coast Indians to start the 2007 season.

In 2008, Archer had a 4–8 win–loss record in 27 games started for the Lake County Captains of the Single–A South Atlantic League.

On December 31, 2008, Archer was traded, with John Gaub and Jeff Stevens to the Chicago Cubs for Mark DeRosa.

Archer pitched for the Peoria Chiefs of the Single–A Midwest League during the 2009 season, and was 6–4 with a 2.81 ERA and 119 strikeouts (seventh in the league) in 109 innings while leading the league with 66 walks, and not allowing any home runs.

In 2010, Archer had a 15–3 win–loss record with a 2.34 earned run average (ERA) and 149 strikeouts in 142.1 innings between the Daytona Cubs of the High–A Florida State League and Tennessee Smokies of the Double–A Southern League.

He was third among all minor league pitcher in wins, and seventh in ERA.

With Daytona, Archer had a streak of 41 innings pitched without allowing an earned run.

He was named the Cubs' Minor League Pitcher of the Year, and the Cubs added him to their 40-man roster to protect him from being selected by another team in the Rule 5 Draft.

In his MLB debut, Archer allowed three hits and three runs (one earned) while recording seven strikeouts in six innings, becoming the first pitcher the Rays did not draft to start a game for the team since Matt Garza on September 30, 2010.

Archer became the first pitcher to register an at-bat at Oriole Park at Camden Yards when he finished an at-bat for injured Ryan Roberts, striking out under orders not to swing.

After the season, Archer pitched for the United States national baseball team in the qualifying tournament for the 2011 Pan American Games.

Defeating the Cuban national baseball team, USA Baseball called Archer's game the International Performance of the Year.

In January 2011, the Cubs traded Archer to the Tampa Bay Rays with Hak-ju Lee, Brandon Guyer, Robinson Chirinos, and Sam Fuld for Matt Garza, Fernando Perez, and Zac Rosscup.

After he was traded to the Chicago Cubs and then the Rays, he made his MLB debut in 2012.

Baseball America rated Archer the Rays' third-best prospect and the 89th-best prospect in baseball before the 2012 season.

Archer pitched to a 4–8 win–loss record with a 4.81 ERA in 14 games started for Durham to start the 2012 season.

He was promoted to the major leagues for the first time on June 20, starting in place of the injured Jeremy Hellickson.

He recorded his first major league win on September 19, 2012, against the Boston Red Sox at Tropicana Field after going five innings and giving up three earned runs.

In 2012 with the Bulls, he was 7–9 with a 3.66 ERA, and led the league with 139 strikeouts in 128 innings.

Archer began the 2013 season with Triple-A Durham.

He was called up on June 1, 2013, to start against the Cleveland Indians.

In his first extended action in the majors, Archer went 9–7 with a 3.22 ERA in 23 starts.

Among AL rookies, Archer ranked first in ERA, opponents' average (.226), complete games (two), shutouts (two), hits per nine innings (7.5) and WHIP (1.13).

He was named the Al Pitcher of the Month and AL Rookie of the Month for July.

Archer was selected to the 2015 and 2017 MLB All-Star Games.

Archer attended Clayton High School in Clayton, North Carolina, where he played for the school's baseball team.

He signed a letter of intent to attend the University of Miami, but decided to turn professional after high school.

Archer pitched to an 8–3 win–loss record with a 1.75 earned run average (ERA) during his senior season at Clayton.