| Dean Kremer | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Kremer with theRancho Cucamonga Quakes in 2018 | |||||||||||||||
| Baltimore Orioles – No. 64 | |||||||||||||||
| Pitcher | |||||||||||||||
| Born: (1996-01-07)January 7, 1996 (age 29) Stockton, California, U.S. | |||||||||||||||
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |||||||||||||||
| MLB debut | |||||||||||||||
| September 6, 2020, for the Baltimore Orioles | |||||||||||||||
| MLB statistics (through 2025 season) | |||||||||||||||
| Win–loss record | 41–40 | ||||||||||||||
| Earned run average | 4.26 | ||||||||||||||
| Strikeouts | 578 | ||||||||||||||
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |||||||||||||||
| Teams | |||||||||||||||
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Medals
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Dean Junior Kremer (Hebrew:דין קרמר; born January 7, 1996) is anIsraeli–American professionalbaseballpitcher for theBaltimore Orioles ofMajor League Baseball (MLB). In2015, he became the first Israeli drafted by an MLB team. He made his MLB debut in September 2020.
In international competition, Kremer pitched for the Team USA baseball team in the2013 Maccabiah Games in Israel, winning agold medal. The following two years he pitched forIsrael in the qualifying for the European Baseball Championship, and won the Most Valuable Pitcher award in both 2014 and 2015. He also pitched in September 2016 in the qualifier forIsrael at the 2017 World Baseball Classic.
Kremer pitched forSan Joaquin Delta College in his freshman year in 2014, and was named a Third TeamAll-American. He was drafted by theSan Diego Padres in the 38th round of the2015 Major League Baseball draft, becoming the first Israeli to ever be selected in the MLB draft, but chose not to sign. He was drafted again, this time by theLos Angeles Dodgers in the 14th round of the2016 Major League Baseball draft, and did sign. He threw afastball in the 92–95mph range that sometimes reached 97 miles per hour (156 km/h), aslider, acurveball, and asplitter. He pitched forTeam Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic. The Dodgers traded him to the Orioles at the 2018 trade deadline. In 2018, Kremer led all minor league pitchers instrikeouts. He made his MLB debut in September 2020, becoming the first Israeli citizen to pitch in the major leagues. Kremer pitched forTeam Israel in the2023 World Baseball Classic in Miami.
Kremer was born and raised inStockton, California, and is Jewish.[1][2] He had hisbar mitzvah in Israel.[3] Discussing the decision by Jewish Los Angeles Dodgers pitcherSandy Koufax to not pitch Game 1 of the 1965 World Series because the game fell onYom Kippur, Kremer said: "I would do the same."[4]
Kremer lives in Israel for two months of every year, and has dualIsraeli-American citizenship.[5] His parents Adi and Sigal Kremer are Israeli, and after they completed their service in theIsrael Defense Forces they came together to the United States.[3] His father played college tennis at theUniversity of the Pacific, which he attended on a tennis scholarship.[5][6] Kremer is fluent in Hebrew and the family speaks Hebrew at home.[5][7]
He has two younger brothers, Ron (who is in theIsraeli Army) and Niv.[8][5][7][9] Kremer's grandparents live in Israel, inTel Aviv and inRishon LeZion, and all of his extended family other than his parents and youngest brother live in Israel.[6][10][9] His great-uncle is American-Israeli businessman and philanthropistHaim Saban.[5]
Kremer started playing baseball inLittle League at the age of five.[7]
Kremer attendedLincoln High School in Stockton, California, and graduated in 2013.[8] There, he played baseball for two seasons as aright fielder andpitcher, and was twice named Second Team All-League.[8][11][12] As a senior, on the mound for a significant amount for the first time, he was 6–2 with a 2.35ERA, and 37strikeouts in 41.2innings.[13][14]
In 2013–14, Kremer attendedSan Joaquin Delta College for his freshman year of college as a Business major, playing for the Mustangs, and becoming a full-time pitcher.[8][7][14] He also followed the college's weight and conditioning program, and the formerly skinny pitcher gained approximately 20 pounds (9.1 kg), bringing him to 35 pounds (16 kg) over his 140 pounds (64 kg) weight when he graduated high school.[14][15] Kremer was 13–1 with a 2.00 ERA in 112.2 innings pitched, with 90 strikeouts.[8][11] He was named the California Community College Baseball Coaches Association's Pitcher of the Week for the week ending April 5, 2015, and a 2015 Third TeamAll-American.[8][16][2][17]
Kremer transferred for 2014–15 to theUniversity of Las Vegas (UNLV) on a baseball scholarship for his sophomore year. He was astarting pitcher for theRebels and went 4–5 with a 4.92 ERA.[5][7][18][4][19] At the time, he threw afastball in the low-90s.[5]
In June 2015, at 19 years of age, Kremer became the first Israeli to ever be selected in theMajor League Baseball draft, when he was drafted by theSan Diego Padres in the 38th round of the2015 draft.[20] He had been projected to go much higher in the draft, but for the fact that he had already committed to theUniversity of Nevada, Las Vegas, and told interested MLB teams that he intended to attend the school for a year.[5][14] He chose to honor his commitment and play college baseball for the UNLV Rebels, which left three years on his eligibility at the time, with the plan of playing professionally after college.[21][7][22]
In the2016 Major League Baseball draft, Kremer was picked in the 14th round by theLos Angeles Dodgers, 431st overall.[23] He signed with the Dodgers for asigning bonus of $147,500.[24][25][26] At the time, he threw a fastball in the 90–93 mph range that sometimes reached 94 miles per hour (151 km/h)-95 miles per hour (153 km/h), aslider, acurveball, and asplitter.[18][19]
Kremer made his professional debut on July 3, 2016, for theOgden Raptors of the RookiePioneer League. On August 11, he was promoted to theGreat Lakes Loons of the Class AMidwest League.[4] Kremer finished his first professional regular season between the two teams with a 2–1 record and a 2.27 ERA, as in 31.2 innings he struck out 35 batters, while giving up 19 hits and 7 walks while holding hitters to a .176batting average.[1][27] In the playoffs, Kremer pitched 10.1 innings with an 0.87 ERA and 6 strikeouts, and recorded the final eight outs of the Loons' championship-clinching win over theClinton LumberKings.[28]
The Dodgers assigned Kremer to theRancho Cucamonga Quakes of the Class A+California League for the 2017 season. There he made 33 appearances for the team (including six starts), was 1–4 with three saves and a 5.18 ERA, and struck out 96 batters in 80 innings.[29][27]
He returned to the Quakes for the 2018 season and was named a California League Mid-Season All-Star.[30][31] Kremer was 5–3 with a 3.30 ERA with 13.0 strikeouts per 9 innings (9th in the league) in 16 starts for the Quakes[27] before he was promoted to theTulsa Drillers of theTexas League on July 5. In his debut for them, he pitched a three-hit shutout against theMidland RockHounds while striking out 11.[32] He was named the Texas League Pitcher of the Week on July 8.[33]
On July 18, 2018, Kremer was traded to theBaltimore Orioles along withYusniel Diaz,Rylan Bannon,Zach Pop, andBreyvic Valera forManny Machado.[34] At the time,FanGraphs wrote of Kremer: "Throws 92–95, touches 97, above-average curveball, average change. If pitchability improves, he's a back-end starter. If not, solid relief option."[35] He was assigned to theBowie Baysox of the Double-AEastern League and finished the year there. In 2018 in 25 starts between Rancho Cucamonga, Tulsa, and Bowie, he was 10–5 with a 2.88 ERA, striking out 178 batters (leading the entire minor leagues) in 131.1 innings pitched.[1][36] He was a mid-season California League All Star.[1]
He started the 2019 season ranked as the No. 9 Orioles prospect byBaseball America.[37] In 2019 Kremer pitched two starts for theFrederick Keys of the Class A+Carolina League, 15 starts for Bowie, and four starts for theNorfolk Tides of the Class AAAInternational League.[38] He was a combined 9–6 with a 3.72 ERA, as in 113.2 innings he struck out 122 batters, averaging 9.7 K/9, 2.9 BB/9, 0.87 HR/9, and a ground-ball rate just short of 40 percent.[38][39]
He played in theArizona Fall League for theSurprise Saguaros following the 2019 season. Kremer pitched 19 innings with a 2.37 ERA and a 0.89WHIP, giving up 13 hits and four walks, with 23 strikeouts. He was named a league All Star and was added to the Orioles'40 man roster to protect him from being claimed in theRule 5 draft.[40][41][42][39][43][44]
Kremer pitched 5.1 scoreless innings inspring training in 2020.[45] In July 2020, he was added to the team's60-man player pool.[46] He was ranked in 2020 as Baltimore's 9th-best prospect by MLB Pipeline.[47][48]
On September 6, 2020, the Orioles called Kremer up to the majors. In his MLB debut, he allowed only one run and one hit while striking out seven batters (the most in an Orioles' debut in two decades) in a six-inning start, and was the winning pitcher in a 5–1 victory over theNew York Yankees atCamden Yards.[49] He became the fourth Orioles starter to throw six innings or more of one-hit ball in his debut.[50] He was the first Israeli citizen to pitch in the major leagues, and the second (after catcherRyan Lavarnway) to play in the majors.[50]
Kremer made more history by becoming just the second rookie to—in each of his first three starts—throw at least five innings, with one or no runs, four or fewer hits, and at least six strikeouts;Eduardo Rodriguez of the Boston Red Sox is the other pitcher to accomplish that feat.[51]
Kremer ended the 2020 season with a 4.82 ERA, a 1–1 record, and 22 strikeouts in 18.2 innings over 4 starts.[37]
Kremer struggled in 2021, with a 7.55 ERA, a 0–7 record, and 47 strikeouts in 53.2 innings over 13 starts.[37]
In 2022, Kremer had three straight scoreless starts of at least five innings pitched, which tied for the longest such streak in Orioles/St. Louis Browns franchise history.[52] Before Kremer, the three prior Orioles with at least 18.2 scoreless innings in the span of three starts wereKevin Gausman,Fernando Valenzuela, andJim Palmer.[53] After4+2⁄3 scoreless innings against the Texas Rangers, Kremer allowed a bases loaded sacrifice fly, ending his scoreless innings streak at23+1⁄3 innings.[37] On September 23, 2022, Kremer threw his first careershutout in a 6–0 victory over theHouston Astros.[54]
In 2022, he was 8–7 with a 3.23 ERA, and his 8 wins were the second-most on the Orioles staff.[55][56] He pitched 22 games (21 starts), in which he pitched 125.1 innings.[56] He allowed 0.79 home runs per nine innings, the ninth-lowest rate in the AL.[37] He relied mostly on his 94 mph fourseam fastball (34% of the time) and 88 mph cutter (31%), while also throwing an 84 mph changeup (15%), 76 mph curveball (12%), and 92 mph sinker (8%).[57]
On September 28, 2023, Kremer was the starting pitcher against theBoston Red Sox. He pitched 5.1 innings with 8strikeouts, allowing zero runs. His pitching received a standing ovation by fans. Eventually, the Orioles won 2–0 and were made 2023American League East division champions.
In the 2023 regular season, Kremer was 13–5 (his 13 wins being the 6th-most in the AL) for a .722 won-loss percentage (2nd in the AL), with a 4.12 ERA, as in 32 starts (7th) covering 172.2 innings he struck out 157 batters (8.183 strikeouts/9 innings; the 8th-best ratio in Orioles' history).[58][56] His 46 strikeouts with his cutter were the third-most in Major League Baseball.[37] On defense, he had a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage.[56] He had a salary of $731,200.[56]
In the 2024 regular season, Kremer was 8–10 with a 4.10 ERA.[56] In 24 starts covering 129.2 innings he struck out 123 batters (8.5 strikeouts/9 innings), held batters to a .220 batting average, and induced the highest-percentage of soft contact (23.1%) and the fourth-lowest exit velocity (87.4 mph) among AL pitchers with 120 or more innings.[56] He had a salary of $756,000.[56][59]
Kremer has competed several times for theIsrael national baseball team in international tournaments, often as the team's ace starting pitcher.[60][18]
Kremer has pitched forIsrael in the qualifying rounds for the2016 European Baseball Championship. In both the B-Level and C-Level qualifiers, which took place in 2014 and 2015, he won the Most Valuable Pitcher award.[3][61]
Kremer pitched in 2014 inSlovenia forIsrael in the C-Level qualifier at the2016 European Baseball Championship, going 2–0 with a 0.00 ERA. In 13 innings, he gave up six hits and a walk, while striking out 20 batters.[3] He led all pitchers in the tournament in ERA, strikeouts, and wins.[62] In the opening game againstFinland, he went 5 innings, giving up 2 hits and 1unearned run, and recording 9 strikeouts, while earning the win.[63] He then pitched again during the semifinal game againstRomania, going 8 innings, giving up 4 hits and 1 unearned run, and recording 5 strikeouts, while earning his second win of the qualifier.[64]
Israel advanced to the 2015 B-level qualifier for the2016 European Baseball Championship in Vienna, Austria. Kremer again pitched on the opening day, going 6 innings againstBelarus, not giving up any runs, striking out 10, and recording another win.[65] During Israel's fifth and final game of the B-level qualifier, againstSweden, Kremer started again going 7.1 innings, giving up 4 runs (3 earned) and 9 hits, and striking out 5.[66]
Kremer pitched in September 2016 for Israel in thequalifier for the2017 World Baseball Classic.[67] He was, at 20 years of age, the youngest player on the team.[68] Kremer said: "I've been dreaming about playing for this team, since I first saw them in 2012 and heard about the WBC and representing Israel."[68] In Israel's third and final game, in which it qualified for the 2017 World Baseball Classic by defeatingGreat Britain, Kremer pitched the 9th inning, giving up two hits, recording one strikeout, and not giving up any runs.[69]
Kremer pitched forTeam Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic main tournament, in March 2017.[70][71]
In July 2022, Kremer committed to play forTeam Israel in the2023 World Baseball Classic.[72][73] He played for Team Israel manager and former All StarIan Kinsler, and alongside All Star outfielderJoc Pederson, pitcherRichard Bleier, and others.[72][73]
Kremer pitched for the Team USA baseball team in the2013 Maccabiah Games in Israel.[5][74][3] The team won thegold medal in the Games.[75]
