Cooper Kinney

Cooper Kinney
Tampa Bay Rays
Second baseman
Born: (2003-01-27) January 27, 2003 (age 21)
Kennesaw, Georgia
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
Medals
Men's baseball
Representing  United States
U-12 Baseball World Cup
Gold medal – first place 2015 Tainan Team

Cooper Michael Kinney (born January 27, 2003) is an American professional baseball second baseman in the Tampa Bay Rays organization.

Amateur career

Kinney attended Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where he played baseball under his father, Mike.[1][2] In 2019, as a sophomore, he batted .396 with five home runs.[3] As a senior in 2021, he hit .480 with ten home runs and fifty RBIs and was named the Tennessee Gatorade Player of the Year.[4] He committed to play college baseball at the University of South Carolina.[5]

Professional career

Kinney was selected by the Tampa Bay Rays in the first competitive balance round with the 34th overall selection of the 2021 Major League Baseball draft.[6] He signed with the Rays for a $2.1 million signing bonus.[7] He made his professional debut with the Florida Complex League Rays, slashing .286/.468/.371 with five RBIs over 35 at-bats.[8] He missed all of the 2022 season due to undergoing shoulder surgery.[9][10] Kinney returned to play in 2023 with the Charleston RiverDogs and batted .274 with ten home runs and 61 RBIs over 121 games.[11]

References

  1. ^ "Cooper Kinney has notable offensive skills". Baseball Prospect Journal. April 6, 2021.
  2. ^ "Baylor School's Cooper Kinney could go from Mr. Tennessee Baseball to MLB Draft pick". June 7, 2021.
  3. ^ "Baylor baseball star Cooper Kinney drafted by Tampa Bay Rays". www.yahoo.com.
  4. ^ "Baylor's Cooper Kinney named state's top player by Gatorade". timesfreepress.com.
  5. ^ Cloninger, David. "USC, Clemson commitments taken during first night of Major League Baseball Draft". Post and Courier.
  6. ^ "Tampa Bay Rays Select Baylor's Cooper Kinney '21 In MLB Draft - Chattanoogan.com". www.chattanoogan.com. Archived from the original on 2021-07-12.
  7. ^ Berry, Adam (July 19, 2021). "Rays ink Kinney, second Day 1 pick". MLB.com. Archived from the original on 2021-07-20. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  8. ^ "Wiedmer: Baylor grad Cooper Kinney already giving back to Chattanooga, with much help from Gatorade".
  9. ^ "Here's where Rays Top 30 prospects are starting '22". MLB.com.
  10. ^ "Rays' Cooper Kinney: Shut down after shoulder surgery".
  11. ^ https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2023/jun/23/baylor-grad-cooper-kinney-others-from-chattanooga/