In his debut year of 2015, Kalish pitched for the Arizona League Royals of the Rookie Arizona League and the rookie-level Burlington Royals of the Rookie Advanced Appalachian League, going a combined 3–3 with a 2.67 ERA, as he kept batters to a .202 batting average.[1] In 2016, Kalish pitched for the Single-A Lexington Legends of the South Atlantic League and the High-A Wilmington Blue Rocks of the Carolina League, going a combined 3–0 with a 2.45 ERA in 23 relief appearances, as he kept batters to a .192 batting average and averaged 9.1 strikeouts/9 innings and 2.1 walks/9 innings.[1][10] That season he was an MILB.com Kansas City Organization All Star, and named the organization's best relief pitcher.[1][10] For the 2017 season, Kalish pitched for the Wilmington Blue Rocks again, going 1–1 with one save with a 1.93 ERA in 10 relief appearances while striking out 23 in 18.2 innings, and for the Double-A Northwest Arkansas Naturals of the Texas League, going 0–7 with a 3.77 ERA in 18 games (9 of them starts).[11] In August 2017, pitching for the Omaha Storm Chasers of the Pacific Coast League Kalish made his second-ever start in Triple-A, against three-time Cy Young Award winner and former MVP Clayton Kershaw, who was in the minors for a rehab start.[12] Kalish outdueled Kershaw with eight strikeouts and two walks in seven shutout innings.[13] In three starts for Omaha, he was 1–0 with a 2.35 ERA, striking out 16 in 15.1 innings.[11]
Kalish started the 2018 season pitching again for the Northwest Arkansas Naturals of the Texas League, for whom he was 2–2 with a 5.12 ERA and 39 strikeouts and 8 walks in 38.2 innings, and then pitched for the Omaha Storm Chasers of the Pacific Coast League, where he was 6–6 with a 3.34 ERA and 85 strikeouts and 13 walks in 89 innings.[14][11] His 124 strikeouts between the two teams led all Kansas City minor league pitchers for the season.[15] He was named Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Week for the week ended July 22.[16] In 2019 he pitched three games for the Naturals, and 24 games for the Storm Chasers.[1] He was a combined 8–8 with a 4.86 ERA in 127.2 innings on the year.[1]
Kalish did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[17] In 2021, Kalish made 30 appearances for Triple-A Omaha, but struggled greatly to a 3-6 record and 6.94 ERA with 106 strikeouts in 96.0 innings pitched across 30 appearances. He elected free agency following the season on November 7, 2021.[18]
Los Angeles Angels
On March 19, 2022, Kalish signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Angels.[19] He pitched for the Triple–A Salt Lake Bees of the Pacific Coast League, and was 10-2 (his 10 wins tied for the league lead) with a 2.87 ERA (7th in the league) in 23 games (11 starts) covering 84+2⁄3 innings in which he walked only 19 batters (2.0 walks per 9 innings; 4th), 3.79 strikeouts/walk (7th), and a 1.134 WHIP (7th).[11] He elected free agency following the season on November 10.[20]
In his minor league career through 2022, Kalish was 37–35 with a 4.13 ERA and 577 strikeouts.[1] He re-signed with the Angels on a minor league deal on December 22, 2022, and began the 2023 season back with Triple–A Salt Lake.[21][11] In 30 games (25 starts) for the Bees, Kalish registered a 9–11 record and 7.19 ERA with 103 strikeouts across 137+2⁄3 innings pitched. He elected free agency following the season on November 6, 2023.[22]
Uni-President Lions
On February 2, 2024, Kalish signed with the Uni-President Lions of the Chinese Professional Baseball League.[23] He pitched only for the Lions' farm team, logging a 2.30 ERA and 1.16 WHIP across 74+1⁄3 innings pitched. Kalish was released by the Lions on August 8.[24][25]
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