Kodi Whitley

Whitley attended Cleveland High School in Clayton, North Carolina.[1][2] In 2013, his senior year, he earned all-conference honors.[3] Undrafted in the 2013 Major League Baseball draft, he enrolled at the University of Mount Olive, where he played college baseball.

In 2014, Whitley's freshman year, he pitched to a 6–2 record with a 2.74 ERA over 13 games (ten starts),[4] earning Conference Carolinas Freshman of the Year.[5] That summer, he played in the Coastal Plain League for the Fayetteville SwampDogs.[6] As a sophomore at Mount Olive in 2015, he appeared in 17 games (making 14 starts) in which he went 8–4 with a 4.41 ERA, striking out 88 batters over ​87 ²⁄₃ innings.[7] After the year, he returned to play in the Coastal Plain League with Fayetteville,[8] earning All-Star honors.[9] Prior to the 2016 season, Whitley underwent Tommy John surgery, forcing him to miss the year.[10] In 2017, he pitched only five innings.[11] After the year, he was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 27th round of the 2017 Major League Baseball draft.[12][13][14]

Whitley signed with St. Louis[15] and made his professional debut with the Gulf Coast League Cardinals. He also appeared in one game for the Palm Beach Cardinals at the end of the season. Over ​17 ²⁄₃ innings between both clubs, he compiled a 1.53 ERA and 22 strikeouts. In 2018, he pitched for the Peoria Chiefs,[16][17] going 4–2 with a 2.51 ERA over 41 games (two starts), and in 2019, he began the year with Palm Beach before being promoted to the Springfield Cardinals[18] in April and to the Memphis Redbirds in July.[19] Over fifty relief appearances between the three clubs, Whitley went 3–4 with a 1.60 ERA, striking out 78 batters over ​67 ¹⁄₃ innings. He was selected to play in the Arizona Fall League for the Glendale Desert Dogs following the season.[20]

On July 20, 2020, it was announced that Whitley had made the Cardinals 2020 Opening Day roster.[21] He made his debut on July 26 at Busch Stadium against the Pittsburgh Pirates, facing three batters and retiring them all over one inning in relief.[22] On August 4, it was announced that Whitley had tested positive for COVID-19, and he was subsequently placed on the injured list.[23][24] He returned to the team on September 22. Over ​4 ²⁄₃ innings with St. Louis, he compiled a 1.93 ERA with five strikeouts.

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference (Minors)