Dylan Axelrod

Dylan Davis Haines Axelrod (born July 30, 1985) is an American pitching performance and integration coordinator for the Detroit Tigers. He is also a former professional baseball pitcher, as well as a former pitcher for Team Israel. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago White Sox and the Cincinnati Reds.

At Santa Barbara High School, Axelrod was one of the 2003 Channel League Most Valuable Players, and First Team All-County. After college, he was drafted in the 30th round of the 2007 MLB draft by the San Diego Padres. In 2009, he was a Frontier League All Star. In 2011, he was named a Double–A Southern League All-Star and an MiLB.com 2011 Cincinnati Reds Organization All Star. He pitched in the major leagues for the Chicago White Sox (2011–13) and the Cincinnati Reds (2014–15).

Early life Axelrod was born in Santa Barbara, California, to Dennis and Joni Axelrod. After his mother discovered she had cancer, she home-schooled him for four years. He has a brother, named Aaron.

High school and college He had a 13–1 record as a pitcher his senior year at Santa Barbara High School, where Axelrod was named one of the team's Most Valuable Players (MVP).

Axelrod went on to Santa Barbara City College (SBCC). He was a reliever with UC Irvine, and was seventh in the Big West Conference in appearances in 2006 with 28 and had a 3–3 record with a 4.59 ERA. In February 2014 he was inducted into the Foresters Hall of Fame.

Playing career San Diego Padres Minor leagues Axelrod was drafted in the 30th round, 927th overall, of the 2007 MLB draft by the San Diego Padres.

Axelrod debuted in 2007 with the Arizona League Padres of the Rookie Arizona League, going 0–2 with 2 saves in 11 games exclusively as a reliever with a 5.40 ERA, before earning a promotion to the Fort Wayne Wizards of the Single–A Midwest League, where in 10 games out of the pen he had a 1.27 ERA. He started 2008 with the Lake Elsinore Storm of the High–A California League, going 2–1 as a reliever in 32 games with a 5.29 ERA, before being sent back to Fort Wayne, where he finished the year going 1–1 with a 3.95 ERA. He pitched for the Kannapolis Intimidators of the Single–A South Atlantic League where, after 2 games, he was promoted to the Winston-Salem Dash of the High–A Carolina League, where he started 5 games and had a 1.91 ERA. At the time of his promotion to the major leagues in 2011, he led all White Sox minor leaguers in ERA (2.69), strikeouts (132), and opponents' batting average (.227), and was 9–3.

Major leagues On September 5, 2011, Axelrod was promoted to the major leagues for the first time. Tony Peña was transferred to the 60-day DL to make room on the 40-man roster. He made his MLB debut on September 7, pitching 2 scoreless innings in relief of starter John Danks in a game the White Sox lost, 5–4, to the Minnesota Twins. Axelrod made his first Major League start a week later, on September 14 vs. the first-place Detroit Tigers, who were on an 11-game win streak. He exited after six innings with a 5–2 lead, after striking out eight Tigers. Unfortunately for Axelrod, the White Sox bullpen blew the lead in the 9th inning and he did not pick up the win. It was announced prior to his start that Axelrod would assume Jake Peavy's place in the White Sox rotation for the remainder of the 2011 season.

Axelrod started two more games in the 2011 season: September 20 against Cleveland, pitching innings and allowing seven hits and four runs; but was back on form September 26 against the Toronto Blue Jays, pitching six shutout innings, allowing three hits while striking out six, and recording his first Major League win. For the season, he was 1-0 for the White Sox with a 2.89 ERA. After the 2013 season, Axelrod was non-tendered by the White Sox, making him a free agent. He was re-signed to a minor league deal on January 9, 2014.

Cincinnati Reds The White Sox traded Axelrod to the Cincinnati Reds for cash considerations on July 17, 2014. He was 2-1 for the Reds in 2014, with a 2.95 ERA, striking out 9.82 batters per nine innings and walking 1.96 batters per nine innings. In 2014, he pitched for both Charlotte and the Louisville Bats, both of the International League, going a combined 8–9 with a 4.01 ERA. Pitching for the Triple–A New Orleans Zephyrs, he was 9–7 with a 4.19 ERA in 25 starts (7th in the league), with a complete game (6th).

World Baseball Classic; Team Israel Axelrod pitched for Team Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic, in March 2017. At the opening tune of the Israeli national anthem “Hatikvah,” each Team Israel pulled out a blue yarmulke. Axelrod later donated his yarmulke to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Following the 2023 season, Axelrod was let go by the Angels organization following Troy Percival's criticism of the use of iPads in player development.

Detroit Tigers On December 28, 2023, Axelrod was hired by the Detroit Tigers to serve as the team's pitching performance and integration coordinator.

Scouting report Axelrod's broad repertoire consisted of a four-seam fastball (86–90 mph), a sinker (86–90 mph), a cutter (85–88 mph), a slider (80–83 mph), a curveball (72–76 mph), and a changeup (80–85 mph). The cutter was his least commonly used pitch.