Adam Kolarek

Amerature Career

Kolarek was born in Baltimore, Maryland and attended Catonsville High School. He later attended University of Maryland, where he played from 2008 to 2010. In 2008, he was 2-1 with a 4.26 ERA in 21 appearances. In 2009, he was 2-1 with a 4.68 ERA in 26 games and in 2010, he was 1-4 with a 6.06 ERA in 13 games (five starts). Ranked as one of the top 50 lefthanders in the country, Kolarek was drafted by the Mets in the 11th round of the 2010 Major League Baseball Draft, ahead of future major league All-Star outfielder Joc Pederson.

Minor League Career

He pitched for the Kingsport Mets and Brooklyn Cyclones in 2010 and went 2-1 with a 3.13 ERA in 22 games between them. In 37 1/3 innings, he allowed 19 hits and had 45 strikeouts. Had he qualified, he would have led Kingsport in WHIP with a mark of 0.643. He pitched for the Savannah Sand Gnats and St. Lucie Mets in 2011, going 7-1 with a 2.85 ERA in 26 games. His 1.000 winning percentage for Savannah tied for the team and league lead, In 2012, he went 1-3 with 18 saves, 70 strikeouts and a 2.37 ERA in 44 games (57 innings) for St. Lucie, earning a spot on the Florida State League All-Star team. He also pitched 6 games for the Binghamton Mets and posted a 2-0 record with a 5.68 ERA. He was a MiLB.com Organization All-Star and a FSL Post-Season All-Star that year. He led St. Lucie in games and games finished that year. He led the entire league in saves. In the Arizona Fall League, he had a 2.92 ERA in nine games for the Surprise Saguaros. In 2013, he was 3-3 with a 1.71 ERA in 44 games for Binghamton. In his first taste of Triple-A, he had a 11.25 ERA in 2 appearances for the Las Vegas 51s as well. He spent some time with the big league club during 2014 spring training. Back with Binghamton for that year's regular season, his ERA was 6.07 in 48 appearances, though he had a 1.12 mark in six games for the Gigantes de Carolina in the Puerto Rican Winter League. He began 2015 with Binghamton. Kolarek signed with the Tampa Bay Rays before the 2016 season.

Tampa Bay Rays

Kolarek was called up to the majors for the first time on June 28, 2017. At 28 years old Kolarek made his major league debut at PNC Park, throwing 1.1 innings, allowing 1 hit and 1 strike out on 14 pitches. His groundball tendencies and ability to neutralize left-handed hitters could give him an extended stay in the Rays bullpen.

Personal

His father, Frank Kolarek, played in the minor leagues in the 1970s and 1980s.