Corey Knebel

Early life

Knebel was born in Denton, Texas to parents Jeffrey and Melissa Knebel and grew up in Bastrop County, Texas. He attended Bastrop High School where he was a three-year letter winner and a former district MVP. He is a graduate of Georgetown High School, where he moved for his senior season.

College career

Knebel enrolled at the University of Texas in 2011, and played college baseball for the Texas Longhorns baseball team. He became the Longhorn's closer as a freshman and tied J. Brent Cox and Charlie Thames' school records for saves in a single season with 19. He was named the NCBWA Stopper of the Year and the Freshman of the Year by the NBCWA and Collegiate Baseball Magazine. Knebel earned First Team All-American and first-team All-Big 12 Conference honors.

Knebel was again the Longhorn closer in 2012, finishing the year with nine saves and a 2.08 earned run average. Though unable to match the accolades of his freshman season, he again earned first-team All-Big 12 honors.

Knebel was suspended from the Longhorns twice in 2013, once for violating team rules and once for providing a urine sample to help a teammate beat a drug test.

Detroit Tigers

Knebel was drafted by the Detroit Tigers as the 39th pick in the 2013 Major League Baseball Draft. This supplemental pick was the first traded draft slot in Major League history. The pick was included in a 2012 trade between the Tigers and the Miami Marlins, which included Aníbal Sánchez, Omar Infante, and Jacob Turner. Knebel played for the Class-A West Michigan Whitecaps, the Double-A Erie SeaWolves and the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens before being called up by the Tigers. He made his major league debut on May 24, 2014 against the Texas Rangers.

Texas Rangers

On July 23, 2014, the Tigers traded Knebel and Jake Thompson to the Texas Rangers, in exchange for reliever Joakim Soria. After the trade, Knebel was assigned to play for the Rangers' Triple-A team, the Round Rock Express. Knebel sprained the ulnar collateral ligament of the elbow in his throwing arm in August, ending his season.

Milwaukee Brewers

On January 19, 2015, the Rangers traded Knebel, Luis Sardiñas, and Marcos Diplan to the Milwaukee Brewers for Yovani Gallardo.

In May 2017, Knebel became the permanent closer for the Brewers, taking the job from a struggling Neftalí Feliz.

On June 22, 2017, Corey Knebel set the MLB record for most consecutive appearances with at least one strikeout at 38. The record was previously set in 2014 by Aroldis Chapman with the Cincinnati Reds. As of July 15, 2017, his streak remains unbroken at 45.