Luke Prokopec

Kenneth Luke Prokopec (born February 23, 1978 in Blackwood, South Australia) is an Australian-born, right-handed pitcher who played in Major League Baseball for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays.

While with the Dodgers in 2000 and 2001, the tandem of Prokopec and fellow Australian Jeff Williams gained considerable popularity in the Los Angeles area.^[1] However, the attention was short lived, as both moved on to other franchises. Prokopec was traded to Toronto on December 13, 2001 with Chad Ricketts in exchange for César Izturis and Paul Quantrill.

Prokopec's 2002 tenure with the Toronto Blue Jays was unsuccessful, as he went 2-9 and sustained a labral tear injury late in the season. In short order, the Blue Jays granted Prokopec free agency in October, 2002. The Los Angeles Dodgers then signed him that November, but kept him off their 40-man roster, and the Cincinnati Reds subsequently claimed Prokopec from Los Angeles in the Rule 5 Draft in December. However, Prokopec would never throw another pitch (in either the majors or the minors) for any organization—further labral problems occurred, forcing Prokopec's early retirement from professional baseball at the age of 24.

Prokopec is playing in his native Australia and is now the head baseball coach for the Queensland Academy of Sport in Brisbane, Australia.

Pitching style

Prokopec threw an 88–96 MPH four-seam fastball, an 82–86 MPH slider, an 81–83 MPH changeup, and a 75–77 MPH curveball.^[2]

References

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)