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Brian Serven

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Brian Serven
Serven with the Albuquerque Isotopes in 2022
Detroit Tigers – No. 64
Catcher
Born: (1995-05-05) May 5, 1995 (age 29)
Palm Desert, California, U.S.
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
MLB debut
May 18, 2022, for the Colorado Rockies
MLB statistics
(through 2024 season)
Batting average.187
Home runs6
Runs batted in20
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams

Brian Nicholas Serven (born May 5, 1995) is an American professional baseball catcher in the Detroit Tigers organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Colorado Rockies and Toronto Blue Jays. Serven was drafted by the Rockies in the fifth round of the 2016 MLB draft and made his MLB debut with them in 2022.

Early life

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Serven was born in Palm Desert, California. He is childhood friends with infielder Scott Burcham.[1][2] He attended Palm Desert High School where he led the Aztecs to the California Interscholastic Federation championship his junior year in 2012.

Serven played college baseball for the Arizona State Sun Devils.[3] In 2014, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Bourne Braves of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[4] With the Sun Devils, he batted .280 with 97 RBI in 162 games over three seasons. He was named to the First-Team All-Pac-12 team in 2015, his sophomore season.[3]

Career

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Colorado Rockies

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The Colorado Rockies selected Serven in the fifth round of the 2016 MLB draft.[5]

Serven did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[6] Returning to action in 2021, Serven spent the year with the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes. In 73 games, he slashed .250/.308/.504 with 16 home runs and 38 RBI. He returned to Albuquerque to begin the 2022 season.

On May 17, 2022, Serven was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time.[7] He made his MLB debut the next day on May 18.[8] In his second game for the Rockies on May 21, 2022, Serven hit two home runs against the New York Mets, becoming the first player in major league history to record his first two career hits with two multiple-run home runs in the same game.[9] He finished his rookie season with a .203/.261/.332 slash line. Adjusting for playing in the hitter-friendly Coors Field, he was the third worst hitting catcher in 2022.[10]

Serven had limited playing time in 2023, catching only 11 games for the Rockies. He was sent down by Colorado for the final time on June 15, when the team acquired Jorge Alfaro.[11][12] Later in the minors, Serven missed one week with a concussion, then two months with a sprained thumb on his catching hand. He hit .130 with one double and one RBI for the Rockies.[13]

Toronto Blue Jays

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On January 5, 2024, Serven was claimed off waivers by the Chicago Cubs.[14] However, he was designated for assignment by the team on January 11.[15] On January 16, Serven was claimed off waivers by the Toronto Blue Jays.[16] On January 29, he was removed from the 40-man roster and sent outright to the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons.[17] On March 23, the Blue Jays announced that Serven had made the Opening Day roster following a strong spring and an injury to Danny Jansen.[18] The team selected his contract on March 28.[19] In 28 games for Toronto, he slashed .159/.243/.222 with no home runs and three RBI. Serven was designated for assignment by the Blue Jays on September 16.[20] He cleared waivers and was sent outright to Buffalo on September 19.[21] Serven elected free agency on October 1.[22]

Detroit Tigers

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On December 13, 2024, Serven signed a minor league contract with the Detroit Tigers.[23]

Personal life

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Serven's parents are Jim and Laura Serven. His brother, Jonathan played college baseball for Long Beach State.[3][24] He also has a younger sister, Kristina.[3] Their father Jim coached several sports teams at Palm Desert High School and was also the sole survivor of a plane crash in 1978 that killed three other teenagers.[25][26][27]

Serven also played basketball in high school. He was captain of the basketball team his senior season.[3]

References

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  1. ^ Grammer, Geoff (September 15, 2021). "The needling never ends for these Isotopes teammates". Albuquerque Journal.
  2. ^ Wilcox, Mac (September 26, 2022). "Rocking the World: The Rockies and the World Baseball Classsic". Purple Row. SB Nation.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Brian Serven - Baseball". Arizona State University Athletics. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  4. ^ "#13 Brian Serven". Pointstreak. Retrieved May 19, 2022.
  5. ^ Powers, Shad (June 10, 2016). "MLB Draft: Tyson Miller, Brian Serven, Brooks Kriske all get the call". The Desert Sun. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  6. ^ "2020 Minor League Baseball season cancelled". mlb.com. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
  7. ^ "Rockies' Brian Serven: Gets first career call-up". CBS Sports. Retrieved February 7, 2023.
  8. ^ "Rockies' Brian Serven: MLB debut Wednesday". CBS Sports. May 18, 2022. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  9. ^ Randhawa, Manny (May 21, 2022). "Before yesterday, no player in history had done...this". MLB.com. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
  10. ^ "Major League Leaders Catchers 2022". FanGraphs.
  11. ^ "Brian Serven Stats, Age, Position, Height, Weight, Fantasy & News". MLB.com. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  12. ^ "Rockies Select Jorge Alfaro, Designate Blair Calvo For Assignment". MLB Trade Rumors. June 15, 2023. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  13. ^ "Cubs claim C Brian Serven off waivers". MLB.com. January 5, 2024. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  14. ^ "Cubs' Brian Serven: Claimed by CHC". CBS Sports. January 5, 2024. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  15. ^ "Cubs Designate Brian Serven For Assignment". MLB Trade Rumors. January 11, 2024.
  16. ^ Connon, Sam (January 16, 2024). "Toronto Blue Jays Claim Former Colorado Rockies Catcher Brian Serven Off Waivers". Fastball on FanNation. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
  17. ^ "Blue Jays Outright Brian Serven". January 29, 2024.
  18. ^ "Catcher Brian Serven makes Blue Jays' Opening Day roster". sportsnet.ca. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  19. ^ "Blue Jays finalize Opening Day roster, designate Yosver Zulueta for assignment". sportsnet.ca. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  20. ^ "Blue Jays Claim Tyler Heineman, Designate Brian Serven". MLB Trade Rumors. September 16, 2024. Retrieved September 16, 2024.
  21. ^ "Blue Jays Outright Brian Serven". mlbtraderumors.com. September 19, 2024. Retrieved September 24, 2024.
  22. ^ "MiLB Transactions". MiLB.com. October 1, 2024. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  23. ^ "Tigers, Brian Serven Agree To Minor League Contract". MLB Trade Rumors. December 16, 2024. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
  24. ^ "Jonathan Serven - Baseball". Long Beach State University Athletics. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  25. ^ Powers, Shad (May 17, 2022). "Major moment: Palm Desert grad Brian Serven called up to big leagues by Colorado Rockies". The Desert Sun. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  26. ^ Powers, Shad (February 26, 2020). "Palm Desert basketball coach Jim Serven steps down after six years at helm". The Desert Sun. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  27. ^ Powers, Shad (February 21, 2015). "Palm Desert coach sole survivor of plane crash in 1978". The Desert Sun. Archived from the original on March 3, 2025. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
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