Cardinals sign Grizzlies starter Alec Kisena to minor league deal

Grizzlies starting pitcher Alec Kisena, who earned the start on opening night this season and leads the Frontier League with 44 strikeouts in just 28 innings, signed a free agent contract with the St. Louis Cardinals Monday.

Kisena is the second Grizzlie to sign with an MLB organization this year and is the 45th player to sign an affiliated contract in Gateway's 18-year history.

In five starts so far this year, Kisena posted a 3-2 record with a 4.17 ERA, despite a WHIP of just .870. In his final start with the Grizzlies on Sunday evening, Kisena set a single-game career high with 11 strikeouts just over six innings of work.

The Seattle, Washington, native debuted with Gateway on June 14, 2017, against the Schaumburg Boomers and was a fixture in the rotation for the remainder of the season.

He was originally taken by the Detroit Tigers in 16th round of the 2015 amateur draft and, in nine games Gulf Coast League games, had a 2.25 ERA and 44 strikeouts in 40 innings.

Kisena joins fellow 2018 Grizzlie Matt Hearn back in the affiliated ranks. Hearn signed with the Colorado Rockies last week.

Trevor Richards also spent part of a season with the Grizzlies in 2016 before signing a free agent contract with the Miami Marlins. The Mater Dei graduate went on to become the Marlins Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2017 and made his big league debut this season.

This story was originally published June 4, 2018 at 8:51 PM with the headline "Cardinals sign Grizzlies starter Alec Kisena to minor league deal."