John Nogowski
John Francis Nogowski (born January 5, 1993) is an American professional baseball first baseman in the Atlanta Braves organization. He was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 34th round of the 2014 MLB draft. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2020, and has also played for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Career. Oakland Athletics. Nogowski attended North Florida Christian School and played college baseball at Florida State University, batting .307/.431/.443 in 2014. He was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 34th round of the 2014 MLB draft. He spent the  2014 season with the AZL Athletics and the Vermont Lake Monsters, batting a combined .264/.351/.347. In 2015, he was assigned to the Stockton Ports, and batted .274/.352/.364. He would spend the entire 2015 season with Stockton. He played in Stockton and for the Midland RockHounds in 2016. Nogowski was released before the season started on March 27, 2017. Sioux City Explorers. On May 18, 2017, Nogowski signed with the Sioux City Explorers of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball. Nogowski played in 32 games for Sioux City, slashing .402/.482/.607. St. Louis Cardinals. The St. Louis Cardinals purchased Nogowski’s  contract on June 27, 2017. He would finish the 2017 season with the Double-A Springfield Cardinals. He would also spend most of the 2018 season with them, batting .309/.392/.463. He spent 2019 with the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds, batting .295/.413/.476 in 380 at bats while coming in third in the PCL with 69 walks and 10 hit-by-pitch, and tying for fourth by grounding into 15 double plays. Nogowski was called up to the majors for the first time on August 15, 2020. He made his major league debut the next day against the Chicago White Sox and  got his first major league hit off of Dallas Keuchel. In 2021, Nogowski made the Opening Day roster after batting .333 with two home runs over 33 spring training at-bats. Nogowski limped to a .056/.150/.056 slash line in 19 games with St. Louis before being designated for assignment on June 28, 2021. Pittsburgh Pirates. On July 3, 2021, Nogowski was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for cash considerations. After hitting .261 with 1 home run and 14 RBI's through 33 games with the Pirates, he was designated for assignment on August 16, 2021. On August 20 , Nogowski cleared waivers and was assigned outright to the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians. On September 20, the Pirates released Nogowski. San Francisco Giants. On September 22, 2021, Nogowski signed a two-year minor league contract with the San Francisco Giants organization. Nogowski appeared in 8 games for the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats, hitting just .185/.290/.444 with 2 home runs and 5 RBI. Atlanta Braves. On December 8, 2021, the Atlanta Braves selected Nogowski from the Giants in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft.