Brian Goodwin (baseball)

Brian Christopher Goodwin (born November 2, 1990) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball at North Carolina.

Amateur career

Born and raised in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, Goodwin attended Rocky Mount High School where he was a three-sport athlete in baseball, football, and basketball. Goodwin was named Gatorade Player of the Year during his senior season, and also received All-Conference honors in football as a cornerback and kick returner. Goodwin later attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he hit .291, tied the school record for triples in a single season, led the team in RBIs, and was named a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American. However, Goodwin transferred to Miami-Dade College, due to issues with his grades. As a sophomore at Miami-Dade, Goodwin hit .382 with a .500 on-base percentage.^[1] Goodwin committed to play baseball at the University of South Carolina following the 2011 season.^[2]

Professional career

Goodwin was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 17th round of the 2009 Major League Baseball Draft out of Rocky Mount High School in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. He did not sign and attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He was then drafted by the Washington Nationals in the first round of the 2011 Major League Baseball Draft.^[3]

Prior to the 2012 season, Baseball America ranked Goodwin as the Nationals fifth best prospect.^[4] Goodwin made his debut that year for the Class-A Hagerstown Suns. He was promoted to Double-A Harrisburg Senators after hitting .324/.438/.542 with nine home runs and 38 runs batted in.^[5] At Harrisburg he hit .223/.306/.373 with five home runs. After the season he played in the Arizona Fall League and was the MVP of the Rising Stars Game.^[6][7]

Prior to the 2013 season, Goodwin was ranked as the Nationals third best prospect by Baseball America.^[8] He was also ranked as the 52nd best prospect in baseball by MLB.com.^[9]

He was called up to the Nationals in August 2016 after hitting .284 in the minor leagues.^[10] On August 10, 2016, Goodwin connected for his first major league hit, a single, against the Cleveland Indians.

References

External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• North Carolina Tar Heels bio