Rob Kaminsky

His boyhood hero was left-handed pitcher Sandy Koufax, and he said Koufax "stood up for what he believed in" when Koufax decided not to pitch Game 1 of the 1965 World Series because it was on Yom Kippur.

He is nearly completely ambidextrous; Kaminsky writes, throws a football, and shoots a basketball right-handed, but throws a baseball left-handed.

In Little League, he sometimes threw left-handed and sometimes threw right-handed.

He learned how to switch-hit when he was around 10 years old.

Kaminsky attended Solomon Schechter Day School of Bergen County, a Jewish day school, through eighth grade.

He became the 12th New Jersey player drafted in the first round directly out of high school since the initial Major League Baseball draft in 1965.

He signed for a signing bonus of $1.785 million, foregoing his scholarship to pitch and play center field for the University of North Carolina Tar Heels.

Robert Harris Kaminsky (born September 2, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent.

He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Initially, he was a center fielder, and in 2011 he preferred playing the outfield.

In high school, Kaminsky was the Gatorade New Jersey Baseball Player of the Year in both 2012 and 2013, named to the 2012 USA Today All-USA Team, and a 2013 Baseball America Preseason First Team All-American.

He was the Gatorade New Jersey Baseball Player of the Year, and the Star-Ledger New Jersey Player of the Year, in both 2012 and 2013.

In his junior year in 2012 he was 8-2 with a 0.20 earned run average (ERA), struck out 103 batters and walked 20 in 53 innings, and pitched three no-hitters and three one-hitters.

He was also named to the USA Today All-USA Team.

In his senior year in 2013, he was 10-0 with a 0.10 ERA, averaging two strikeouts per inning while batting .506.

He was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals at the age of 18 in the first round of the 2013 Major League Baseball Draft, 28th overall.

In 2013, Baseball America ranked him the Gulf Coast League's No. 8 prospect.

Kaminsky attended Saint Joseph Regional High School in Montvale, New Jersey, graduating in 2013.

In his senior year in 2013 Kaminsky was 10-0 with a 0.10 ERA, averaged two strikeouts per inning, gave up 14 walks as he struck out 126 in 64 innings, pitched three no-hitters and three one-hitters, while batting .506 with 3 home runs and 19 RBIs.

He was also a Baseball America Preseason First Team All-American and a Rawlings-Perfect Game First Team All-American.

Seattle Mariners scout Frank Rendini said: "He has a major-league curveball right now."

While in high school, Kaminsky raised over $30,000 through his Strikeout Challenge charity for the pediatric cancer ward at Englewood Hospital, as he asked supporters to donate whatever amount they chose for each strikeout he recorded in his senior year.

Kaminsky was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals at the age of 18 in the first round of the 2013 Major League Baseball Draft, 28th overall, after Baseball America ranked him the # 21 prospect in the draft.

In 2013 he made his professional debut for the Gulf Coast Cardinals in the Rookie Gulf Coast League.

Kaminsky appeared in eight games with five starts and had a 3.68 ERA and 28 strikeouts in 22 innings pitched.

Baseball America ranked him the Gulf Coast League's No. 8 prospect in 2013.

In 2014, Kaminsky's 1.88 ERA was the best in the Midwest League of all pitchers with 100 or more innings pitched, and he was a Baseball America Low Class A All-Star.

Kaminsky pitched in 2014 for the Peoria Chiefs of the Class A Midwest League, where he was three years younger than the average player.

In 2014, he appeared in 18 games, all starts, going 8-2 (his 8 wins were 8th among Cardinals minor leaguers) with a 1.88 ERA (the best ERA in the league of all pitchers with 100 or more innings pitched), a 1.013 WHIP (9th among Cardinals minor leaguers), and a .194/.266/.251 batting-average-against and slash line against.

He was named a Baseball America Low Class A All Star, and Scout named him the best left-handed starter in the Cardinals' minor league system.

Peoria pitching coach, and former major leaguer, Jason Simontacchi said: "there’s no question he’s got stuff that could play in the big leagues."

In 2015, his 2.09 ERA was 2nd-best in the Florida State League of all pitchers with 90 or more innings pitched.

On July 30, 2015, the Cardinals traded Kaminsky to the Cleveland Indians for All Star outfielder/first baseman Brandon Moss.

In 2016, his 3.28 ERA was 4th-best in the Eastern League.

He made his major league debut for the Cardinals in August 2020.

Kaminsky pitched for Team Israel in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

Kaminsky was born in and grew up in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.

His parents are Donna Kaminsky, and Alan Kaminsky, a civil litigator for Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith in New York City.

He has two older siblings, Joseph and Anna, and his grandfather is Bernard Kaminsky.

Kaminsky is Jewish, and his bar mitzvah was based on a baseball theme.