Gavin Christopher Floyd (born January 27, 1983 in
Annapolis, Maryland) is a pitcher for the Chicago
White Sox. He stands 6'4" tall, weighs 225 pounds,
and throws and bats right-handed.
In 2001, Floyd was selected fourth by the Phillies
in the MLB amateur draft, just ahead of fellow Mount
Saint Joseph High School graduate and Atlanta Braves
All-Star, Mark Teixeira.
In his first professional season (2002), Floyd
pitched for the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws of the
South Atlantic League. A highlight of his impressive
first year (2.77 ERA, .200 BAA) was pitching the
first nine-inning no-hitter in BlueClaws history on
July 24th against the Lexington Legends. However,
Floyd actually lost the game, 1-0, due to a pair of
sixth-inning errors, making him the first SAL
pitcher since 1966 to lose a no-hitter.
In 2004, Floyd was a non-roster invitee to spring
training. He began season with the Reading Phillies
(AA) and did not allow any runs in his first 4
starts, allowing only 1 runner made it past 2nd
base. He was named the Phillies farm system Minor
League Pitcher of the Week, as well as Phillies
Minor League Pitcher of the Month for April (2-0,
0.00 ERA). He was promoted to the
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons (AAA) in July and
made 5 starts before having his contract purchased
by Phillies as a September callup.
Floyd made his Major League debut September 3, 2004,
against the division rival New York Mets and earned
the win pitching seven innings and allowing only one
run on four hits, striking out five.
In 2005, Floyd made the team out of spring training
and pitched brilliantly against a tough St. Louis
Cardinals lineup, but struggled thereafter and was
demoted to the minors, where he continued to
struggle for the 2005 season. He came to 2006 spring
training with barely a consideration and pitched his
way into the Phillies rotation as the #4 pitcher,
pushing Ryan Franklin to the bullpen. However, once
again Floyd struggled, with a 4-3 record and a 7.29
ERA, and on June 2, was demoted to
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre for the second straight year.
His career statistics through the 2005 season
include a 6.63 earned run average (40 ER in 54.1
IP), a 3-2 record (8 starts in 13 appearances), 32
walks and 41 strikeouts.
On December 6, 2006, Floyd was traded with Gio
Gonzalez to the Chicago White Sox for Freddy Garcia.
Floyd was expected to be handed the spot vacated by
Garcia. However, since he pitched poorly during
spring training, Floyd lost the spot and was
optioned to Triple-A Charlotte.
On July 5, 2007, Floyd was recalled from Triple-A
Charlotte by the White Sox. A day later, he pitched
his first start as a South Sider in the second game
of a doubleheader against Matt Garza of the
Minnesota Twins, earning the loss and yielding 6
runs in only 6 innings of work; the White Sox would
eventually be blown out of the game, losing 12-0 to
their rival Minnesota Twins.
