Daniel Robert (baseball)

Daniel McGee Robert (born August 30, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2024.

Amateur career
Robert attended Briarwood Christian School in Birmingham, Alabama. In his sophomore season of 2011, Robert hit .556 with 10 home runs and 48 RBIs and was named the 2011 Birmingham News Metro Baseball Player of the Year. Robert played receiver on the football team in high school. Undrafted out of high school in 2013, Robert attended Auburn University and played college baseball for the Auburn Tigers. At Auburn, Robert played mainly first base and outfield. He enjoyed his best season as a senior in 2017; hitting .290/.402/.429/.830 with 5 home runs and 45 RBI, while recording a 2.16 ERA over 6 appearances on the mound. Robert was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 21st round of the 2017 MLB draft as a pitcher.

Professional career
Robert agreed to sign with Texas for a $5,000 signing bonus, but during his physical an MRI revealed a torn UCL. Texas voided his contract and he underwent Tommy John surgery. After rehabbing for six months Robert attended an open tryout with Texas and was signed to a minor league contract in 2018. He spent the remainder of the season in rehabilitation. Robert split his professional debut season of 2019 between the Spokane Indians of the Class A Short Season Northwest League and the Hickory Crawdads of the Class A South Atlantic League, going 2–1 with a 0.99 ERA and 50 strikeouts over $36 1/3$ innings. He did not play in 2020 due to the cancellation of the Minor League Baseball season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Robert split the 2021 season between the ACL Rangers of the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League, Hickory, and the Frisco RoughRiders of the Double-A Central, going a combined 0–1 with a 2.78 ERA and 42 strikeouts over $22 2/3$ innings. Robert spent the 2022 season with the Round Rock Express of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League and struggled to a 4–4 record with a 6.28 ERA over $38 2/3$ innings. He followed the 2022 season by appearing in eight games for the Surprise Saguaros of the Arizona Fall League. Robert received a non-roster invitation to major league spring training in 2023 and returned to Round Rock for the season, going 1–2 with a 4.40 with 51 strikeouts over 43 innings.

Robert began the 2024 campaign with Round Rock, compiling a 2.35 ERA with 40 strikeouts and 5 saves across 25 appearances. On July 8, 2024, Robert was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time.