Evan Gattis

Evan Gattis is a catcher and left fielder with the Houston Astros. Gattis began playing baseball at the age of 6. He played for the Dallas Tigers, one of the premier amateur teams in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and he played on a traveling All-Star team. Gattis had offers from Rice University and Texas A&M University. He accepted the offer from Texas A&M, but due to a fear of failing at college baseball, he was led to substance abuse. Instead of attending college as planned, Gattis’ mother took him to a drug rehabilitation center. Once released, Gattis attended Seminole State College in Seminole, Oklahoma where he was redshirted his first year. The following year, Gattis injured his knee, became burned out on baseball and quit. Gattis had a wandering period after his surgery. It wasn’t until 2010 when Gattis decided to go back to college to play baseball. The Atlanta Braves selected Gattis in the 2010 draft where he played for the Danville Braves. In 2013, Gattis made his Major League debut. He is the first Braves catcher to hit 20 or more homeruns in his rookie or sophomore season.