Veal Signs With Atlanta, Too…
For the past three seasons, LHP Donnie Veal spent time with the Charlotte Knights out of the team’s bullpen. Recently, Veal was signed by the Atlanta Braves to a Minor League contract.
Veal, 30, was originally drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 12th round of the 2003 draft, but he did not sign. He would however become a White Sox player nine years later.
A native of Jackson, Mississippi, Veal was drafted again two years later — this time in the second round by the Chicago Cubs (2005 Draft). He signed with the Cubs and went on to play four seasons in their Minor League system. On December 11, 2008, Veal was taken by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the Rule 5 Draft.
He would work his way through the Pirates’ system and make his Major League debut with the club on April 7, 2009.
While Veal spent three seasons in the Pirates organization, he appeared in just 19 games in the Bigs — all in 2009. He signed with the White Sox as a free agent in November of 2011 and would go on to become a mainstay in the Charlotte bullpen. He would also appear in 81 games with the White Sox over that three-year span.
With the Knights, Veal appeared in 89 games over the course of that three-year stretch (2012–14) — winning 13 games and compiling eight saves (140 K’s over 128.2 IP). His best overall season with Charlotte came in 2012 when he posted an impressive mark of 7–3 with a 2.08 ERA and two saves (35 games).
While 2012 was superb, he followed that up with a solid 2013 campaign as well. In 17 games for the Knights during the final season at Knights Stadium, Veal went 2–2 with a 2.70 ERA.
Now, Veal will get a chance to work his way back to the Majors with the Braves, who have been in the market for pitching so far this offseason. Atlanta signed 2014 Charlotte Knights hurler Chien-Ming Wang, which I wrote about here. They also recently dealt Jason Heyward to the Cardinals for Shelby Miller.
