Jon Steven Garland (born September 27, 1979) is an American former professional baseball starting pitcher. After being drafted by the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB) in 1997, Garland played for the Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, and Colorado Rockies. Early life Garland and his two sisters Kim and Kerrie Garland were raised in Granada Hills, Los Angeles, by their mother, Vikki, after she divorced their father when Garland was young. Garland played baseball at John F. Kennedy High School in Granada Hills. As a senior, he was named a preseason All-American by Baseball America. He was also named to the 1997 All-America First Team by the American Baseball Coaches Association and Rawlings. Garland committed to play college baseball for the USC Trojans. Professional career Minor League Garland was selected by the Chicago Cubs with the tenth pick of the 1997 Major League Baseball Draft and signed for $1.325 million. He pitched in 10 games for the Arizona League Cubs with a 3-2 record and a 2.70 ERA to finish the season. He began with the Single-A Rockford Cubbies, but was traded to the Chicago White Sox just before the trade deadline for relief pitcher Matt Karchner who had previous success in the majors, but was having a down season with the White Sox (5.15 ERA). Unfortunately for the Cubs, Karchner did not fare any better with them that season (5.14 ERA) and was released in while Garland dominated the minor leagues on his way to securing a spot in the White Sox's rotation for seven seasons. Garland started with High-A Winston-Salem and after 19 starts and a 3.33 ERA, Garland was promoted to Double-A Birmingham. In , he was the White Sox's #2 prospect and went 9-2 with a 2.26 ERA for Triple-A Charlotte before earning a promotion to the major leagues. For his success in Triple-A, Garland was voted a Triple-A All-Star and International League All-Star and to Baseball America's 2nd team Minor League All-Star team and the International League Most Valuable Pitcher. He started with Charlotte again, but was back in the majors after only 5 starts. Major League Chicago White Sox Garland made his major league debut as the youngest player in the American League at age 20 on July 4, 2000, against the Kansas City Royals, but gave up 7 earned runs before