Matthew Taylor Purke (born July 17, 1990) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut and played his only MLB season with the Chicago White Sox in 2016. Amateur career Purke attended Klein High School in Klein, Texas. He was considered one of the best high school pitchers in baseball. His junior year was his best as he had a 12–1 win–loss record with a 0.37 earned run average (ERA). In his senior season he went 4–2 with a 1.18 ERA. He also carried a 4.5 GPA. He came out as a flamethrower throwing an average of . In 2009, ESPN projected that he would be the next Johan Santana. The Texas Rangers selected Purke in the first round, with the 14th overall selection, of the 2009 Major League Baseball Draft. He did not sign, and instead enrolled at Texas Christian University (TCU), where he played college baseball for the TCU Horned Frogs. While there, he earned 2nd Team All American as a Freshman, and was named the Freshman of the year while going 16–0 with a 3.02 ERA. His sophomore year he went 5–1 with a 1.71 ERA in 11 starts. Professional career Washington Nationals Purke was drafted by the Washington Nationals in the third round of the 2011 Major League Baseball Draft. He signed with the Nationals on August 15, 2011. Purke was added to the 40-man roster in 2012 and made 3 starts for the Single-A Hagerstown Suns. He then had shoulder debridement surgery and missed the remainder of the 2012 season. He returned with Hagerstown in 2013, and posted a 6-4 record and 3.80 ERA in 18 games between the High-A Potomac Nationals and Hagerstown. Pitching for the Double-A Harrisburg Senators of the Eastern League in 2014, Purke struggled with a 1–6 record and an 8.04 ERA. Purke later underwent Tommy John surgery. On November 13, 2014, the Nationals released Purke, and re-signed him to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training on November 18. He split the 2015 season between Harrisburg, Potomac, and Hagerstown, accumulating a 3-6 record and 4.36 ERA with 43 strikeouts in 64.0 innings of work between the three teams. On November 6, 2015, he elected free agency. Chicago White Sox On November 21, 2015, Purke signed a minor league contract with the Chicago White Sox organization that included an invitation to