[1] Hochevar was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 39th round (1,191st overall) of the 2002 Major League Baseball draft, but he chose to attend college at the University of Tennessee instead.

[4] Hochevar was used primarily as a relief pitcher during his freshman year for the Volunteers, striking out 73 batters and walking 24 in 77 innings of work.

[9] Several months of lukewarm talks continued, but amidst much bitterness, the two sides never came close to reaching a new agreement.

[7] On August 3, nearly two months after the draft, Hochevar signed a four-year major league contract worth $5.25 million guaranteed with the Royals.

[14] Hochevar began the 2007 season with the Double-A Wichita Wranglers of the Texas League,[2] going 3–6 with a 4.69 ERA in 17 games (16 starts).

[14] He also led the Texas League in strikeouts (94) and innings pitched (94) at the time of his promotion to the Triple-A Omaha Royals on July 11.

[17] He made his major league debut against the New York Yankees on September 8, throwing three shutout innings in an 11-5 loss.

[24] Following the Royals' 2009 spring training, Hochevar was optioned to Omaha to learn to "use both sides of the plate with more consistency" and to stay away from big innings.

[27] On June 12, Hochevar tossed an 80-pitch complete game, only allowing three hits and one run; this was a feat that had only been accomplished by five American League pitchers in the previous 20 years.

[30] Despite these accomplishments, Hochevar struggled with his consistency through the 2009 season, posting the highest ERA of AL starters (6.55) while going 7–13 in 25 starts.

[36] He allowed more earned runs than any other major league pitcher, and his -1.1 WAR (Wins Above Replacement) was the worst of his career.

[19] On January 15, 2013, Hochevar filed for salary arbitration, the only Royals player to do so in the off-season, and the second year in a row that he has done so.

[36] The Royals announced on January 18, 2013, that they had reached an agreement with Hochevar on a one-year, $4.56 million contract, thus avoiding arbitration.

[37] On March 13, 2013, Royals manager Ned Yost announced that Hochevar would not begin the season in the starting rotation.

On March 7, 2014, Royals officials confirmed the injury and stated Hochevar would be undergoing Tommy John surgery to repair the damage.

His wide pitch variety could make him unpredictable to hitters; even in full counts, Hochevar threw his four-seamer, sinker, cutter, and slider in roughly equal proportions.

[1] In August 2016, Hochevar had surgery to repair nerve damage in his throwing arm caused by thoracic outlet syndrome.