Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG – With the Major League Baseball postseason hitting the halfway point with its All-Star Game last night, it's a great opportunity to catch up with the 16 Hokies who have played professionally during the 2018 baseball season – either in the MLB or in the minor leagues, or are on those current rosters.
The list below is by level, Hokies are listed alphabetically, and a player is located under the highest level attained during the 2018 season. As always, CLICK HERE to view the Hokies' web page that follows all these players and has links to their professional bios.
MAJOR LEAGUE
Jesse Hahn (Kansas City Royals) – Hahn, looking to pitch in his seventh professional season, was traded to the Royals in late January and on March 6 was placed on the 60-day disabled list with a right ulnar collateral ligament sprain. It was announced, by the organization, he would begin a rehab assignment on July 18 with the Surprise Royals.
Chad Pinder (Oakland Athletics) – In his sixth professional season, Pinder has spent the entire 2018 season in the majors, playing in 65 games and posting a .260 batting average, a .332 on-base percentage and a .464 slugging percentage. He has eight doubles, one triple and 10 home runs for Oakland, has knocked in 22 and scored 29 runs, while drawing 17 walks. Pinder has made 52 starts this season at six different positions – in left (30), right (4) and center (2) and at second (10), short (3) and third (3). His 26 career home runs in the Majors is already second all-time among Hokies, just 78 behind Franklin Stubbs (1984-1995), who hit 104 in his career.
Mark Zagunis (Chicago Cubs) – Zagunis, in his fifth professional season, started the year with the Iowa Cubs, the triple-A affiliate for Chicago Cubs, and has played 81 games with them – but was recalled to the Major League level on May 9 and spent a week in the majors. He saw action in five games, going 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI – registering his first Major League hit on May 9, a single to right off Merandy Gonzalez. In AAA, Zagunis is currently batting .269 with 11 doubles and three home runs, and has 24 RBI and 42 runs scored with the team. He has a .384 on-base percentage and a .343 slugging percentage with 72 hits and 46 walks (which ranks seventh in the Pacific Coast League). The third-round pick of the Cubs in 2014, made his MLB debut on June 22, 2017 at Miami, and played in seven games for the team last year.
TRIPLE-A
Brad Markey (Chicago Cubs) – Markey, pitching in his fifth professional season, has only seen action in Iowa this summer, with most of his appearances coming out of the bullpen. He's started two of 20 games and has a 2-2 record. He's thrown 40.0 innings, has struck out 30, opposed to just seven walks and has a 1.38 WHIP.
Ben Rowen (Cincinnati Reds) – Rowen, who is in his ninth professional season, appeared in 10 games for the Louisville Bats, posting an 0-2 record with a 9.28 ERA. In 10.2 innings pitched, he struck out seven batters, while walking just two. He was released by the Bats on May 9 and was playing for Sugar Land in the Atlantic League (Independent). On July 10, it was reported that he retired from baseball.
DOUBLE-A
Sean Keselica (Pittsburgh Pirates) – Playing for the double-A affiliate of the Pirates, the Altoona Curve, Keselica has a 2-3 record with a 3.99 ERA with 25 of his 26 appearances coming in relief. In 38.1 innings, he's struck out 32, and has limited opponents to a .177 batting average and a 1.20 WHIP. He was named a Mid-Season All-Star and notched a perfect outing, retiring the only two batters he faced including Tim Tebow on a grounder to the shortstop.
Joe Mantiply (Cincinnati Reds) – Mantiply signed with the Reds in the offseason and was in their spring training camp as a non-roster invitee. He has since had Tommy John surgery and will miss the entire 2018 season. He is listed as being a member of the Pensacole Blue Wahoos (Reds' AA affiliate).
Alex Perez (Minnesota Twins) – Perez started the season with the single-A (Advanced) affiliate of the Twins, the Fort Myers Miracle, but has been with the double-A Chattanooga Lookouts, since May 1. With the Lookouts, he has a .259 batting average and a .372 on-base percentage. In 55 games with the team, Perez has registered 49 hits, seven of those were for doubles with one triple, and has 24 RBI and 25 runs scored, while also drawing 34 walks for a .372 on-base percentage. On July 18, it was announced by the organization that Perez was called up to its triple-A affiliate the Rochester Red Wings.
Kit Scheetz (Houston Astros) – After playing for three teams last summer, Scheetz has already spent this year with two more – climbing from the New York-Penn A-short season to double-A in less than one calendar year. He started out in Buies Creek (A-Advanced – 13 appearances) and on June 1 was promoted to Corpus Christi (AA – 11 games). Overall, he is 1-1 with four saves and has posted a 2.28 ERA in 47.1 innings pitched. Scheetz has struck out 65 batters this summer, opposed to just 12 walks (21/3 ratio with the Hooks) and has a 1.27 WHIP. He notched his first double-A save on June 19 at San Antonio.
SINGLE-A (Advanced)
Saige Jenco (Los Angeles Dodgers) – Playing for the single-A advanced affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, Jenco has played in 44 games with the team posting a .288 batting average. Jenco has 36 hits, seven of which are doubles and one triple, and has 27 walks for a .414 on-base percentage. He's added 20 runs scored, 10 RBI and six stolen bases to his totals.
SINGLE-A (Full Season)
Packy Naughton (Cincinnati Reds) – Naughton has spent the entire summer, so far, in Dayton and has started 19 games for the Dragons. He has a 5-8 record and a 4.04 ERA. In 104.2 innings pitched, Naughton has 88 strikeouts, to just 22 walks, and a 1.30 WHIP. He had recently tossed 24 straight scoreless innings (in three-plus starts) and pitched arguably his best game on July 9 – 8.0 innings, nine strikeouts (both professional highs), two hits and no runs against Great Lakes – which helped him earn the Midwest League Pitcher of the Week honor on July 16. It was the third of his career, earning two last year with Billings.
Ryan Tufts (Arizona Diamondbacks) – Tufts has split his time so far between the Kane County Cougars (A-full – 14 games) and the Hillsboro Hops (A-short – 16 games). Overall, he's batting .200 with 18 hits, six doubles and two home runs, while adding 14 RBI and 10 runs scored. He hit his first professional home run on June 19 against the Everett AquaSox.
SINGLE-A (Short Season)
Aaron McGarity (New York Yankees) – After recovering from an injury over the offseason, McGarity has just recently returned to the mound. Seeing his first action on July 4, he pitched a perfect frame for Staten Island and has not allowed a run in 5.2 innings of work. He has surrendered five hits, but no walks, and has seven strikeouts in four appearances.
ROOKIE LEAGUE
Connor Coward (St. Louis Cardinals) – On June 14, Coward signed a contract with the St. Louis Cardinals, after being selected in the 26th round of the MLB draft, and was assigned to Gulf Coast Rookie League's Cardinals. He made his professional debut on June 27 and earned his first professional win on July 15 against the Mariners. Overall, he's 1-0 with a 1.13 ERA in 16 innings pitched with 15 strikeouts and just one walk. Opponents are batting .164 against him and he's posting a 0.63 WHIP.
Joe Freiday, Jr. (St. Louis Cardinals) – Freiday has started his professional career in the Gulf Coast Rookie League with the GCL Cardinals as well, after signing a free agent minor-league contract on June 20. So far, he has four hits, four runs scored, two RBI and six walks in his seven games played. He made his professional debut on June 26 and notched his first hit the next day.
Andrew McDonald (Cincinnati Reds) – On June 12, McDonald signed a contract with the Cincinnati Reds, after being selected in the ninth round of the MLB draft, and was assigned to Billings Mustangs of the Pioneer League. He made his professional debut on June 20 at Great Falls. Overall, McDonald has seen action out of the bullpen in eight games and has not posted a record. In 10.1 innings, he's struck out 14 batters, but has walked nine and has a 5.23 ERA.