BLACKSBURG - As the Major League Baseball postseason winds down – the World Series begins tonight – it's a perfect opportunity to look back at 15 Hokies who saw action during the 2019 professional baseball season, either in the MLB or in its the minor leagues.
Below is a brief recap of how each did this past season, which included four players seeing time in the Major Leagues, while several Hokies had successful seasons in the lower levels. The list below is by level (alphabetically) and a Hokie is located under the highest level reached during the 2019 season. As always, CLICK HERE to view the dedicated Hokies' web page that has links to all of these players' professional bios.
2019 Major League Players
Jesse Hahn (Kansas City Royals): Hahn spent most of the season on the disabled list, before seeing some rehab assignments in the minors. He tossed a total of 3.2 innings, mostly in Wilmington (Class A-advanced) and struck out six in that time. He made his MLB return on Sept. 5 against Detroit with a scoreless inning of relief with two strikeouts. In all, Hahn threw 4.2 innings in six games out of the bullpen, allowed seven runs, walked six and struck out seven.
Joe Mantiply (New York Yankees): Mantiply bounced around most of the summer, pitching for four different teams, but highlighting it was his MLB return on August 12. Mantiply tossed three relief innings for the Yankees in a game against Baltimore, struck out two and picked up his first MLB victory. Overall, in the minors, Mantiply appeared out of the bullpen 25 times, appearing mostly for the Louisville Bats (18 games, AAA) and finished in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (AAA). He threw 39.2 innings, struck out 33, walked just six, and posted a 1-0 record with one save (in one opportunity).
Chad Pinder (Oakland Athletics): Pinder spent the entire 2019 season with the Athletics, playing 124 games and helping them to a Wild Card spot. He started 83 times (at seven different positions and 61 in the outfield) and finished the year with a .240 average and a .416 slugging percentage. Pinder drove in 47 runs for the A's with 34 extra base hits, including 21 doubles and 13 home runs, while scoring 45 runs. Similar to his 2018 season, Pinder played every position except pitcher and catcher.
Mark Zagunis (Chicago Cubs): Zagunis started 2019 with the Cubs, but was optioned to Iowa in late May and spent much of the rest of the year with the Class AAA affiliate. He started six games in the outfield for the Major League Cubs and batted .250 in 36 at-bats. He had nine hits, including three doubles, drove in five and scored two runs. In Iowa, Zagunis played in 68 games, posted a .294 average with 43 RBI, 32 extra base hits (26 doubles, a triple and six home runs), and a .475 slugging percentage. He added 35 runs scored and six stolen bases to his totals.
2019 Class AAA Players
Sean Keselica (Pittsburgh Pirates): Keselica started the season with the Indianapolis Indians (AAA) before making seven relief appearances with the Altoona Curve (AA) in the month of April. He threw nine scoreless innings with eight strikeouts and then was called back up to Triple-A on May 4. With the Indians, he pitched in 29 games and threw 52 innings all out of the bullpen. Keselica finished with a 1-6 record, a 4.33 ERA and 49 strikeouts before being placed on the injured list for the remainder of the season.
Ben Rowen (Atlanta Braves): Rowen split his time this season between the Mississippi Braves (AA) and the Gwinnett Stripers (AAA). Overall, Rowen pitched a total of 89.2 innings in 33 relief appearances and seven starts. He finished the season with a 5-3 record, 65 strikeouts and a 3.61 ERA. He was named a Mid-Season All-Star with the Stripers.
Kit Scheetz (Houston Astros): Scheetz also split his time this season between the Corpus Christi Hooks (AA, 16 appearances) and the Round Rock Express (AAA, 15 games). In August, he was sent on a rehab assignment to the GCL Astros where he pitched in two games. Overall, he went 2-0 with three saves (all with the Hooks), while throwing a total of 53.2 inning with 65 strikeouts.
Brad Markey (Cincinnati Reds): Markey spent the year with four teams and pitched for two different organizations, finishing with the Cincinnati Reds. He spent the majority of his time with the Louisville Bats (AAA), where he went 2-3 in five starts. In total, he pitched in 27 games, 14 of those being starts, posted a 5-7 record and in 91 innings, struck out 62 batters.
2019 Class AA Players
Packy Naughton (Cincinnati Reds): Naughton began the season with the Daytona Tortugas (A-Advanced) posting a 5-2 record in nine starts. In 51.1 innings, he had 50 strikeouts and a 2.63 ERA. Naughton was called up to the Chattanooga Lookouts on May 25 where he finished the season with a 6-10 mark, a 3.66 ERA and 81 strikeouts, third on the team, in 19 starts and a105.2 innings. He was named a Mid-Season All-Star with the Tortugas.
2019 Class A-Advanced Players
Aaron McGarity (New York Yankees): McGarity started his third season in the minor leagues with the Charleston RiverDogs (A-Full). In 19 appearances out of the bullpen, he posted a 2-5 record with a 3.19 ERA in 31 innings pitched with 34 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.19. In June, he moved down to the Staten Island Yankees (A-Short) and appeared in 12 games posting a 4-0 record with a 0.83 ERA in 21.2 innings. McGarity finished the season with the Tampa Tarpons (A-Advanced) appearing in four games posting a 5.40 ERA in five innings.
2019 Class A Players
Connor Coward (St. Louis Cardinals): Coward began his second season of pro ball with the Gulf Coast League Cardinals and was called up to the Peoria Chiefs (Class A) on August 11. In all, he threw 22.1 innings in 16 relief appearances posting a 1.61 ERA with 23 strikeouts, a 2-0 mark with four saves. He led the GCL Cardinals in saves with three.
Andrew McDonald (Cincinnati Reds): McDonald split his pitching time this year between the Billings Mustangs (Rookie Advanced) and the Dayton Dragons (A). In total, McDonald pitched a total of 35.1 innings in 19 relief appearances posting a 6.88 ERA and a 1-2 record with 26 strikeouts. McDonald's season ended on August 23 after being placed on the injured list.
2019 Class A-Short Season
Kerry Carpenter (Detroit Tigers): Drafted by the Tigers in the 19th round of this year's MLB draft, Carpenter started his professional career on June 24 with the GCL Tigers West. In 43 games, he led the team in hits (51), extra base hits (28), stolen bases (6), while posting a .319 batting average, fourth on the team. He had 16 doubles, three triples and nine home runs, scored 33 times and knocked in 34 and added six stolen bases to his totals. He was called up to the Connecticut Tigers (Class-A Short Season) on August 30, and had three hits, a run scored, a stolen base and an RBI in four games. Carpenter was named the 2019 MVP for the GCL Tigers and was also named a 2019 Postseason All-Star.
Jack Dellinger (Detroit Tigers): Drafted by the Tigers in the 32nd round of this year's draft, Dellinger began his professional career on June 25 with the GCL Tigers West alongside Tech teammate Kerry Carpenter. Dellinger started four times on the mound, 10 total appearances, and finished with a 3-1 record in 33.2 innings. He posted a 1.07 ERA and finished fourth on the team in strikeouts (28). Dellinger was assigned to the Connecticut Tigers (Class-A Short Season) on August 24 where he made two starts posting a 6.75 ERA with six strikeouts in 9.1 innings of work.
2019 Rookie Level Players
Nic Enright (Cleveland Indians): Drafted by the Indians in the 12th round of this year's MLB draft, Enright made his professional debut on June 20 with the AZL Indians. He finished his first professional season with 18.0 innings pitched in 15 relief appearances while posting a 0.50 ERA and 26 strikeouts.