The University of Mississippi Athletics
Baseball #ProRebs Update - August 22
8/22/2018 | Baseball
Lance Lynn Dominant Since Joining New York Yankees
#ProRebs
#MLBRebs
Ole Miss Baseball has a history of student-athletes playing professionally following their careers as Rebels. Currently, five former Rebels are on Major League Baseball rosters, while 31 others are working their way up through the minor leagues. Throughout the year, OleMissSports.com will update Rebel fans about the current #ProRebs making their mark on professional baseball diamonds across the country.
Major League Baseball Rebels
#2 Zack Cozart | IF | Los Angeles Angels
In late June, Cozart underwent season-ending surgery on a torn labrum in his non-throwing shoulder. In his first season with the Angels, Cozart was filling a utility infielder role, seeing time and third base, shortstop and second base. He hit .219 with five home runs and 18 RBI in 58 games before injuring his shoulder.
#31 Lance Lynn | RHP | New York Yankees
After an up-and-down start to the year with the Minnesota Twins, Lynn was traded to the New York Yankees on July 30, and the change of scenery seems to be doing the former Rebel righty measures. Lynn has been on a tear in the Bronx in the weeks since, recording three starts and a relief appearance, as well as his first win. Through four appearances, the righty has racked up 27 strikeouts to just seven walks in his first 20 innings pitched. Opposing batters are hitting just .234 against Lynn with the Yankees, compared to .263 against him with the Twins, and the native Indianan has allowed just six earned runs so far in New York. Lynn could not have envisioned a better way to start his career with the Yankees, going 7.1 innings in a 7-0 victory against the Chicago White Sox in which he retired 19 straight batters at one point in the game.
#59 Mike Mayers | RHP | St. Louis Cardinals
Mayers has solidified himself as one of the top arms out of the St. Louis Cardinals bullpen this season, tallying a 2-1 record and a 3.74 ERA in 45.2 innings of work in 41 relief appearances. Mayers strung together five straight scoreless appearances in late June and has 28 appearances without allowing a run this year. Mayers boasts a 1.26 WHIP as a Cardinal in 2018.
#19 Bobby Wahl | RHP | New York Mets
Wahl has been outstanding all across the country this season, and his efforts caught the eyes of the New York Mets, who traded for Wahl and allowed the former Rebel his second stint in the majors (this time in New York instead of Oakland). Wahl has spent most of the year with the Athletics' Triple-A Nashville Sounds, where his astonishingly low 0.86 WHIP and .130 batting average against clearly turned some heads around the league. The Mets traded for Wahl on July 22, and after a brief assignment with the Las Vegas 51s, called him up to the MLB on August 2. He has made seven appearances so far, all in relief, and struck out seven. He was placed on the disabled list on August 16 due to a right hamstring strain.
#31 Drew Pomeranz | LHP | Boston Red Sox (Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox)
Pomeranz just recently returned to the Red Sox after a bout with biceps tendinitis sent him to the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox in early June. After being called back up on July 24, Boston found a place for the former Rebel in the bullpen. In his five appearances since returning from injury, Pomeranz has made one start, four relief entries, and acquired a full nine innings of experience on the bump. The southpaw has allowed just five earned runs since returning to the big leagues, and currently boasts a 6.82 ERA with 47 strikeouts in 56.1 innings this year.
Minor League Baseball Rebels
#30 Anthony Alford | CF | Buffalo Bisons (Triple-A - Toronto Blue Jays)
Alford worked back from an early hamstring injury and has spent most of the season with the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons. The former Rebel football player has logged seven games with the parent club Toronto Blue Jays, tallying a pair of hits and runs scored. Back in the minors, Alford is batting .232 with the Bisons and has improved as the season has transpired.
#15 Will Allen | C | Jupiter Hammerheads (Class A-Advanced – Miami Marlins)
Allen began the season in Class A-Advanced Florida State League for the Jupiter Hammerheads, batting .163 with eight hits, three doubles and six runs scored in 12 games. He was then optioned to the Class A-Full Greensboro Grasshoppers, where he showed enough improvement at the .267 mark to earn a trip back to the Jupiter Hammerheads, where he now finds himself. Allen recorded two hits in his first game back with the Hammerheads on August 16.
#30 Aaron Barrett | RHP | Auburn Doubledays (Class A-Short – Washington Nationals)
Barrett continues to work his way back from a spell of arm injuries. While continuing to rehab his arm, he has settled into the bullpen as a mid-level reliever with the Auburn Doubledays, recording 15 appearances on the year for a 1.72 ERA with 21 strikeouts in just 15.2 innings pitched.
#20 Tate Blackman | 2B | Kannapolis Intimidators (Class A-Full – Chicago White Sox)
Blackman was named to the South Atlantic League All-Star roster amid a strong season for the Class A-Full Kannapolis Intimidators. Blackman has hit .247 with almost 100 hits through 115 games thus far with the Intimidators. He is finding himself on base at a record pace, standing strong with a .346 on base percentage through half of the year. Blackman had hit a bit of a summer slump, going over a month without a multi-hit game, but bounced back strong with a breakthrough performance on July 14, going 4-for-5 with a home run, three RBI and two runs scored.
#48 Colby Bortles | 3B | West Michigan Whitecaps (Class A-Full – Detroit Tigers)
Bortles has 23 doubles and five home runs this season as he is batting .239 overall for the Class A-Full West Michigan Whitecaps. The former Rebel third baseman has driven in 50 runs and scored another 39 in his second season at the professional level. Bortles recently went 3-for-4 with a home run, RBI, and a run against the Fort Wayne TinCaps on August 11.
#20 Auston Bousfield | CF | El Paso Chihuahuas (Triple-A – San Diego Padres)
Bousfield began the season with the Double-A San Antonio Missions, hitting .250 with three doubles and seven runs scored over 12 games. He joined the Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas on May 12 and has hit .241 with 17 doubles, two triples, a home run and 24 RBI.
#7 Chris Coghlan | OF | Iowa Cubs (Triple-A - Chicago Cubs)
Coughlan has worked his way back into form in the Chicago Cubs organization. He began his season in mid-June, hitting .345 over eight rehab assignment games at the Rookie level before moving up with the Triple-A Iowa Cubs. The 11-year MLB veteran is hitting .214 in Iowa, slowly moving his average up as the season has transpired, recording 30 hits in 40 games, including his most recent 2-for-3, one-RBI performance on August 19.
#23 Chris Ellis | RHP | Memphis Redbirds (Triple-A – St. Louis Cardinals)
Ellis began the 2018 season with the Double-A Springfield Cardinals, going 4-0 with a 4.19 ERA over 53.2 innings before being called up to the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds. Ellis has made eleven starts in Memphis, going 5-4 with a 4.37 ERA. Ellis was on fire during one stretch in the middle of July, with back-to-back seven inning starts, allowing just a combined two runs with 13 strikeouts.
#24 Brady Feigl | RHP | Beloit Snappers (Class A-Full – Oakland Athletics)
Feigl has been excellent in professional ball thus far. He made his pro debut on June 21, allowing two runs in two innings of work. After beginning the season with the Class A (Short) Vermont Lake Monsters, Feigl's 1.35 ERA and 27 strikeouts were rewarded with an upgrade to the Class A (Full) Beloit Snappers. Feigl has recorded three starts since being assigned in early August, two of which he did not allow a single earned run.
#21 Nick Fortes | C | GCL Marlins (Rookie – Miami Marlins)
Fortes made his debut with the Class A (Short) Batavia Muckdogs, going 1-for-4 in his first professional appearance, before being assigned to the Rookie League GCL Marlins. It is there where Fortes currently sits, with seven hits, two of them doubles, through his first nine games with the Marlins.
#32 David Goforth | RHP | Syracuse Chiefs (Triple-A – Washington Nationals)
Goforth has made 32 appearances in relief and three starts for the Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs this season. He is 3-4 with a 3.73 ERA with 25 earned runs allowed in 60.1 innings. Although Goforth primarily serves as a reliever, his three starts this year have come in recent weeks, where he has had his chances to shine with the Chiefs.
#11 Will Golsan | OF | Grand Junction Rockies (Rookie – Colorado Rockies)
Golsan has played in 48 games for the Grand Junction Rockies. The 2018 Rebel captain picked up right where he left off from his collegiate career, hitting .327 with ten doubles, a pair of triples and home runs, the first of which came in just his second professional game. He started his pro career with three two-hit games. He found a hot streak again at the beginning of August, at one point finding a three-game stretch with six hits and eight runs.
#11 Henri Lartigue | C | Clearwater Threshers (Class A-Advanced – Philadelphia Phillies)
Lartigue has played in 88 games, tallying 86 hits in 329 at-bats (.261) for the Class A-Advanced Clearwater Threshers this season. Lartigue has 22 extra-base hits, including seven home runs, for a .377 slugging percentage with 37 RBI and 40 runs scored. Lartiuge recorded walk-off hits in back-to-back games, beating Dunedin with a walk-off single on June 23 and a home run on June 24.
#15 Braxton Lee | OF | New Orleans Baby Cakes (Triple-A - Miami Marlins)
Lee began the season on the Miami Marlins' opening day roster and appeared in eight MLB games, but has since been working through injury, spending time at all three levels of the Marlins' farm system. Most recently, Lee was assigned back up to the Triple-A New Orleans Baby Cakes on August 11, where the speedy outfielder has racked up nine hits in eight games. Lee is hitting .223 in all levels of the minors this season with 59 hits in 70 games across the Marlins' farm system.
#22 James McArthur | RHP | Williamsport Crosscutters (Class A-Short – Philadelphia Phillies)
McArthur made his professional debut on June 23, allowing just one hit and striking out two in one inning of work for the Gulf Coast League Phillies West. He was then moved up to the Class-A Williamsport Crosscutters. Since joining the Crosscutters, McArthur has been electric, lowering his ERA all the way down to just 0.64, allowing just two runs so far through 28.1 innings pitched. The Rebels' Sunday starter a year ago has made eight appearances, five starts, and rung up 31 while walking just ten with the Crosscutters. Opposing hitters are hitting just .162 against McArthur.
#25 David Parkinson | LHP | Clearwater Threshers (Class A-Advanced – Philadelphia Phillies)
Parkinson has put together a fantastic second season in professional ball. In 15 starts for the Class A-Full Lakewood BlueClaws, Parkinson went 8-1 with a 1.51 ERA. After an impressive 115 strikeouts through 95.1 innings with the BlueClaws, Parkinson received the call moving him up to the Class A-Advanced Clearwater Threshers, where he has kept up the good work with a pair of starts and 18 innings under his belt and only two runs allowed. The former Rebel has gone at least five innings in each of his last ten appearances.
#14 Alex Presley | OF | Free Agent
Presley opened the season with the Detroit Tigers Triple-A affiliate Norfolk Tides, batting .275 with five doubles and 19 runs scored in 26 games before joining the Chicago White Sox organization in mid-May. In 29 games with the Triple-A Charlotte Knights, Presley hit .198 with three doubles and 12 RBI before being released on June 29.
#8 Errol Robinson | SS | Tulsa Drillers (Double-A – Los Angeles Dodgers)
Robinson has been quickly working his way through the Dodgers' farm system, appearing in 106 games thus far this season with the Double-A Tulsa Drillers. The former fan-favorite shortstop is hitting .247 this year with nearly 100 hits and eight home runs for the Drillers.
#24 Ryan Rolison | LHP | Grand Junction Rockies (Rookie – Colorado Rockies)
Rolison went 2.0 innings in his professional debut on July 10 against the Billings Mustangs. Since then, the 2018 first rounder has made five more appearances, all starts, and lowered his ERA from 4.50 to 1.96. Rolison has 28 strikeouts in 23.0 innings pitched so far for the Rockies and has allowed just five earned runs in his six starts. In late July, he made three consecutive starts going at least 4.0 innings, allowing just a combined three runs. His most recent outing was nearly flawless, as the lefty went three innings without allowing a run or a hit, walking just one batter and fanning three. Opposing hitters are a mere .146 against Rolison at the professional level.
#34 Wyatt Short | LHP | Tennessee Smokies (Double A - Chicago Cubs)
Short was outstanding opening up the season for the Class A-Advanced Myrtle Beach Pelicans. He worked 31.2 innings over 22 relief appearances, carrying a 2.27 ERA and 0.98 WHIP to earn a June 25 call-up to the Double-A Tennessee Smokies. Short is 3-3 thus far with the Smokies, with 24.1 innings and two saves under his belt through 18 relief appearances.
#30 Chad Smith | RHP | Jupiter Hammerheads (Class A-Advanced – Miami Marlins)
Smith has been stellar in 27 appearances for the Class A-Advanced Jupiter Hammerheads. The right-hander is 5-3 with a 2.45 ERA in 33.0 innings with 10 saves in 14 opportunities. Opposing batters are hitting just .184 against Smith, and in his last ten appearances, the former Rebel has earned four saves.
#40 Matt Tracy | LHP | Buffalo Bisons (Triple-A – Toronto Blue Jays)
Tracy was signed by the Toronto Blue Jays at the beginning of the 2018 season and opened his season on June 19 in Rookie ball, making three starts with two earned runs allowed for the Gulf Coast League Blue Jays. Tracy joined the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons on July 4 and debuted with a brilliant start, allowing no runs on just one hit and one walk in five innings. With the Bisons this year, Tracy is 1-1 with a 2.06 ERA and 31 strikeouts in eight starts and 43.2 innings pitched.
#18 Christian Trent | LHP | Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Class A – Milwaukee Brewers)
Trent has not made an appearance in 2018. In 2016, the former Rebel ace spent time between the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers and the Brewers' rookie league team in Arizona. He was taken in the 2015 MLB Draft by the Milwaukee Brewers.
#32 Stuart Turner | C | Louisville Bats (Triple-A – Cincinnati Reds)
Turner landed on the disabled list for the Triple-A Louisville Bats on May 5 and began an eight-game rehab stint for the Arizona League Reds, hitting .269 with two doubles on June 18. The Bats activated Turner on June 30, and he has played in ten games since, batting .200 in that span. He was placed on the 7-day disabled list on July 21.
#49 Jacob Waguespack | RHP | Buffalo Bisons (Triple-A – Toronto Blue Jays)
Waguespack began the season with the Double-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies, before working his way up to the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs, where has spent most of the year. After accounting for a 1.39 WHIP in Lehigh Valley, Waguespack was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays on July 31 and assigned to the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons. In four appearances so far, he is 2-1 with 23 strikeouts in 21.2 innings pitched.
#2 Kyle Watson | SS | West Virginia Black Bears (Class A-Short – Pittsburgh Pirates)
Watson hit four home runs with two triples and 12 doubles in 101 games for the West Virginia Power this season, good for a .188 average, before he was assigned to the West Virginia Black Bears (Class A-Short) on August 14. Watson has five hits in five games with the Black Bears and has upped his average to .263 in recent days.
#12 J.B. Woodman | CF | Free Agent
Woodman put together a solid third year in the minors, hitting .246 with 56 hits in 68 games with the Class A Palm Beach Cardinals. On August 2, the Cardinals released Woodman, and the former Rebel remains a free agent.
#10 Austin Wright | LHP | Addison Braves (Semi-Pro)
Austin Wright signed with the Tampa Bay Rays in February and was assigned to the Double-A Montgomery Biscuits. Wright made six appearances for the Biscuits but was released on May 3. He landed with the semi-pro Addison Braves, where he has wasted little time making waves. Wright threw a no-hitter July 1 and broke the Chicago Suburban League record with 24 strikeouts June 14.
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