#ProPanthers Update – Keeping Up With the 2019 Class
7/28/2019 10:00:00 AM | Baseball
PITTSBURGH – Over a month after being drafted in this year's MLB draft, former University of Pittsburgh baseball players have started their journeys to the show within their respective organizations.
After signing his professional contract earlier this month, pitcher Dan Hammer has been impressive on the mound since joining the Short-A Aberdeen IronBirds of the New York-Penn League. Drafted in the 13th round by the Baltimore Orioles, Hammer has made three appearances, including two starts, so far for the IronBirds. In those games, Hammer has allowed no runs on seven hits in 7.0 innings while racking up nine strikeouts. In his first career appearance on July 13, the Philadelphia, Pa., native went 2.0 innings, allowing two hits and striking out one. The righty struck out three in his last appearance on July 23, going 3.0 innings while allowing only three hits.
Drafted by the Houston Astros in the 14th round, pitcher Derek West joined the Tri-City ValleyCats of the New York-Penn League on June 22. Making his professional debut later that day, West started out strong, going 1.1 innings and allowing no runs. The Orange City, Fla., native has also made two appearances of 3.0 innings while allowing no runs, first against the Hudson Valley Renegades on July 4 then against the Vermont Lake Monsters on July 22. This season, West has appeared in six games, going 10.1 innings and striking out seven while keeping opposing batters to a .250 average mark against him.
A 28th round pick of the Detroit Tigers, outfielder Connor Perry has had a strong start to his professional career so far with the GCL Tigers East. In 18 games thus far, the North Huntingdon, Pa., native boasts a .275 batting average with an impressive .441 on base mark. The former Panther has also knocked out two homeruns and brought in 12 runs while stealing 10 bases on the base path. In just his third career game, Perry hit his first home run of his professional career, blasting out a grand slam against the GCL Blue Jays on June 28. Perry knocked out his second home run, a three-run shot to right field, on July 23 against the Blue Jays again.
Although not drafted, catcher Cole Maclaren was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Detroit Tigers and has been playing with Perry at the GCL Tigers East. MacLaren has been a threat at the plate thus far with the Tigers, averaging .364 with a .500 on base mark in eight games. In his last two games, the Charlottetown, Prince Edward, Canada native has gone three for five with two walks, including a 1-for-2 game against the GCL Phillies West on July 17 and 2-for-3 performance against the GCL Yankees East on July 20.
Below is a complete list of current #ProPanthers in the MLB ranks.
#H2P | Twitter | Instagram
After signing his professional contract earlier this month, pitcher Dan Hammer has been impressive on the mound since joining the Short-A Aberdeen IronBirds of the New York-Penn League. Drafted in the 13th round by the Baltimore Orioles, Hammer has made three appearances, including two starts, so far for the IronBirds. In those games, Hammer has allowed no runs on seven hits in 7.0 innings while racking up nine strikeouts. In his first career appearance on July 13, the Philadelphia, Pa., native went 2.0 innings, allowing two hits and striking out one. The righty struck out three in his last appearance on July 23, going 3.0 innings while allowing only three hits.
Drafted by the Houston Astros in the 14th round, pitcher Derek West joined the Tri-City ValleyCats of the New York-Penn League on June 22. Making his professional debut later that day, West started out strong, going 1.1 innings and allowing no runs. The Orange City, Fla., native has also made two appearances of 3.0 innings while allowing no runs, first against the Hudson Valley Renegades on July 4 then against the Vermont Lake Monsters on July 22. This season, West has appeared in six games, going 10.1 innings and striking out seven while keeping opposing batters to a .250 average mark against him.
A 28th round pick of the Detroit Tigers, outfielder Connor Perry has had a strong start to his professional career so far with the GCL Tigers East. In 18 games thus far, the North Huntingdon, Pa., native boasts a .275 batting average with an impressive .441 on base mark. The former Panther has also knocked out two homeruns and brought in 12 runs while stealing 10 bases on the base path. In just his third career game, Perry hit his first home run of his professional career, blasting out a grand slam against the GCL Blue Jays on June 28. Perry knocked out his second home run, a three-run shot to right field, on July 23 against the Blue Jays again.
Although not drafted, catcher Cole Maclaren was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Detroit Tigers and has been playing with Perry at the GCL Tigers East. MacLaren has been a threat at the plate thus far with the Tigers, averaging .364 with a .500 on base mark in eight games. In his last two games, the Charlottetown, Prince Edward, Canada native has gone three for five with two walks, including a 1-for-2 game against the GCL Phillies West on July 17 and 2-for-3 performance against the GCL Yankees East on July 20.
Below is a complete list of current #ProPanthers in the MLB ranks.
| #ProPanthers | |||
| Name | Year | Current Team/League | Notes |
| Ray Black | 2011 | Sacramento/ AAA | Has 18 strikeouts in his last 10 games with Sacramento |
| Yaya Chentouf | 2018 | West Michigan/ A (Tigers) | |
| RJ Freure | 2018 | Quad Cities/ A (Astros) | |
| Joe Harvey | 2014 | Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/ AAA (Yankees) | Has a 2.88 ERA in 25.0 innings in AAA this year |
| Dan Hammer | 2019 | Aberdeen/ A-Short (Orioles) | Has three scoreless appearances in his pro career |
| Hobie Harris | 2015 | Tampa/ A Advanced (Yankees) | Has allowed 5 earned runs in his last 10 games |
| Alex Kowalczyk | 2016 | Frisco/ AA (Rangers) | Has hit .313 in his last 10 games |
| Charles Leblanc | 2016 | Frisco/ AA (Rangers) | Has a .339 OBP this season |
| Cole MacLaren | 2019 | GCL Tigers East/ Rookie (Tigers) | Is hitting .364 with a .462 OBP in 7 games this season |
| Isaac Mattson | 2017 | Mobile/ AA (Angels) | Has given up only 2 earned runs in his last 10 games |
| Josh Mitchell | 2017 | Wilmington/ A Advanced (Royals) | Has 36 strikeouts in 30.0 innings this season |
| Manny Pazos | 2017 | West Virginia/ A (Mariners) | |
| Connor Perry | 2019 | GCL Tigers East / Rookie (Tigers) | Has a .275 with a .441 OBP in 18 games this season |
| Matt Pidich | 2018 | Dayton/ A (Reds) | Has a 2.45 ERA this season |
| Liam Sabino | 2018 | Johnson City/ Rookie (Cardinals) | Has a .385 OBP this year |
| Kevan Smith | 2011 | Los Angeles Angels/ MLB | Has a .362 OBP with the Angels |
| Matt Wotherspoon | 2014 | Norfolk/ AAA (Orioles) | |
| Nick Yarnall | 2016 | Rancho Cucamonga/ A (Advanced) | |
| Derek West | 2019 | Tri-City/ Rookie (Astros) | Pitched 3.0 scoreless innings on July 22 against the Vermont Lake Monsters |
| T.J. Zeuch | 2016 | Buffalo/ AAA (Blue Jays) | Went 6.0 innings on July 24 against the Charlotte Knights |
#H2P | Twitter | Instagram
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