Justin Bruihl (Dodgers), Mitch Haniger (Mariners) and Spencer Howard (Rangers) are former Cal Poly baseball players on 2022 Major League Opening Day rosters.
2022 Major League Season Opens with Three Mustangs on Rosters
4/8/2022 12:09:00 PM | Baseball
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- The 2022 Major League Baseball season opens this week with three former Cal Poly players on MLB rosters.
Outfielder Mitch Haniger is in his sixth season with the Seattle Mariners following his trade from the Arizona Diamondbacks during the offseason after the 2016 season. Haniger hit .253 last year with career highs in home runs (39), RBIs (100) and runs scored (110).
Pitcher Spencer Howard will play his first full season with the Texas Rangers this summer after he was traded by the Philadelphia Phillies last July. In 15 starts and four relief appearances with the two clubs in 2021, Howard was 0-5 with a 7.43 ERA and 52 strikeouts over 49 2/3 innings.
Southpaw Justin Bruihl was called up by the Los Angeles Dodgers last July and pitched in 21 games, including two starts. He was 0-1 with a 2.89 ERA and 11 strikeouts over 18 2/3 innings.
Utility player Mark Mathias has been assigned to the Triple-A Nashville Sounds. He played in 16 games with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2020 before suffering a torn labrum in his right shoulder while making a diving catch in the outfield during a 2021 Cactus League game. Mathias opted to undergo season-ending surgery.
Mathias played in eight spring training games and singled twice with one RBI.
Cal Poly has produced 20 Major League players -- 11 during Larry Lee's 20 seasons as head coach of the Mustangs.
In other Cal Poly baseball news ...
• Sophomore shortstop Brooks Lee has landed on D1Baseball.com's midseason All-America first team.
Lee has slashed .430/.528/.754 in 29 games so far this season with 17 doubles, six home runs and 35 RBIs. He currently owns an 18-game hitting streak and is on pace to break his own school record for doubles in a season (27) and surpass his RBI total (57) of a year ago as well.
No other Big West player is on the midseason All-America first team.
• Sophomore pitcher Drew Thorpe was a guest on the Perfect Game SiriusXM College Baseball Show earlier this week.
Thorpe, second in the nation in strikeouts with 75 and 4-0 with a 2.19 ERA so far this season, talks about pitching against defending national champion Vanderbilt in his first collegiate start in 2020, his high school career in Washington, Utah, his development under Cal Poly pitching coach Jake Silverman and more.
To watch the video, click here.
Outfielder Mitch Haniger is in his sixth season with the Seattle Mariners following his trade from the Arizona Diamondbacks during the offseason after the 2016 season. Haniger hit .253 last year with career highs in home runs (39), RBIs (100) and runs scored (110).
Pitcher Spencer Howard will play his first full season with the Texas Rangers this summer after he was traded by the Philadelphia Phillies last July. In 15 starts and four relief appearances with the two clubs in 2021, Howard was 0-5 with a 7.43 ERA and 52 strikeouts over 49 2/3 innings.
Southpaw Justin Bruihl was called up by the Los Angeles Dodgers last July and pitched in 21 games, including two starts. He was 0-1 with a 2.89 ERA and 11 strikeouts over 18 2/3 innings.
Utility player Mark Mathias has been assigned to the Triple-A Nashville Sounds. He played in 16 games with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2020 before suffering a torn labrum in his right shoulder while making a diving catch in the outfield during a 2021 Cactus League game. Mathias opted to undergo season-ending surgery.
Mathias played in eight spring training games and singled twice with one RBI.
Cal Poly has produced 20 Major League players -- 11 during Larry Lee's 20 seasons as head coach of the Mustangs.
In other Cal Poly baseball news ...
• Sophomore shortstop Brooks Lee has landed on D1Baseball.com's midseason All-America first team.
Lee has slashed .430/.528/.754 in 29 games so far this season with 17 doubles, six home runs and 35 RBIs. He currently owns an 18-game hitting streak and is on pace to break his own school record for doubles in a season (27) and surpass his RBI total (57) of a year ago as well.
No other Big West player is on the midseason All-America first team.
• Sophomore pitcher Drew Thorpe was a guest on the Perfect Game SiriusXM College Baseball Show earlier this week.
Thorpe, second in the nation in strikeouts with 75 and 4-0 with a 2.19 ERA so far this season, talks about pitching against defending national champion Vanderbilt in his first collegiate start in 2020, his high school career in Washington, Utah, his development under Cal Poly pitching coach Jake Silverman and more.
To watch the video, click here.
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