Former Cal Poly pitcher Erich Uelmen earned his first Major League victory Wednesday night for the Chicago Cubs and sports a 3.38 ERA in nine appearances (10 2/3 innings) on the mound.
Mustangs in the Pros: Lots of Firsts for Lee, Mathias, Uelmen, Franks
8/18/2022 2:45:00 PM | Baseball
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- Several former Cal Poly baseball players accomplished firsts over the last few days in their professional careers.
Pitcher Erich Uelmen earned his first Major League victory Wednesday against the Washington Nationals, securing two outs in the sixth inning before the Chicago Cubs broke a 2-2 tie with a run in the top of the seventh en route to a 3-2 victory.
Uelmen has appeared in nine games for the Cubs since his call-up from Iowa on July 17. He has a 1-1 record, 3.38 ERA and nine strikeouts over 10 2/3 innings.
Utility player Mark Mathias collected his first hit as a Texas Ranger on Wednesday night, a pinch-hit RBI double in his first at-bat against Oakland. On Thursday, he made his first Rangers start as designated hitter and smashed a solo home run in the second inning in his second trip to the plate for Texas.
Mathias was traded from Milwaukee to Texas on August 1 and compiled a .345 average in eight games at Round Rock before he was called up by the Rangers on Monday.
Infielder Brooks Lee belted his first home run in a Cedar Rapids uniform, a two-run shot in the seventh inning of the Kernals' 7-2 win over Wisconsin on Tuesday. A day earlier, he went 4-for-5, all singles, against Quad Cities.
Lee sports a .375 average in six games at Cedar Rapids, going 9-for-24 with a pair of RBIs.
Jason Franks notched his first professional win August 12, scattering four hits over 1 2/3 innings against the Florida Complex League's Rays with three strikeouts. Franks is 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA in five appearances on the mound for the FCL Braves.
Bryan Woo, who earned his first professional win August 2, allowing one unearned run and four hits over five innings with no walks and five strikeouts against Hillsboro, has compiled a 1.26 ERA over 14 1/3 innings (three appearances) for the Everett AquaSox of the High-A Northwest League. Woo earlier pitched for the Arizona Complex League's Mariners and the Low-A Modesto Nuts of the California League.
Two former Mustangs are on injured lists -- Bradlee Beesley with the Tennessee Smokies two days after earning Southern League Player of the Week honors for collecting nine hits and hitting .474 in a six-game series against Birmingham, and Spencer Howard of the Texas Rangers with an impingement in his right shoulder.
Taylor Dollard continues to pile up the wins for the Double-A Arkansas Travelers, earning his 11th and 12th victories with five-inning stints in the last week.
Dollard, who leads the Texas League by three with his dozen victories, is 12-2 on the year with a 1.93 ERA, which is No. 2 in the league for pitchers with 40 or more innings. Dollard is seventh with his 104 strikeouts.
Andrew Alvarez has not allowed a run in his last three outings on the mound at Wilmington (8 1/3 innings), lowering his ERA from 6.10 to 3.38.
Mitch Haniger, one of four Mustangs currently in the Major Leagues, hit safely in the first nine games of his return to the Seattle Mariners' lineup following a three-month rehabilitation of his high ankle sprain. Haniger went 13-for-33 (.394) in those nine games before the Los Angeles Angels blanked the outfielder in four at-bats on Wednesday.
Haniger is hitting .286 in 20 games this season with four home runs and 11 RBIs.
Says Baseball America's scouting report, "The son of Cal Poly coach and renowned hitting guru Larry Lee, Brooks has long been an elite hitter and would have been a top-50 pick out of high school if not for his strong commitment to play for his father in college.
"A hamstring injury and the coronavirus pandemic limited him to two at-bats as a freshman, but he lived up to his reputation as a premium hitter once play resumed. Lee hit .342 to win Big West Conference co-player of the year as a redshirt freshman and torched the Cape Cod League with a .405/.432/.677 slash line for Yarmouth-Dennis in the summer. He followed with a standout showing for USA Baseball's Collegiate National Team.
"Lee hit .357 with 15 home runs and a 1.125 OPS this spring, all career highs. Lee is a gifted switch-hitter with exceptional hitting ability. He takes short, balanced swings with elite bat speed from the left side and laces balls hard to all fields. His right-handed swing isn't as fluid or powerful, but he has the hand-eye coordination to make consistent contact and spray balls around the field. He has elite strike-zone discipline, crushes fastballs and drives pitches in all parts of the zone, projecting as a potential plus-plus hitter. He has rarely faced good breaking stuff and will need to prove he can handle that.
"Lee has bulked up as he's matured and is now a physical specimen with strong legs, broad shoulders and a chiseled torso. His strength and knack for barreling balls give him at least average power potential and likely more. Lee is an instinctive defender who positions himself well at shortstop and converts the routine plays with his reliable hands and above-average, accurate arm, but his bulk and below-average speed limit his range. He projects to move to second or third base, where he should be an average defender.
"Lee's only major concern is his health. He missed time with multiple back injuries in high school and had hamstring surgery as a true freshman at Cal Poly. His physical, maxed-out frame raises concerns about how his body will age. He was the eighth overall selection in the July draft by the Minnesota Twins and, as long as he stays healthy, he projects to be a switch-hitting infielder who hits for average and power in the top half of a lineup."
Lee is No. 33 on MLB Pipeline's top 100 prospects list.
Meanwhile, pitcher Drew Thorpe, the second-round pick of the New York Yankees last month, is the No. 9 Yankees prospect, according to Baseball America, and No. 13 by MLB Pipeline.
"Thorpe arrived at Cal Poly unsure whether he'd be a third baseman, catcher or pitcher, but after coach Larry Lee saw Thorpe's changeup, he quickly put him on the mound," the Baseball America scouting report says of Thorpe. "Thorpe went on to start three years in the Mustangs rotation, including the last two as their Friday night starter, and pitched in both the Cape Cod League and for USA Baseball's Collegiate National Team last summer.
"Thorpe is one of the most accomplished and polished pitchers in the draft class. He has a strong, durable 6-foot-4 frame and throws three pitches for strikes with plus control. His fastball sits 89-93 mph and maintains its velocity deep into starts. His 82-83 mph slider improved this spring to become an above-average pitch that gets swings and misses both in and out of the strike zone and his 81-84 mph changeup is a devastating, borderline plus-plus offering batters can't touch, even when they know it is coming.
"Thorpe's fastball is straight and hittable, so he pitches off his secondaries and will sometimes go entire innings without throwing a single fastball. His arm speed has slowed because he's so secondary-heavy, costing him velocity at times. Thorpe will have to establish his fastball better as a pro to reach his back-of-the-rotation potential."
Thorpe, who threw 104 2/3 innings at Cal Poly last spring and went 10-1 with a 2.32 ERA en route to becoming Cal Poly's first-ever Big West Pitcher of the Year, likely will not pitch in the Yankees' organization this summer.
Follow the progress of all former Cal Poly baseball players in the professional ranks by clicking the link at the top of the page.
Players Mentioned
LHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
SS
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
Cal Poly vs. CSUB, Baseball Highlights -- Mar 15th, 2026
Monday, March 16
Cal Poly vs. CSUB, Baseball Highlights -- Mar 14th, 2026
Sunday, March 15
Cal Poly vs. CSUB, Baseball Highlights -- Mar 13th, 2026
Saturday, March 14
Cal Poly vs. Fresno St, Baseball Highlights -- Mar 10th, 2026
Wednesday, March 11
