Mustangs in the Pros: Mathias is a Ranger; Howard to Pitch Tonight
8/2/2022 11:06:00 AM | Baseball
|
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- Last Saturday, Mark Mathias and his wife Gisela Emole welcomed their first child to the world, a son named Jaxon John.
On Monday, the Milwaukee Brewers traded Mathias to the Texas Rangers along with pitcher Antoine Kelly for pitcher Matt Bush.
Today (Tuesday), Mathias is celebrating his 28th birthday.Mathias played for the Brewers in both 2020 and 2022, batting a combined .231 (12-for-52) with one home run and eight RBIs in 22 games. He has appeared in six Major League games this season and spent the balance of the campaign with Triple-A Nashville, batting .318 with eight home runs and 30 RBIs over 50 contests.
Mathias missed the entire 2021 season due to a torn labrum in his right shoulder.
Mathias was originally selected by Cleveland in the third round of the 2015 Major League Baseball Draft out of Cal Poly, where he played in the infield from 2013-15. He was traded to Milwaukee in December 2019.
Placed on the Rangers' 40-man roster, Mathias could become teammates of former Mustang pitcher Spencer Howard, who played at Cal Poly from 2016-17. For now, Mathias likely will be assigned to the Rangers' Triple-A team, the Round Rock Express.
At Cal Poly, Mathias claimed the Big West batting title in 2014 with a .386 average and hit .356 the following year, earning first-team Big West honors both seasons. The second baseman was Big West Field Player of the Year and a second-team All-American in 2014 and stole 21 of 29 bases in his three Mustang seasons. He was named to Cal Poly's All-Time NCAA Division I squad (1995-2019) in January 2021.
Meanwhile, outfielder Mitch Haniger could return to Seattle's lineup Friday when the Mariners host the Los Angeles Angels.
Sidelined since April 29 with a high ankle sprain, Haniger has played in eight rehab games, going 7-for-23 (.304) with three home runs and six RBIs.
On Sunday, Haniger hit a three-run home run and walked twice for Tacoma against El Paso. He also hit solo home runs versus El Paso on July 28 and, while at Everett, against Eugene on July 24. He played three games for Everett and five so far for Tacoma.
Haniger faced Howard on August 11, 2021, at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, Wash., the sixth matchup between former Mustangs in Major League history. Haniger hit a high chopper off the plate toward second base and beat the throw to first base for a single in the first inning. In the third, Haniger grounded out to third base for the final out.
The other five matchups:
• In 2016, Haniger faced Bud Norris and lined a single to left field for the Arizona Diamondbacks against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
• Shortstop Ozzie Smith and pitcher Mike Krukow head the list as they faced each other 55 times from 1978-89. Smith compiled a lifetime .354 average versus Krukow, going 17-for-48 with three doubles, four RBIs and seven walks. Krukow managed to strike out The Wizard only once and Ozzie grounded into a double play just one time off Krukow.
• In 2010, Kevin Correia met up with Norris in a battle of former Mustang pitchers at Petco Park in San Diego in what is so far the only Major League game in which both starting pitchers once wore a Cal Poly uniform. Norris went 0-for-1 at the plate with a sacrifice bunt and a strikeout. Correia was 0-for-2 versus Norris, striking out twice.
Both pitchers went seven innings on the mound -- Norris allowing three hits and Correia giving up five. Neither was involved in the decision as the Padres scored the only run of the game in the bottom of the eighth inning on a throwing error. Correia struck out four while Norris notched five strikeouts.
• In 2013, Logan Schafer of the Milwaukee Brewers grounded out and struck out against Correia, who was pitching for the Minnesota Twins.
• And in 2015, Norris induced Schafer to ground out to first base in a Brewers versus Padres game.
Back in 2012, Norris faced Brent Morel in an Astros versus Chicago White Sox spring training game at Houston. Morel went 0-for-2.
Howard earned his third career Major League victory last Thursday, pitching five scoreless innings, scattering three hits with no walks and five strikeouts in the Rangers' 2-0 triumph over the Los Angeles Angels. On his 26th birthday, Howard lowered his ERA to 5.93 and evened his record for the season at 2-2 by outduelling Shohei Ohtani, who struck out 11 in defeat.
Howard is scheduled to pitch Tuesday night against the Baltimore Orioles in Arlington, Texas.
Erich Uelmen, who late last month became the 21st former Cal Poly baseball player to don a Major League uniform, has made three relief appearances on the mound for the Chicago Cubs so far, compiling a 1.80 ERA with six strikeouts over five innings.
Another pitcher, Justin Bruihl, has put up some strong numbers at Oklahoma City, allowing just one earned run in his last 12 mound stints (16 2/3 innings). The lefty has pitched in 18 games for the Los Angeles Dodgers this season, posting a 1-1 mark and 3.57 ERA.
|
|
Cal Poly has two representatives in the Mexican League.
Pitcher Joey Wagman pitched in seven games for Veracruz before his release, posting a 2-0 record and 3.47 ERA. He then signed with Reynosa, where he is 0-2 with a 10.95 ERA in three appearances on the mound.
Outfielder Nick Torres sports a robust .368 mark for Laguna with 14 doubles, 13 home runs and 50 RBIs in 68 games. He had a 12-game hitting streak snapped July 13 and has hit safely in 30 of his last 33 games.
Bradlee Beesley has produced an eight-game hitting streak for the Tennessee Smokies, going 13-for-28 (.464) from July 23-31 with four doubles, one home run and eight RBIs to lift his average 65 points to .254.
Taylor Dollard earned his 10th win for the Arkansas Travelers on Saturday, striking out five over seven innings against Tulsa. Dollard is 10-2 with a 1.61 ERA for the season, striking out 92 batters over 100 2/3 innings with just 22 walks.
Outfielder Alex McKenna has lifted his batting average 37 points to .238 over the last two weeks, hitting safely in 11 of his last 14 games at Corpus Christi.
In addition to three Major Leaguers (Haniger, Uelmen and Howard), Cal Poly has four players in Triple-A (Mathias, Bruihl, Wagman and Torres) and four more in Double-A (Beesley, Meyer, McKenna and Dollard).
Three of the four Mustangs drafted July 17-19 in Los Angeles have signed professional contracts.
Shortstop Brooks Lee, the eighth overall selection by the Minnesota Twins last week, signed for $5.675 million, slightly above the slot pick value of $5,439,500. Second-round pick Drew Thorpe agreed to a full slot-value deal of $1.187 million with the New York Yankees on Sunday while Jason Franks, also a pitcher and an eighth-round choice of the Atlanta Braves, signed for $2,500. The pick value for Franks, who exhausted his eligibility at Cal Poly last spring, was $176,400.
A third Mustang pitcher, Derek True, drafted in the final round by the Oakland Athletics, did not sign prior to the August 1 deadline and will return to Cal Poly next season.
Follow the progress of all former Cal Poly baseball players in the professional ranks by clicking the link at the top of the page.
