Mustangs In the Pros Update
8/16/2023 5:02:00 PM | Baseball
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- Five former Cal Poly baseball players have been promoted or traded this month, including three at the Major League level.
Meanwhile, Andrew Alvarez pitched eight shutout innings without giving up a hit in his last start while Drew Thorpe made his first Double-A start and Nick Torres powered the Laguna Vaqueros into the Mexican League playoffs.
In addition, Bryan Woo, Erich Uelmen, Taylor Dollard, Mitch Haniger and Spencer Howard are on the injury list while Alex McKenna has been released by the Sugar Land Space Cowboys.
Finally, Derek True made his professional debut while Bryce Warrecker has yet to pitch in a professional game.
Alvarez earned his seventh win of the year for Wilmington by striking out a career-high 11 batters in a 2-1 triumph over Bowling Green on August 12. After throwing 100 pitches, 62 for strikes, Alvarez was replaced for the final inning. The reliever gave up a run on one hit in the ninth.
Alvarez, who walked two, is 7-4 with a 2.61 ERA for the Blue Rocks this season.
Thorpe, promoted from Hudson Valley to Somerset in the Double-A Atlantic League, fanned nine Binghamton batters in eight innings, scattering two hits with no walks in a 9-0 win on August 11.
Thorpe was 10-2 with a 2.81 ERA in 18 starts at Hudson Valley. He was named Atlantic League pitcher of the week following his performance against Binghamton.
Torres owns a robust .338 average at Laguna, On Tuesday, he belted a three-run home run and knocked in a total of five runs in an 8-1 win over Monterrey, propelling the Vaqueros into the Mexican League playoffs. Torres is in the top 20 in the league in most offensive categories and has 23 doubles, 11 home runs and 61 RBIs in 83 games this year.
Woo, who has made 11 starts for Seattle this season, missed his start August 9 and will miss another start after being placed on the 15-day injury list retroactive to August 5 with inflammation in his right forearm. He played catch on Tuesday, likely will throw a bullpen session later this week and could return to active duty August 20.
Uelmen has been on the 60-day injury list at Lehigh Valley since June 5 with an undisclosed injury while Dollard underwent shoulder labrum surgery in May and will miss the rest of the Tacoma Rainiers' 2023 season. Haniger fractured his forearm June 14 at St. Louis after he was hit by a pitch. He could return to the San Francisco lineup in September.
Woo has struck out 60 batters over 55 innings with the Mariners, posting a 1-3 record with seven no-decisions and a 4.75 ERA. Howard went on the seven-day injury list August 12 after pitching three games for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. Howard pitched in three games for the Texas Rangers before he was traded to the New York Yankees on August 1.
True pitched two-thirds of an inning for the Astros, giving up three runs and two hits with two strikeouts, in his professional debut last Saturday against the Nationals in a Florida Complex League game. Warrecker has yet to throw a pitch for the FCL Yankees. Both True and Warrecker were drafted in July.
In addition to Howard, Mark Mathias and Justin Bruihl are wearing different Major League uniforms this summer. After Bruihl made one appearance on the mound at Albuquerque, the former Los Angeles Dodger pitcher was elevated to the Colorado Rockies on August 11 and has pitched in two games for Colorado, both against his former team, giving up five runs in 1 1/3 innings.
Mathias was traded from Pittsburgh to Seattle and played 16 games for the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers, hitting .345, before he was traded again to the San Francisco Giants on July 31. After four games at Triple-A Sacramento, Mathias was promoted to San Francisco on August 6. The next day, he drove in two runs with a ninth-inning single as the Giants rallied for six runs to beat the Los Angeles Angels 8-3. He also singled against Texas on Saturday.
Cal Poly has had as many as six former players in the Major Leagues this year, a record for the program. Uelmen pitched one inning for Philadelphia on May 19 against his former team, the Chicago Cubs.
Other notes for former Mustangs in the professional ranks …
• Brooks Lee has collected eight hits in nine games for Triple-A St. Paul, including a triple and a home run. He singled twice against Louisville last week. Lee hit .292 in 87 games at Double-A Wichita with 31 doubles, 11 home runs and 61 RBIs prior to his promotion to St. Paul on August 3.
• Bradlee Beesley, hit in the face with a pitch May 25, returned to the field July 6 for the first of three rehab games in the Arizona Complex League. He was back with Tennessee on July 14 and is hitting .250 with nine doubles, three triples, seven home runs and 19 RBIs in 41 games with the Double-A Smokies.
• Outfielder Alex McKenna, a .221 hitter in 30 games at Sugar Land, was released on July 27. He was transferred to the Development List on June 18 for nearly three weeks.
Follow the progress of all former Mustangs in professional baseball by clicking the link at the top of the page.
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