Mustangs in the Pros: September 2025 Edition
9/30/2025 1:30:00 PM | Baseball
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Bryan Woo is expected to be the first former Cal Poly baseball player in three years to compete in the Major League Baseball playoffs later this week.
Woo did not miss a start in the first 27 weeks of the 2025 season, compiling some impressive statistics. But he missed his 31st start in the final week of the regular season after sustaining pectoral inflammation five innings into his 30th start Sept. 19 at Houston.
Woo pitched at least six innings in his first 25 starts and allowed two or fewer walks in each of those games, becoming the first pitcher in almost six decades to start a season that way. Juan Marichal had a 23-game streak in 1968.
The streak came to an end on August 27 when Woo pitched 5 2/3 innings against San Diego. The streak of walks allowed ended Sept. 2 at Tampa Bay as Woo issued three walks.
The 25-year-old right-hander is the first MLB pitcher since Clayton Kershaw in 2019 to throw at least six innings in the first 25 starts of a season. Hall of Fame pitcher Randy Johnson and Mark Langston share Seattle’s overall record for consecutive six-inning starts at 31. Félix Hernández had a 30-game stretch from May 2010 to April 2011, and Johnson recorded another 29-game span from May 1995 to April 1996.
No pitcher in the last 10 years has surpassed 25 straight starts of six-plus innings within a season -- Zack Greinke went 32-for-32 in 2015.
Woo is second behind Cy Young starting a season with 25 consecutive outings of six or more innings and allowing two or fewer walks. Young made 30 such starts in 1905, part of a streak of a record 46 consecutive starts going at least six innings and allowing two walks or fewer. Woo’s streak was the longest streak in the Majors this year.
The question is whether or not Woo will be able to answer the bell when Seattle opens its playoff bid Saturday at home against either Cleveland or Detroit. The Mariners are the second seed in the American League.
Seattle Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto said Sunday there is “a good deal of optimism” that Woo will be a part of the club’s rotation for their first playoff series.
“Yesterday, the highlight of my day was walking in the training room and he had a smile and said, ‘I felt great,'” Dipoto said Sunday. “So that’s good for me, and the trainers weren’t particularly concerned. … He is a huge part of what we do, so (it’s) pretty important that he’s there.”
Woo, a first-time All-Star this summer, leads the club with 21 quality starts while posting a 15-7 record and 2.94 ERA, the latter of which is fifth-best among qualified America League starters. He also is tied for fifth in the Major Leagues with 15 wins, third in WHIP (0.93), seventh in opponents’ batting average (.200), 11th in both ERA and innings pitched (186 2/3) and 13th in strikeouts (198).
The Mariners will wait to see Woo throw a bullpen or face live pitching this week before finalizing a decision on the club’s rotation for its first playoff series.
Outfielder Mitch Haniger played in the 2022 playoffs for Seattle while former Mustang southpaw Justin Bruihl pitched for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2021 playoffs.
Woo and Bruihl are two of the four former Cal Poly baseball players in the Major Leagues this season. The others are infielder Brooks Lee of the Minnesota Twins and Andrew Alvarez, another southpaw, with the Washington Nationals.
Lee finished with a .236 average, 15 doubles, one triple 16 home runs and 64 RBIs in 139 games. Among his accomplishments in his second MLB season were a 19-game hitting streak in June, his first multi-homer game in the Majors (July 29 versus Boston) and three walk-off games.
Among his splits were a .243 average on grass fields (.143 on turf), .266 against lefties (.220 versus right-handers), .333 with the bases loaded (3-for-9), a .317 average in the fourth inning, .291 when hitting eighth in the order and .311 when ahead in the count.
Lee recorded 24 multiple-hit games, including six three-hit contests and a 4-for-5 night against Milwaukee on June 22). He played 37 games at second base, 43 at third and 77 at shortstop.
Bruihl was called up from Buffalo of the International League by the Toronto Blue Jays five times this season. He made 15 mound appearances and had no decisions and a 5.27 ERA with seven walks and 18 strikeouts over 13 2/3 innings.
At Buffalo, Bruihl was 3-4 with a 3.43 ERA and five saves. In 39 appearances on the mound, he recorded 49 strikeouts over 42 innings.
Alvarez made his Major League debut Sept. 1 against Miami at Nationals Park and tossed five scoreless innings, giving up one hit and two walks with four strikeouts for the victory. He also pitched six scoreless frames against Pittsburgh on Sept. 13 and left the game with a 1-0 lead but the Pirates rallied for the 5-1 win.
Alvarez, 1-1 with a 2.31 ERA in five starts for Washington, hurled 4 1/3 scoreless innings at Atlanta on Sept. 24 and took a 2-0 lead into the dugout. The Nationals won the game 4-3 but not before surrendering the two-run advantage.
Brooks Lee talks about how he used to do hitting drills with an eye patch to help him keep both eyes toward the pitcher pic.twitter.com/cVB7tvGeOl
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) September 18, 2025
Andrew Alvarez on the keys to his early success. pic.twitter.com/Jo7eszvkvj
— Nationals on MASN (@masnNationals) September 19, 2025
Taylor Dollard, attempting to make a comeback after labrum surgery in May 2023 sidelined the right-hander for 25 months, earned a 3-3 record and 3.90 ERA for Everett in the Northwest League this summer.
The right-hander made 12 starts and one relief appearance for the AquaSox, striking out 37 batters over 55 1/3 innings. He started off well with a 2-2 record and 1.98 ERA through July, but was 0-2 with a 7.04 ERA in five August starts.
Dollard tossed five scoreless innings in his final start of the summer Sept. 5, allowing two hits and a pair of walks with one strikeout against Vancouver, then was placed on the injury list Sept. 8, missing the Northwest League playoffs, which Everett won in four games against the Eugene Emeralds.
Jakob Wright, sidelined with an undisclosed injury in July and August, returned to the mound for the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes on August 28 and Sept. 3 for two brief stints. Starting both games, Wright pitched 3 1/3 innings and allowed a total of five runs and four hits for a loss and a no decision. He struck out six Fresno Grizzly batters in two innings.
Wright, who will pitch for the Glendale Desert Dogs in the Arizona Fall League, which runs from Oct. 6 through Nov. 15, has made a list of 12 players to watch closely in fall play, compiled by Baseball America.
“At his best, Wright mixes mid-90s four-seam and sinking fastballs with a cutter, changeup and sweeper,” Baseball America noted. “The latter pitch is particularly nasty and got empty swings 58 percent of the time with Rancho Cucamonga.”
Baseball America also called Wright as “the Dodgers’ next sleeper pitching prospect” after he pitched 3 2/3 scoreless innings in his pro debut with the Quakes.
Spencer Howard, out more than two months reportedly due to “poor condition of the fingertips on his right hand,” was back on the mound for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of Japan’s Nippon Professional League in the second half of September.
Howard, 5-1 with a 2.22 ERA in nine starts this season with 36 strikeouts over 48 2/3 innings, earned his fifth win Sept. 22 against Nippon-Ham with 6 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and one walk with five strikeouts.
Two Mustangs who started the 2025 season slowly, picked it up late in the year.
Catcher Ryan Stafford, 1-for-31 in a 10-game stretch through much of August, was 9-for-26 (.346) in his last nine games with the Aberdeen IronBirds this summer, finishing with a .178 mark with 48 hits, including 15 doubles, and 22 stolen bases in 26 attempts.
Outfielder Jake Steels, who hit .150 in 43 games at Augusta, was promoted to Rome on July 10 and responded with a .238 average in 29 games. He closed out his 2025 season by going 7-for-10 in his last four games.
Bryce Warrecker posted strong numbers this summer for Hudson Valley, going 2-1 with a 2.05 ERA and five saves. In 40 appearances on the mound, Warrecker struck out 61 batters over 57 innings.
Derek True was 2-9 with a 6.49 ERA at Asheville. He earned both of his wins against Greenville on May 3 (five scoreless innings) and April 8 (one run in four innings).
Three Mustangs on the 2025 Big West Conference championship club were on minor league rosters this summer.
A 10th-round draft pick by the Houston Astros, first baseman Zach Daudet posted a .294 average for Fayetteville with 30 hits in 30 games, including six doubles. He knocked in 19 runs and stole 10 of 14 bases. Daudet was 19-for-64 (.297) with four doubles and 11 RBIs in his last 18 games to lift his average 57 points.
Catcher Jack Collins signed an undrafted free agent contract with the Texas Rangers and played nine games for the Hickory Crawdads, hitting .179 with a pair of doubles.
Pitcher Luke Kovach, drafted in the 19th round by Toronto, signed a contract July 18 but did not play this summer.
Steven Brooks was 3-6 with a 5.29 ERA with 62 strikeouts over 63 innings at Salem while Myles Emmerson hit .208 in 83 games for the Double-A Rocket City Trash Pandas. Emmerson also played one game for the Triple-A Salt Lake City Bees in a September callup and doubled in four at-bats at Las Vegas.
Outfielder Nick Torres posted a .347 average in 86 regular season games for Union Laguna in the Mexican League. In his 12th minor league season, Torres finished third in the Mexican League in home runs (27), tied for first in doubles (32), tied for eighth in RBIs (79) and 31st with his .347 average. Laguna beat Tijuana in the first round of the playoffs and Jalisco in the second round before falling to Monterrey in the quarterfinals.
Two former Mustangs played on independent league teams this summer. Pitcher Erich Uelmen was 6-4 with a 3.82 ERA for the High Point Rockers in the Atlantic League with 65 strikeouts over 80 innings while Jason Franks, also a pitcher, was 1-2 with a 5.93 ERA for the Glacier Range Riders in Kalispell, Montana, notching 35 strikeouts over 27 1/3 innings.
