Cowboy Baseball In The Pros, August 18

Andrew Heaney

Photo by: Angels Baseball LP

August 18, 2017 | Cowboy Baseball

Oklahoma State currently has 23 former players in the professional baseball ranks, including three active on big league rosters in Pittsburgh shortstop Jordy Mercer, St. Louis pitcher Tyler Lyons and Los Angeles Angels pitcher Andrew Heaney.

Another former OSU star, John Farrell, is in his fifth season as the manager of the Boston Red Sox. Farrell has guided Boston to a 69-51 record this season, and the Red Sox are in first place in the American League East standings. Farrell led Boston to a 2013 World Series title and has managed the Red Sox to pair of AL East championships.

Koda Glover, Washington Nationals – OSU Career: 2015
In his third professional season, Glover emerged as the Nationals closer early in the season but a back injury and shoulder inflammation has keep him on the disabled list since June 11. He was placed on the 60-day disabled list on July 17 and is currently rehabbing at the National's spring training complex in Florida. In 23 games this season, he has recorded eight saves and 17 strikeouts in 19 1/3 innings of work.

Glover made his MLB debut in 2016 and went 2-0 with 16 strikeouts in 19 2/3 innings in 19 appearances.

Andrew Heaney, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim – OSU Career: 2010-12
Heaney underwent Tommy John surgery last July, and the road to recovery ends tonight when the southpaw will take the mound for the Angels in Baltimore. Heaney went 1-1 with a 3.12 ERA in three starts with Triple-A Salt Lake earlier this month.

In his first season with the Angels in 2015, Heaney went 6-4 with a 3.59 ERA in 18 starts. He has pitched in 26 games, 24 of them as a starter, over his three MLB seasons.

Tyler Lyons, St. Louis Cardinals – OSU Career: 2007-10
In his fifth year with St. Louis, Lyons is enjoying perhaps his best big league season. The southpaw has made a career-high 34 relief appearances and is 1-0 with a save and a 2.77 ERA while recording 46 strikeouts in 39.0 innings of work.

A year ago, the southpaw took the mound in 30 games and was 2-0 with a 3.38 ERA and 46 strikeouts in 48.0 innings.

For his MLB career, Lyons is 8-9 with a 3.84 ERA in 104 appearances, including 20 starts, and he has 231 strikeouts in 236 2/3 innings.

Jordy Mercer, Pittsburgh Pirates – OSU Career: 2006-08
In his sixth year in the big leagues, Mercer is entrenched as the Pirates' starting shortstop. In 115 games this season, he is hitting .249 with 11 home runs and 48 RBIs. He has a career-high four triples and is just one home run shy of his career best set in 2014. He also owns a .984 fielding percentage, having committed just seven errors on the year.

In six seasons with Pittsburgh, Mercer is a career .255 hitter with 46 homers, 117 doubles and 228 RBIs in 674 games.

A trio of former Cowboys are currently at the Triple A level.

Matt Hague, Rochester Red Wings (Twins) – OSU Career: 2008
Hague signed a minor league deal with Minnesota last December after spending 2016 playing in Japan. In 118 games with Rochester, he is hitting .296 with eight homers, 25 doubles and 58 RBIs.

During his nine-year minor league career, Hague has been a part of three organizations — Pittsburgh, Toronto and Minnesota — and has played in 1,055 games, compiling a .301 career batting average to go along with 87 homers, 245 doubles and 592 RBIs.

Hague has had cups of coffee with Pittsburgh, where he played in 30 games with the Pirates in 2012 and in three games in 2014, and Toronto, where in 2015 he appeared in 10 games.

Jason Hursh, Gwinnett Braves (Braves) – OSU Career: 2011-13
Hursh is in his fifth season in the Braves' organization and has bounced around between the big leagues and Triple A this season. Currently back in Gwinnett, he owns a 3-4 record in 21 relief appearances for the Triple A affiliate this season.

Hursh has made nine relief appearances for Atlanta in 2017 and is 1-0 with a 5.06 ERA. He earned his first-career big league win on June 22 against San Francisco.

A first-round pick in 2013, Hursh was named the Atlanta Braves organization's minor league pitcher of the year in 2014.

Brendan McCurry, Fresno Grizzlies (Astros) – OSU Career: 2013-14
After serving a 50-game suspension to open 2017, McCurry made his season debut on May 29 and has made 28 relief appearances, going 4-0 with four saves and a 3.26 ERA while recording 47 strikeouts in 38 2/3 innings pitched. Over his last 10 outings, McCurry is 2-0 with a save.

McCurry is coming off a 2016 season in which he was named to the Texas League Post-Season and Mid-Season All-Star teams for his performance at Double A Corpus Christi as he went 2-4 with 13 saves and a 2.27 ERA for the Hooks.

An All-American at OSU in 2014 and the school's all-time leader in saves, McCurry is 10-8 with 49 saves and a 2.37 ERA in four professional seasons.

At the Double A level, a pair of OSU baseball alums are looking to move up the ranks.

Tim Arakawa, Mobile BayBears (Angels) – OSU Career: 2014-15
Arakawa has played in 63 games for Mobile this season and is hitting .237 with four homers, 11 RBIs and eight stolen bases.

Arakawa spent the majority of 2016 at Class A Advanced Inland Empire, where he was a California League Mid-Season All-Star and hit .254 with two homers, 13 doubles, three triples and 25 RBIs in 83 games. He also turned in a 21-game hitting streak, the longest by an Inland Empire player since 2012.

A 23^rd-round draft pick of the Angels in 2015, Arakawa has played at every level of the minor leagues, including 16 games at Triple A, and is a .244 hitter in 257 games.

Jon Perrin, Biloxi Shuckers (Brewers) – OSU Career: 2012-15
In his third professional season, Perrin made the move to Double A in 2017 and is 4-2 with a 3.18 ERA in 19 games (nine starts) this season. He has recorded 74 strikeouts in 85.0 innings.

Perrin has made 58 career appearances, 41 of those starts, and is 10-17 with a 3.19 ERA and 260 strikeouts in 284 2/3 innings.

The Cowboys have 10 former stars on various levels of Class A rosters, including three in Class A-Advanced leagues.

Garrett Benge, Lowell Spinners (Red Sox) – OSU Career: 2016-17
Benge was a 13^th-round draft pick of Boston in June and made his professional debut for Class A-Short Season Lowell on June 23, going 1-for 3 with a double.

In 38 games with the Spinners, Benge is hitting .255 with seven doubles, two triples, 21 walks and 17 RBIs, and he was named a New York-Penn League All-Star earlier this month. In an August 1 game against Connecticut, he went 5-for-5, five-RBI night at the plate and finished a home run shy of hitting for the cycle.

Trey Cobb, Brooklyn Cyclones (Mets) – OSU Career: 2015
Following four seasons in an OSU uniform, Cobb was an eighth-round pick of the New York Mets in June's draft. He made his pro debut on June 26 for Class A-Short Season Brooklyn and tossed a scoreless inning of relief in which he struck out two.

Cobb has made 13 relief appearances for Brooklyn and is 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 18 innings of work. He earned his first professional win on July 16 by hurling 1 2/3 scoreless innings and striking out four against State College.

Cobb ended his OSU career as the program's all-time leader in appearances with 92, and he ranks sixth all-time on the Cowboys with 11 saves.

J.R. Davis, Peoria Chiefs (Cardinals) – OSU Career: 2016
Following his lone season with the Cowboys in 2016 in which he led OSU in hitting and was an All-Big 12 First Team selection, Davis signed a pro contract after being drafted in the 15^th round by St. Louis.

Named to the Midwest League Mid-Season All-Star Team, Davis is hitting .239 with four homers, 15 doubles and 26 RBIs this season.

Davis' first pro season in 2016 saw him named an Appalachian League Post-Season All-Star after hitting .333 with 11 stolen bases for the Rookie League Johnson City Cardinals.

Thomas Hatch, Myrtle Beach Pelicans (Cubs) – OSU Career: 2014-16
A third-round pick by the Chicago Cubs after an All-American season at OSU in 2016, Hatch made his professional debut this season. In 23 starts for Class A-Advanced Myrtle Beach, he is 4-10 with a 4.09 ERA and ranks sixth in the Carolina League with 114 strikeouts in 110.0 innings.

Hatch was named the Chicago Cubs' Minor League Pitcher of the Month in June after going 3-2 with a 0.98 ERA in five outings and allowing just three earned runs in 27 2/3 innings.

Hatch was the 2016 Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Year after going 9-3 with a 2.14 ERA and tossing four complete games in 19 starts. He collected 112 strikeouts in 130 1/3 innings of work.

Garrett McCain, Connecticut Tigers (Tigers) – OSU Career: 2015-17
A 10^th-round draft pick of Detroit following an All-American junior season at OSU in 2017, McCain made his pro debut with Connecticut, the Tigers' Class A-Short Season club, on June 23 and went 1-for-4 at the plate.

In 35 games with the Tigers, McCain is hitting .267 with two doubles, a triple and 12 RBIs. He has hit safely in eight of his last 10 games and turned in a .300 average and four RBIs during that span.

Michael Mertz, Greensboro Grasshoppers (Marlins) – OSU Career: 2015-16
Following two seasons in an OSU uniform, Mertz signed with Miami after being drafted in the 14^th round. In 2016, he made 13 appearances between the Rookie League and Class A Short-Season levels.

Mertz is thriving this season, coming out of the bullpen in 33 of his 34 games for Greensboro and going 8-1 with two saves and a 2.15 ERA to go along with 70 strikeouts in 62 2/3 innings.

Remey Reed, Batavia Muckdogs (Marlins) – OSU Career: 2015-16
A sixth-round pick of the Marlins in 2016, Reed made four relief appearances in his first pro season and went 1-0 at the Rookie League and Class A Short Season levels. He has taken the mound in 11 games (seven starts) for Batavia this season, pitching 32.0 innings and compiling a 1-3 record, 28 strikeouts and a 5.91 ERA.

Reed made 47 appearances in two seasons with the Cowboys and went 7-3 with a save and a 2.53 ERA.

Collin Theroux, Beloit Snappers (Athletics) – OSU Career: 2016
A 32^nd-round draft pick, Theroux signed with Oakland after his lone season in an OSU uniform in 2016 and played in 18 games at the Rookie League and Class A levels.

Theroux has returned to Class A Beloit in 2017 and is hitting .155 with 12 homers, 11 doubles and 28 RBIs in 75 games.

Donnie Walton, Modesto Nuts (Mariners) – OSU Career: 2013-16
A fifth-round pick of Seattle after an All-American senior season at OSU in 2016, Walton earned Northwest League Mid-Season All-Star honors in his first pro season at Class A Short Season Everett.

Walton is playing at Class A-Advanced Modesto in 2017 and recently returned to action after being on the disabled list since late May with a broken bone in his hand. Since his return, Walton has been on a tear — in nine games since being back with Modesto, he's hitting .394 (13-for-33) with three doubles and five RBIs.

In 52 games for the Nuts this season, he's hitting .263 with two homers, 10 doubles and 19 RBIs.

Garrett Williams, San Joes Giants (Giants) – OSU Career: 2014-16
Williams signed with San Francisco after being selected in the seventh round in 2016 and went 2-2 with a 5.01 ERA in 10 games in his first pro season.

Williams was promoted to Class A-Advanced San Jose on July 31 and has flourished with the move, going 2-1 with a 1.42 ERA in three appearances (two starts) and also racking up 23 strikeouts in 19.0 innings. He was named the California League Pitcher of the Week on Aug. 13 after tossing six scoreless innings and striking out eight in a win over Stockton.

Prior to San Jose, Williams pitched for Class A Augusta and was 4-3 with a 2.25 ERA in 12 outings (11 starts).

In 48 career appearances at OSU, Williams was 7-1 with two saves and a 5.42 ERA.

Three former Cowboys are on Rookie League rosters.

Blake Battenfield, Great Falls Voyagers (White Sox) – OSU Career: 2014-2017
Battenfield signed with Chicago after being a 17^th-round draft pick of Chicago in June. He made his pro debut on June 20 and tossed a scoreless inning in relief while striking out a pair.

In 14 relief appearances for the Rookie League Voyagers, Battenfield has worked 20.0 innings and is 1-4 with a 4.50 ERA. He earned his first professional win on Aug. 8 by striking out three in two innings of work against Ogden.

Battenfield ended his OSU career sixth all time in appearances with 79 and was 10-6 with five saves and a 3.55 ERA during his time in Stillwater.

Tyler Buffett, Billings Mustangs (Reds) – OSU Career: 2014-2017
Buffett was OSU's highest draft pick in 2017 as he was chosen by Cincinnati in the sixth round following his senior season. The right-hander made his debut in the Rookie League on June 21, and he picked up his first save as a pro with a scoreless inning on June 23. Four days later, he earned his first-career win after working two innings of relief.

In 15 relief appearances with Billings, Buffett has posted a 3-1 record, three saves and a 5.40 ERA in 30.0 innings of work.

Buffett's four seasons in an OSU uniform saw him record 20 wins, nine saves and 226 strikeouts, and he ranks in the top 10 on the Cowboys' all-time lists in appearances (87) and innings pitched (275 2/3).

Conor Costello, Ogden Raptors (Dodgers) – OSU Career: 2013-2016
Costello spent time with two different Rookie League teams in 2016 after signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers organization following his senior season at OSU. He returned to Ogden this season and has made 16 relief appearances, tossing 23 2/3 innings and posting a 2-3 record while recording 21 strikeouts.

After being used as an outfielder, DH and pitcher in Stillwater, Costello has made the full-time move to the mound in pro ball and was 2-1 with a 6.23 ERA in 12 relief outings last season.

One former Cowboy is spending 2017 in the Mexican League at its Triple A level.

Corey Brown, Toros de Tijuana – OSU Career: 2005-07
After spending 2016 with the Triple A Oklahoma City Dodgers, Brown traveled to Mexico and is having an impressive season for the Toros. Named a Mid-Season All-Star, the outfielder is hitting .291 and ranks second in the league with 24 homers, and he has also recorded 23 doubles, four triples and 85 RBIs in 106 games while posting a .562 slugging percentage.

Now in his 11^th professional season, Brown owns a .262 career batting average to go along with 206 homers and 666 RBIs.

Brown spent parts of three seasons with the Washington Nationals (2011-13) and played in three games for the Red Sox in 2014. He's appeared in 39 games at the Major League Baseball level and hit .171 with two homers and four RBIs in those games.

For informative links on former Cowboys in the pros, click here.