All Wolfpack

Pack9 in the pros: Rodon continues to shine

Here is an update on how NC State alums fared in Major League Baseball and its Minor League affiliates through Sunday's action.
Rob McLamb|
Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Among the 21 former Wolfpack baseball players that are playing professionally, NC State has an alum that cannot stop striking Major League batters out and another who picked up his first pro win in a unique way.

Read below to see how NC State's baseball alumni is faring in the pros!

NC State currently has three players on Major League rosters (alphabetical order).

Andrew Knizner: St. Louis Cardinals

Carlos Rodon: San Francisco Giants

Trea Turner: Los Angeles Dodgers

Rodon is the Major League leader in strikeouts with 38, which is also the most batters fanned in a pitchers first four games with the Giant organization since 1901. In his last start, the lefty hurled six innings against Oakland and allowed only one earned run on three hits while striking out nine batters and walking two. 

The former Wolfpack hurler has won his last three starts and is 3-0 on the season with a 1.17 ERA in 23 innings pitched. His next scheduled start is Tuesday in Los Angeles against Trea Turner and the Dodgers. 

Turner was 5-for-19 at the plate with four walks in his last six games. He drove in five runs. The Dodgers won four-of-six over that span and are currently 14-7 on the season -- which is tied atop the National League West Division with San Diego and one game ahead of San Francisco. This season, Turner is batting .263 in 2022 with a homer and 18 runs batted in along with four stolen bases. 

After squaring off with Rodon's Giants squad for two games, Los Angeles travels to Chicago to face the Cubs for three games at Wrigley Field. 

Knizner appeared in five games last week, going hitless in five at bats with one walk. He is batting .300 with one home run and six runs batted in. St. Louis is 12-9 and two games behind Milwaukee in the National League Central Division. The Cardinals start a seven-game road trip with a three-games in Kansas City on Monday before heading to San Francisco to face Rodon and the Giants in a four-game set. 

Minor Leagues

Former NC State lefty Nick Swiney pitched 5.1 innings and was the winning pitcher in a combined no-hitter for Eugene in the first game of a doubleheader Sunday. It was Swiney's first victory as a professional. 

The native of Nashville, Tennessee struck out seven and walked one before being pulled in the seven-inning doubleheader opener. 

NC State currently has 18 players on Minor League rosters.

Players names in alphabetical order (Parent Club in parenthesis): Season Stats

+ - Denotes Single-A Ball

* - Denotes High-A Ball

** - Denotes Double-A Ball

*** -Denotes Triple-A Ball

*Patrick Bailey: Eugene (San Francisco): .167 average, 2 HR, 6 RBI

*Michael Bienlien: West Michigan (Detroit): 1-1. 3.38 ERA, 8 IP, 10 K, 6 games (no starts)

*Jonny Butler: Lansing (Oakland): .333 average, 8 RBI, SB

*Tommy DeJuneas: Asheville (Houston): 0-0, 3.38 ERA, 2.2 IP, 1 K, 2 games (no starts)

***Joe Dunand: Jacksonville (Miami): .250 average, HR, 5 RBI, 2 SB

**Evan Edwards: Montgomery (Tampa Bay): .180 average, 3 HRs, 10 RBI, SB

+Reid Johnston: Lynchburg (Cleveland): 1-0, 3.46 ERA, 13 IP, 15 K, 4 games (no starts)

*Evan Justice: Spokane (Colorado): 0-0, 3.00 ERA, 3 IP, 4 K, 3 games (no starts)

*Tyler McDonough: Greenville (Boston): .220 average, 3 HR, 12 RBI, 3 SB

***Evan Mendoza: Memphis (St. Louis): .278 average, 3 HR, 9 RBI

+Vojtech Mensik: Inland Empire (Los Angeles Angels): .216 average, 6 RBI, 7 SB

*Austin Murr: West Michigan (Detroit): .231 average, 10 RBI, 3 SB

***Tim Naughton: Norfolk (Baltimore): 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 8 IP, 9 K, 5 games (no starts)

**Preston Palmeiro: Rocket City (Los Angeles Angels): .208 average, HR, 8 RBI

*Nick Swiney: Eugene (San Francisco): 1-1, 3.29 ERA, 13.2 IP, 14 K, 3 games (3 starts)

+Terrell Tatum: Kannapolis (Chicago White Sox): .235 average, 8 SB

*Jose Torres: Dayton (Cincinnati): .298 average, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 5 SB

**Will Wilson: Richmond (San Francisco): .246 average, 5 HR, 13 RBI

NOTE: If you know of a player or any stats that are missing on the list, please send a direct message to @NCStateonSI on Twitter

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Rob McLamb
ROB MCLAMB

A lifelong native of the Triangle area in North Carolina, Rob McLamb has covered NC State Athletics since 2010, as well as writing about each of the five major sports leagues in North America (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and MLS) for various newspapers and outlets. As a journalist who has also served as a high school and college coach, McLamb provides an educated, unfiltered, and analytical perspective on the Wolfpack and the ACC. 

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