Five Former Rebels on Opening Day Rosters, More on 60-Man Rosters
Baseball is back. Four teams made their 'Opening Day' debuts yesterday, with the rest of the league getting under way today.
Ten former Ole Miss alumni have made the 60-man rosters to start the MLB season, including five on the opening day rosters.
Players reported for a modified summer camp on July 1, the start to a bizarre season that will include a number of rule changes for the season. The standard player pool has been increased to 60 athletes eligible to play during the 2020 season per club. Players must make the team's final roster by September 15 to be eligible for postseason play.
Unfortunately for a number of other Rebels, there will be no 2020 season for Minor League Baseball. There are an additional 17 Ole Miss Baseball products on MiLB rosters, making a total of 27 Rebels in professional baseball in 2020.
Rebels on Opening Day Rosters:
Lance Lynn, Texas Rangers
The Texas Rangers announced Lance Lynn as their Opening Day starter as the organization begins a new era at the brand new Globe Life Field on July 24 against the Colorado Rockies. Lynn looked outstanding in a July 7 intrasquad outing and is poised to build off of a 2019 season that was one of his most effective campaigns to date in the MLB ranks.
The 2008 first round pick set a new career best in innings pitched (208.1) and tied his best career mark in games started (33) while working his way to a 16-11 record and a 3.67 ERA for the Rangers. Midway through the season, Lynn's name was tossed around as a possible AL Cy Young Candidate, cementing his status as a workhorse among a crowded Texas pitching staff.
He struck out 246 opposing batters on the season, a new career high, and walked just 59 for a K/BB ratio of 4.17, far surpassing his career best mark. He finished the year atop the Rangers staff in wins, capping his season two ahead of Texas' co-ace Mike Minor. Lynn and Minor will be joined by Corey Kluber, making for a formidable Ranger rotation.
Mike Mayers, Los Angeles Angels
Mike Mayers was picked up off of waivers by the Los Angeles Angels on November 1, 2019 and remains on the team’s active roster going into the 2020 season. Mayers was off to a strong start at the MLB level in 2019, posting eight straight appearances with one run or fewer allowed before landing on the injured list with a lat strain in mid-April.
He spent the season back and forth between St. Louis and their Triple-A affiliate, the Memphis Redbirds. He made 16 relief appearances with the Cardinals this year, eight of which came after returning from injury and included back-to-back scoreless outings to close his season. At the Triple-A level, Mayers worked to a 3.15 ERA and earned six saves in seven opportunities.
Drew Pomeranz, San Diego Padres
A change of scenery served Drew Pomeranz well in 2019, and he’ll hope to continue that trend now with the San Diego Padres in 2020. The former first round draft pick got out to a rough start in 2019 with the San Francisco Giants but was dealt at the trade deadline to the Milwaukee Brewers.
Pomeranz made the most of his new opportunity, working a 2.39 ERA in 25 appearances—all but one out of the bullpen. He more than halved his ERA, dropped his opposing batting average by over .100 points, and even strung together a pair of saves to close his season with the Brewers. He elected free agency at season’s end and was picked up by a familiar organization on November 27, 2019. Pomeranz previously played for the Padres during his 2016 MLB All-Star season.
Jacob Waguespack, Toronto Blue Jays
Jacob Waguespack looked strong last season as he became the 49th Ole Miss Rebel to play in the major leagues, and he holds a spot on the Toronto Blue Jays Opening Day roster as the 2020 season begins. In his MLB debut on May 27, 2019, Wags jumped right in, going 4.0 innings with seven strikeouts, the most by a ever Blue Jay reliever in his MLB debut.
Waguespack made his second MLB appearance on July 3 and earned his first career win, tossing five innings with three runs allowed on six hits, striking out four to top the defending World Series Champion Boston Red Sox. The former Rebel emerged as a key pillar in the starting rotation for the Blue Jays this year, earning himself 13 starts since busting onto the scene in Toronto. On August 22, Waguespack went 7.0 IP against the high-powered Dodgers bats, striking out five, allowing just one hit and no earned runs. He finished his first full season at the MLB ranks with a 5-5 record and a 4.38 ERA in 78.0 IP.
Bobby Wahl, Milwaukee Brewers
A "freak" ACL tear derailed what looked to be a promising 2019 campaign for Bobby Wahl, but the former Rebel righty has worked his way back into an active roster spot for 2020 Opening Day. The Brewers organization was excited to see what Wahl could do out of the bullpen last year, but instead he had surgery on March 12, 2019, and was out for the season with an ACL tear in his right knee. He appeared in seven games with the New York Mets in 2018 and was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers in January of 2019.
Aaron Barrett, Washington Nationals (40-Man Roster)*
Aaron Barrett became the 13th Rebel to win a World Series ring in 2019 as his Washington Nationals captured baseball’s biggest prize. Though Barrett was not on the postseason roster, he completed a comeback for the ages when he returned to the bigs on September 7, 2019, his first MLB appearance in four years.
Barrett worked just one inning, but managed to strikeout Braves' superstar Ronald Acuña, Jr. for a scoreless outing in his first appearance back. It was an emotional outing for Barrett, who was brought to tears by his performance and received a standing ovation from both his teammates and the crowd. He went on to appear in two more games with the Nationals last season, and was a part of the clubhouse that defied all the odds to win the 2019 World Series as an NL Wild Card team.
Rebels on 60-man Rosters:
Thomas Dillard, Milwaukee Brewers
Just one year removed from a spectacular career as a Rebel, Thomas Dillard earned a spot as a non-roster invitee behind the plate for the Milwaukee Brewers. Just as he did in college, Dillard has found success against Minor League pitching.
In his first full professional season, he started off playing just four games with the AZL Brewers Blue, hitting .278 with three doubles a home run, four RBI and five runs scored before being promoted to the Class A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. He has flexed his power after the promotion, including a tremendous week in late July that saw him named Midwest League Player of the Week after slashing .350/.462/.900, with two doubles, three home runs, 7 RBI, six runs and five walks. '
The Timber Rattlers failed to make the playoffs, but certainly not because of Dillard, whose OPS nearly topped the .800 mark. He also almost averaged a walk a game, something he excelled at in Oxford.
Tyler Keenan, Seattle Mariners
On July 11, the Seattle Mariners called Tyler Keenan’s name as the sixth pick in the 4th Round (107th overall) of the 2020 MLB Draft. Seventeen days later, they tabbed Keenan again, this time naming the Clayton, North Carolina, native to their 60-man player pool.
Despite his junior season being cut short, Keenan put together a tremendous career as a Rebel, culminating with First Team All-America honors in 2020. Keenan paced the SEC and was second nationally with 33 RBI. His seven home runs were good for second in the conference and eighth in the country. The two-time SEC Player of the Week reached base in all 17 games and finished the season on an 11-game hit streak.
Henri Lartigue, Philadelphia Phillies
Henri Lartigue earned a spot on the Philadelphia Phillies 60-man roster after strong showings in the Minor Leagues over the past four seasons. The 2016 7th Round draft pick received the call-up to the Double A level of the Phillies organization to start the 2019 season. The former Rebel catcher hit .250 over the last two seasons at the Class A Full and Advanced levels for the Phillies. Lartigue hit .136 for the Reading Fightin Phils with seven home runs, four doubles, a triple, 24 runs and 26 RBI, including three home runs over the last month of the season.
Ryan Rolison, Colorado Rockies
Ryan Rolison has been turning heads at the Colorado Rockies summer camp. The organization’s No. 2 prospect was outstanding in intrasquad experience, including getting the franchise’s biggest star, Nolan Arenado, to ground into a double play. Rolison began the 2019 season with the Class A Full Asheville Tourists but was quickly promoted.
He went five perfect innings in his Asheville debut and strung together three strong starts to move along to the Class A Advanced Lancaster JetHawks. Rolison was named to the Cal League All-Star game, throwing a scoreless inning, striking out two in the exhibition. He was the No. 70 MLB prospect back in June, according to MLB Pipeline. He finished up the 2019 season with a 4.87 ERA with his new Lancaster club, with 22 starts under his belt at the A-Advanced level.
** All player bio's via. Ole Miss Athletics
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