A couple of weeks prior to the 2023 MLB Draft, Auburn boasts 30 professional players, including seven current big leaguers. Keep up with all of the former Tigers in professional baseball on the summer's first installment of Auburn Baseball in the Pros.
MLB
Garrett Cooper (Miami Marlins)
2023 (58 games): .244/.283/.415, 18 R, 53 H, 8 2B, 1 3B, 9 HR, 33 RBI, 11 BB
The 2023 season marks Cooper's seventh in the big leagues, including his sixth with the Marlins. The 2022 MLB All-Star is heating up as the season nears the halfway point, hitting .421 (8-for-19) with two doubles, a homer and five RBI in the last five games. Cooper's nine home runs are the second most on the Marlins and his 33 RBI are good for fourth on the team. This season marks the third straight year and fourth straight full season dating back to 2019 the former Tiger has homered at least nine times.
Davis Daniel (Los Angeles Angels)
Daniel was placed on the 60-day IL with a right shoulder strain on Feb. 16, 2023, and is yet to pitch this season. He earned his MLB call-up on June 11, 2022.
Josh Donaldson (New York Yankees)
2023 (21 games): .125/.197/.406, 9 R, 8 H, 6 HR, 8 RBI, 6 BB
Played in his 13th season in 2023, including his second with the Yankees, Donaldson is Auburn's longest-tenured big leaguer. The 2015 American League MVP spent the majority of April and May on the injured list and rehabbing before homering five times in six games upon his return to the Yankees at the start of June. With six home runs this season, Donaldson has hit 272 career long balls – the second most by an Auburn player (Frank Thomas, 521).
Edouard Julien (Minnesota Twins)
2023 MLB (33 games): .261/.341/.441, 15 R, 29 H, 8 2B, 4 HR, 8 RBI, 13 BB, 1 SB
2023 MiLB (38 games): .293/.435/.496, 29 R, 39 H, 12 2B, 5 HR, 22 RBI, 32 BB, 3 SB
After being named the Breakout Player of the Year in the Arizona Fall League and hitting .348 in MLB Spring Training, it didn't take long for Julien to get the call from the Twins and make his MLB debut on Apr. 12. His first MLB hit came at Yankees Stadium the following day with a first-inning single off the wall, and his first big league homer came later in the frame with a solo shot to left field. In three stints and 33 games with the Twins, Julien has collected multiple hits in 10 games, including each of the last two. The two-time MiLB.com Organizational All-Star is hitting .306 and reaching base at a .382 clip since his latest recall on June 10. Julien is rated by MLB Pipeline as the Twins No. 4 prospect and the No. 70 prospect in all of baseball.
Casey Mize (Detroit Tigers)
Mize was placed on the 60-day IL with a right elbow injury on Feb. 17, 2023, and will not pitch this season.
Josh Palacios (Pittsburgh Pirates)
2023 MLB (28 games): .247/.286/.370, 6 R, 18 H, 4 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 8 RBI, 3 BB, 2 SB
2023 MiLB (21 games): .368/.433/.598, 17 R, 32 H, 6 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 22 RBI, 8 BB, 4 SB
After hitting .386 in 21 games between Double-A and Triple-A and being named the International League Player of the Week on May 1, Palacios had his contract selected by the Pirates and made his debut with the club on May 9. He turned in a career-high three hits and three RBI vs. Arizona on May 19, starting a six-game stretch in which he went 7-for-14. Palacios hit his first MLB home run vs. St. Louis on June 2 and has been a consistent piece of Pittsburgh's lineup since late May.
Trey Wingenter (Detroit Tigers)
2023 MLB (6 games): 1-0, 8.31 ERA, 4.1 IP, 5 R, 4 R/ER, 2 BB, 5 K, .278 B/AVG
2023 MiLB (6 games/2 starts): 0-1, 12.46 ERA, 4.1 IP, 4 H, 6 R/ER, 6 BB, 5 K, .250 B/AVG
After making just three minor league appearance since suffering an injury at the end of the 2019 season, Wingenter signed a minor league contract with Detroit in January and started the year with the Tigers. He made six relief appearances in April before being placed on the IL and is currently on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Toledo, recently turning in a scoreless inning on June 25.
Triple-ABen Braymer (Albuquerque Isotopes – Colorado Rockies)
2023 (6 games/starts): 1-2, 5.19 ERA, 26.0 IP, 36 H, 23 R/15 ER, 14 BB, 19 K, .327 B/AVG
The Rockies signed Braymer to a minor league contract on May 21 and he was assigned to Triple-A Albuquerque on May 23. The seventh-year pro made his debut with the club later that day and pitched a scoreless inning with two strikeouts. He earned his first win of the season on June 4, allowing one run in 5.0 innings, and struck out a season-high six batters in a start on June 10.
Bailey Horn (Iowa Cubs – Chicago Cubs)
2023 (24 games): 6-2, 3.48 ERA, 4 HLD, 1 SV, 31.0 IP, 22 H, 13 R/12 ER, 17 BB, 43 K, .202 B/AVG
After making six appearances at Double-A to start the season, Horn was promoted to Triple-A on Apr. 29 and leads the club with six wins in 18 relief appearances. He earned his first Triple-A win in his second appearance on May 4 and won five games in a span of nine appearances from May 25-June 18. The hard-throwing lefty is 2-0 with a 2.70 ERA in his last five appearances and 6.2 innings pitched.
Daniel Robert (Round Rock Express – Texas Rangers)
2023 (11 games): 1-0, 6.43 ERA, 14.0 IP, 15 H, 14 R/10 ER, 11 BB, 15 K, .278 B/AVG
Robert earned a non-roster invite to big league spring training and turned in a pair of scoreless outings before beginning the season at Triple-A. He was activated from the development list on May 30 and turned in four scoreless outings and 5.2 innings upon his return. Seven of his 11 appearances this season have been scoreless efforts.
Keegan Thompson (Iowa Cubs – Chicago Cubs)
2023 MLB (15 games): 2-2, 4.22 ERA, 3 HLD, 21.1 IP, 14 H, 10 R/ER, 14 BB, 16 K, .187 B/AVG
2023 MiLB (8 games): 2-0, 13.09 ERA, 11.0 IP, 15 H, 16 R/ER, 17 BB, 18 K, .319 B/AVG
Coming off a 10-win 2022 campaign, Thompson began the year in Chicago and boasted a 1.80 ERA through his first 10 appearances. However, he was optioned to Triple-A on May 19. Thompson has made eight appearances with the minor league Cubs since late May but was placed on the 7-day IL on June 19.
Ryan Watson (Norfolk Tides – Baltimore Orioles)
2023 (14 games/6 starts): 3-3, 5.48 ERA, 46.0 IP, 44 H, 30 R/28 ER, 29 BB, 46 K, .254 B/AVG
The Orioles 2022 Minor League Pitcher of the Year, Watson earned a non-roster invite to Orioles Spring Training and has spent the entirety of the 2023 season to this point at Triple-A. Used almost equally as a starter and reliver, Watson ranks fourth on the club in innings pitched (46.0) and fifth in strikeouts (46). He started the year with 5.0 scoreless innings and a win on Apr. 6 and held a 3-0 record with a 2.49 ERA through May 12. Watson he rated by MLB Pipeline as the Orioles' No. 22 prospect.
Double-A
Ryan Bliss (Amarillo Sod Poodles – Arizona Diamondbacks)
2023 (60 games): .350/.396/.581, 56 R, 91 H, 19 2B, 4 3B, 11 HR, 43 RBI, 17 BB, 21 SB
Already a two-time Texas League Player of the Month this year, Bliss was recently named to the National League roster for the 2023 All-Star Futures Game scheduled for July 8 in Seattle. The third-year pro has already registered career highs in triples (four), homers (11) and RBI (43) and has tied his hit (91) and doubles (19) totals from a season ago. Bliss leads the Texas League in runs (56) and hits while ranking second in doubles and triples, fifth in average (.350), sixth in OPS (.977), seventh in stolen bases (21) and eighth in RBI. He collected multiple hits in 19 of his first 27 games this season, good for a .405 average through May 14, and has multiple hits in 30 games thus far. Bliss has also driven in 16 runs in his last 13 games.
Tanner Burns (Akron RubberDucks – Cleveland Guardians)
2023 (12 games/10 starts): 2-3, 3.40 ERA, 1 CG, 1 HLD, 53.0 IP, 40 H, 21 R/20 ER, 25 BB, 56 K, .206 B/AVG
A member of Akron's rotation since the beginning of last season, Burns has registered a career-best 3.40 ERA through his first 12 appearances and 10 starts. He ranks second on the club in innings pitched (53.0) and strikeouts (56). Burns earned wins in back-to-back starts on May 10 and May 16, including a 5.0-inning complete game in the latter appearances, and most recently matched a season high with seven strikeouts in a relief outing on June 21. The right-hander is rated by MLB Pipeline as the Guardians No. 18 prospect.
Calvin Coker (Midland RockHounds – Oakland Athletics)
2023 (23 games): 1-2, 4.11 ERA, 4 HLD, 1 SV, 35.0 IP, 37 H, 17 R/16 ER, 9 BB, 23 K, .274 B/AVG
Coker has been Midland's most-used arm out of the bullpen with 23 relief appearances this season. The sidearmer has registered four holds and a save and has given up one run or fewer in 20 of his 23 trips to the mound this season. With the exception of an outing vs. Wichita on June 14, Coker has turned in a 1.54 ERA in 14 appearances and 23.1 innings since the beginning of May.
Sonny DiChiara (Rocket City Trash Pandas – Los Angeles Angels)
2023 (19 games): .210/.338/.339, 7 R, 13 H, 5 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 10 BB
Rocket City activated DiChiara from the injured list on May 31, and the second-year slugger doubled and homered in his first series back with the club on June 4. Sonny started his season with five hits in his first 11 games but is hitting .333 (8-for-24) with three doubles in his last eight contests. DiChiara has reached base 13 times during the span.
Richard Fitts (Somerset Patriots – New York Yankees)
2023 (13 games/starts): 3-5, 3.91 ERA, 71.1 IP, 68 H, 32 R/31 ER, 15 BB, 80 K, .247 B/AVG
Fitts started the season by striking out 18 batters in his first 8.2 innings and currently ranks second in the Eastern League with 80 strikeouts in 71.1 innings on the year. The third-year pro has turned in 6.0 or more innings in six straight starts and has logged a 1.89 ERA in 38.0 innings during the span. Fitts, who is rated by MLB Pipeline as the Yankees' No. 8 prospect, struck out 10 in a season-high 8.0 innings on June 10. He helped lead Somerset to the Eastern League Northeast Division First-Half Championship.
Will Holland (Wichita Wind Surge – Minnesota Twins)
2023 (51 games): .203/.293/.304, 24 R, 32 H, 5 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 21 RBI, 20 BB, 10 SB
Holland is in his fourth professional season with the Twins and has played in 51 games for Double-A Wichita. He started the year on a hot streak, hitting .360 (9-for-25) with two homers and five RBI over seven games from Apr. 22-29. Holland went 2-for-3 with two runs, a homer and two RBI in arguably his best game of the season on June 14.
Matt Scheffler (Arkansas Travelers – Seattle Mariners)
2023 (35 games): .276/.372/.336, 16 R, 32 H, 4 2B, 1 HR, 17 RBI, 14 BB, 6 SB
A steady contributor for Double-A Arkansas since the beginning of last season, Scheffler earned a non-roster invite to Marines Spring Training prior to the 2023 campaign and has turned in a career-best .276 average through 35 games played this year. He has multiple hits in four of his last 11 contests and is hitting .324 (12-for-37) with nine runs, a homer and seven RBI during the span. Scheffler has logged 283.0 innings behind the plate and has thrown out 14 would-be base stealers.
High-A
Mason Barnett (Quad Cities River Bandits – Kansas City Royals)
2023 (11 games/starts): 2-3, 4.06 ERA, 51.0 IP, 38 R, 27 R/23 ER, 32 BB, 64 K, .208 B/AVG
Barnett started his first full professional season strong – to the tune of a 1.77 ERA with 26 strikeouts in his first four starts and 20.1 innings pitched – and has been in Quad Cities' rotation for the entirety of the year thus far. He has seven starts of 5.0 or more innings and has struck out six or more batters in as many starts. Barnett is rated by MLB Pipeline as Kansas City's No. 16 prospect.
Trace Bright (Aberdeen IronBirds – Baltimore Orioles)
2023 (13 games/11 starts): 0-3, 5.04 ERA, 44.2 IP, 33 H, 30 R/25 ER, 29 BB, 65 K, .204 B/AVG
Bright began his first full professional season by striking out a career-high 10 batters in 3.1 innings on Apr. 8 and tallied 18 strikeouts in his first two starts and 8.0 innings of work. The right-hander turned in back-to-back scoreless starts on June 3 and June 9, striking out 11 and allowing only two hits in a combined 7.2 innings. He has posted a 2.08 ERA in four starts during June. Bright ranks third on Aberdeen in strikeouts (65) and sixth in innings pitched (44.2).
Blake Burkhalter (Rome Braves – Atlanta Braves)
Burkhalter earned an invite to Major League Spring Training prior to his first full season of professional baseball. However, he underwent surgery prior to the season and will not pitch this year.
Peyton Glavine (Wilmington Blue Rocks – Washington Nationals)
2023 (1 game): 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R/ER, 0 BB, 0 K, .250 B/AVG
Glavine pitched a scoreless inning of relief on Apr. 11 before being placed on the 60-day IL on Apr. 15. The third-year pro has turned in a 3.34 ERA in 24 career relief appearances.
Tyler Miller (Greenville Drive – Boston Red Sox)
2023 (41 games): .259/.321/.435, 21 R, 38 H, 11 2B, 5 HR, 23 RBI, 13 BB, 6 SB
Miller started the season on the IL but came out swinging upon being activated as he went 5-for-9 with two doubles in his first two games. The third-year pro hit .333 (13-for-39) with six doubles, two homers and eight RBI in his first 10 games of the year. Miller went on a nine-game hitting streak at the end of May and start of June and is hitting .300 (18-for-60) in 17 games this month. He has multiple hits in 10 games this season.
Brody Moore (Peoria Chiefs – St. Louis Cardinals)
2023 (21 games): .195/.275/.244, 7 R, 16 H, 2 2B, 1 3B, 8 RBI, 9 BB, 4 SB
Moore started the season with Single-A Palm Beach before being promoted to High-A Peoria on May 12. In his second game of the year he collected a career-high three hits with a triple and RBI. However, he has been plagued by injuries twice this season and was placed on the 60-day IL on May 30.
Jack Owen (Lansing Lugnuts – Oakland Athletics)
2023 (16 games/1 start): 4-0, 2.56 ERA, 1 HLD, 1 SV, 31.2 IP, 25 H, 11 R/9 ER, 5 BB, 25 K, .210 B/AVG
Owen has started the 2023 season by putting up some career-best numbers in ERA (2.56), average against (.210) and WHIP (0.95) and leads Lansing with a 4-0 record. He hasn't allowed an earned run in eight of his 11 appearances since the beginning of May and has turned in a 0.90 ERA in six appearances this month. Owen's five walks this season are the fewest by any pitcher in the Midwest League with double digit innings. The third-year pro is 13-6 with a 3.35 ERA in 57 pro appearances.
Blake Rambusch (Everett AquaSox – Seattle Mariners)
2023 (42 games): .233/.384/.328, 24 R, 27 H, 6 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 10 RBI, 21 BB, 13 SB
Seeing action in 42 games at High-A so far this season, Rambusch ranks sixth on the team with a .384 OBP and third with 13 stolen bases. He hit his first professional home run on June 8 and recently went 3-for-4 with a double, triple and two RBI in a win at Hillsboro on June 23. Primarily playing second base while also getting time in left field and center field, Rambusch has turned in a .985 fielding percentage among the three positions.
Steven Williams (Wilmington Blue Rocks – Washington Nationals)
2023 (6 games): .000/.308/.000, 0 R, 0 H, 1 RBI, 4 BB
Williams was activated by Single-A Fredericksburg on May 14 and promote to High-A Wilmington on May 16. He reached twice and drove in a run in his first game of the season and has played in six games across the two levels so far this year.
Single-A
Hayden Mullins (Salem Red Sox – Boston Red Sox)
Mullins continues to recover from an injury he suffered prior to the end of the 2022 season at Auburn and is yet to make his professional debut.
Carson Skipper (Fresno Grizzlies – Colorado Rockies)
2023 (20 games): 0-2, 4.01 ERA, 6 HLD, 24.2 IP, 31 H, 13 R/11 ER, 3 BB, 36 K, .298 B/AVG
In his first full season after being selected in the 11th round a season ago, Skipper has been one of Fresno's most consistent relievers since the middle of May. The southpaw has allowed just two runs in his last 12 appearances and 15.1 innings pitched – good for a 1.17 ERA. He has turned in seven straight scoreless outings with a 10-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio during the span. His three walks on the season are the fewest by a pitcher with double digit innings.
*Stats accurate through June 26
Auburn Baseball in the Pros - June 28
