Auburn in the Pros: July 12

by George Nunnelley
Ryan Bliss_MarinersRyan Bliss_Mariners
Steph Chambers/Getty Images

MLB

Ryan Bliss (Seattle Mariners)
2024 MLB (29 games): .224/.297/.362, 8 R, 13 H, 3 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 5 BB, 5 SB
2024 MiLB (50 games): .247/.382/.445, 38 R, 45 H, 9 2B, 3 3B, 7 HR, 35 RBI, 39 BB, 28 SB

Coming off a stellar minor league season in 2023 in which he hit .304 with 23 homers and 22 stolen bases, Bliss started the season with Triple-A Tacoma before being called up to Seattle and making his Major League debut on May 27. He recorded his first big league hit and stole a pair of bases on June 1 and hit his first big league homer on June 7. In three games from June 20-22, Bliss went 7-for-9 with three doubles, a triple and four RBI.

Bailey Horn (Boston Red Sox)
2024 MLB (3 games): 0-0, 2.45 ERA, 7.1 IP, 7 H, 2 R/ER, 2 BB, 6 K, .241 B/AVG
2024 MiLB (21 games/1 start): 2-3, 5.47 ERA, 1 SV, 26.1 IP, 23 H, 18 R/16 ER, 19 BB, 34 K, .240 B/AVG

Horn also started the season in Triple-A and made his first 21 appearances at that level. He was traded from the White Sox to the Red Sox on April 30 and in 12 games with Worcester turned in a 1.69 ERA with 19 strikeouts in 16.0 innings pitched. Horn then became the 60th former player to make his Major League debut on June 29, logging 2.2 innings vs. San Diego. He has turned in two scoreless outings vs. the Marlins and Yankees since, logging 4.2 innings with four strikeouts in the stretch.

Casey Mize (Detroit Tigers)
2024 (16 games/starts): 2-6, 4.23 ERA, 78.2 IP, 93 H, 42 R/37 ER, 21 BB, 58 K, .291 B/AVG

Fully healthy for the first time since the beginning of the 2022 season, Mize broke spring training in the Tigers’ rotation and made 16 straight starts to begin the season. He struck out a season-high 10 batters in 4.1 innings vs. Philadelphia on June 24 and turned in 5.1 scoreless innings vs. Los Angeles on June 30 but was placed on the 15-day IL with a hamstring strain heading into the All-Star break.

Josh Palacios (Pittsburgh Pirates)
2024 MLB (8 games): .227/.370/.500, 5 R, 5 H, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 5 BB, 2 K
2024 MiLB (30 games): .298/.360/.462, 12 R, 31 H, 8 2B, 3 HR, 14 RBI, 10 BB, 2 SB

Palacios started the season on the IL but produced at a high level when he returned to health, hitting .311 in 21 games with Triple-A Indianapolis. He was recalled by Pittsburgh on July 4 and reached base in his first seven games with the club. Palacios homered in back-to-back games vs. the Mets and Brewers from July 8-9 and drove in a combined four runs in the span. He is reaching base at a .370 clip with the big league club.

Daniel Robert (Texas Rangers)
2024 MLB (1 game): 0-0, 10.80 ERA, 1.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R/ER, 1 BB, 2 K, .286 B/AVG
2024 MiLB (25 games): 3-1, 2.35 ERA, 5 SV, 30.1 IP, 14 H, 8 R/ER, 7 BB, 40 K, .132 B/AVG

Robert started the season lights out with Triple-A Round Rock, turning in a 2.35 ERA and 0.68 WHIP in 25 appearances and 30.2 innings pitched with the club. He did not allow an earned run and allowed only four hits across 19.0 innings pitched from May 22-July 4 before being called up to the Rangers on July 8, becoming the 61st big leaguer in program history. Robert made his debut vs. Los Angeles on July 10, striking out two in 1.2 innings of work.

Keegan Thompson (Chicago Cubs)
2024 MLB (13 games): 1-1, 3.50 ERA, 1 SV, 18.0 IP, 12 H, 10 R/7 ER, 10 BB, 26 K, .182 B/AVG
2024 MiLB (10 games): 1-1, 4.40 ERA, 14.1 IP, 8 H, 7 R/ER, 7 BB, 20 K, .163 B/AVG

Thompson has spent his seventh professional season between the Major Leagues and Triple-A and has been effective with the Cubs when healthy. After coming off the IL and being recalled on Juny 15, Thompson didn’t allow an earned run in four appearances and 5.1 innings pitched in June. However, he went back on the IL with a rib fracture on June 28.

Trey Wingenter (Boston Red Sox)
2024 MLB (1 game): 0-0, 27.00 ERA, 1.0 IP, 2 H, 3 R/ER, 1 BB, 1 K, .400 B/AVG
2024 MiLB (26 games): 4-4, 3.31, 2 SV, 32.2 IP, 31 H, 16 R/12 ER, 17 BB, 48 K, .248 B/AVG

Back to health for the second season after logging only 7.0 professional innings from 2019-22, Wingenter turned in four wins, two saves, a 3.31 ERA and 48 strikeouts in 32.2 innings in 26 appearances with Triple-A Toledo (Detroit) before being traded to Boston on July 6. He was activated by the Red Sox on July 9 and made his first MLB appearance of the season that day vs. Oakland, recording the final three outs in a 12-9 win.

Triple-A

Tanner Burns (Columbus Clippers – Cleveland Guardians)
2024 (27 games): 2-2, 5.50 ERA, 2 SV, 37.2 IP, 35 H, 24 R, 23 ER, 23 BB, 45 K, .248 B/AVG

Burns has spent the entirety of the 2024 season with Columbus and is tied for second on the team with 27 appearances. The former first-round pick has struck out 45 batters in 37.2 innings of work. He struck out a season-high four batters in 2.1 scoreless innings on May 31, highlighting a stretch of six appearances without allowing an earned run. The fourth-year pro has turned in a 3.86 ERA in three appearances in July.

Garrett Cooper (Norfolk Tides – Baltimore Orioles)
2024 MLB (36 games): .206/.267/.299, 6 R, 22 H, 5 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 11 RBI, 7 BB
2024 MiLB (10 games): .351/.455/.703, 6 R, 13 H, 1 2B, 4 HR, 15 RBI, 7 BB

Cooper was picked up by the Cubs to start the season before being traded to the Red Sox at the end of April. He was then signed by Baltimore and assigned to Triple-A Norfolk on June 25. The eight-year big leaguer wasted no time in settling in with his new organization as he earned International League Player of the Week honors on July 8, hitting .421 with four homers and 10 RBI in five games from July 1-6.

Davis Daniel (Salt Lake Bees – Los Angeles Angels)
2024 MLB (3 games/starts): 1-2, 5.82 ERA, 17.0 IP, 19 H, 12 R/11 ER, 1 BB, 14 K, .284 B/AVG
2024 MiLB (14 games/starts): 5-4, 5.33 ERA, 76.0 IP, 89 H, 46 R/45 ER, 25 BB, 82 K, .290 B/AVG

After making 14 starts with Triple-A Salt Lake to start the season, Daniel was recalled by Los Angeles on June 27 and made his season debut with the Angels that night. The right hander turned in 8.0 scoreless innings with no walks and eight strikeouts en route to the win. The fourth-year pro has since been optioned back to Triple-A heading into the All-Star break. Daniel is rated the Angels No. 26 prospect by MLB Pipeline.

Richard Fitts (Worcester Red Sox – Boston Red Sox)
2024 (16 games/15 starts): 5-4, 4.76 ERA, 73.2 IP, 75 H, 42 R/39 ER, 29 BB, 71 K, .267 B/AVG

On the heels of being named the 2023 Eastern League Pitcher of the Year, Fitts has spent the entirety of the 2024 season with Triple-A Worcester and leads the WooSox in strikeouts while ranking second in innings pitched. The third-year pro fanned a season-high nine batters in 5.0 scoreless innings vs. Columbus on June 22, lowering his ERA to 3.86 to that point in the season. Fitts is rated the Red Sox No. 10 prospect by MLB Pipeline.

Will Holland (St. Paul Saints – Minnesota Twins)
2024 (41 games): .299/.428/.556, 32 R, 35 H, 10 2B, 1 3B, 6 HR, 20 RBI, 17 BB, 13 SB

Holland has been with Triple-A St. Paul for the entirety of the 2024 season and has enjoyed a career year when healthy. He has turned in a career-best .299 average, 70 points higher than his previous best mark, and is reaching base at an impressive .428 clip. However, he has been on the IL three different times this season, including most recently being placed there on June 28.

Edouard Julien (St. Paul Saints – Minnesota Twins)
2024 MLB (58 games): .207/.309/.367, 24 R, 35 H, 6 2B, 7 HR, 17 RBI, 24 BB, 6 SB
2024 MiLB (32 games): .235/.397/.395, 22 R, 28 H, 2 2B, 1 3B, 5 HR, 11 RBI, 31 BB, 4 SB

After appearing in 58 games and hitting seven homers for Minnesota to start the season, Julien linked back up with former Auburn teammate Will Holland in Triple-A St. Paul on June 4. He homered in his first minor league game of the year and has heated up of late, hitting .300 with three homers and six RBI in the last six games. He matched a season high with three hits, including a homer for the second straight game, on July 10 at Louisville.

Ryan Watson (Norfolk Tides – Baltimore Orioles)
2024 (17 games): 3-1, 2.38 ERA, 2 SV, 22.2 IP, 15 H, 6 R/ER, 7 BB, 23 K, .190 B/AVG

After making 11 appearances at Double-A to begin the season, Watson was promoted back to Triple-A Norfolk on June 27 and has been even more effective with one of the best teams in minor league baseball. In six appearances with the Tides he has earned a win and a save while posting a 1.42 ERA. Watson was previously named the Orioles 2022 Minor League Pitcher of the Year.

Double-A

Mason Barnett (Northwest Arkansas Naturals – Kansas City Royals)
2024 (16 games/15 starts): 3-5, 5.79 ERA, 74.2 IP, 81 H, 51 R/48 ER, 28 BB, 90 K, .276 B/AVG

The Royals 2023 Minor League Pitcher of the Year, Barnett has spent the entirety of the 2024 season in Northwest Arkansas and leads the club in strikeouts and innings pitched. His 90 strikeouts are good for second in the Texas League. He started the year strong, striking out a season-high 10 batters in 5.0 innings on April 18 and has turned in a 2.40 ERA with 17 strikeouts in 15.0 innings in his last three starts. Barnett is rated the Royals No. 5 prospect by MLB Pipeline.

Trace Bright (Bowie Baysox – Baltimore Orioles)
2024 (16 games/starts): 0-9, 4.00 ERA, 69.2 IP, 74 H, 36 R/31 ER, 30 BB, 82 K, .275 B/AVG

After striking out 147 batters in 99.2 innings a year ago, Bright has picked up where he left off in 2024, ranking second on Bowie in strikeouts and innings while spending the entirety of the season with the club. In his second full season of pro ball, Bright has struck out six or more batters in nearly half of his starts despite being limited to no more than 5.0 innings in any outing. He has turned in a 2.08 ERA with 12 strikeouts in his last two starts an 8.2 innings pitched. Bright is rated the Orioles No. 15 prospect by MLB Pipeline.

Calvin Coker (Erie Seawolves – Detroit Tigers)
2024 (24 games): 2-2, 3.28 ERA, 2 SV, 35.2 IP, 26 H, 13 R/ER, 14 BB, 35 K, .198 B/AVG

Coker was selected by Detroit in the second round o the Rule 5 Draft last December and, coming back for a third season since not pitching from 2020-21 due to COVID-19 and injury, has been one of Erie’s steadiest relievers, ranking fifth on the team in appearances. In nine appearances since the beginning of June, Coker has turned in a 2.03 ERA with 13 strikeouts in 13.1 innings pitched. He hasn’t allowed a run in eight of his last 10 appearances.

Nate LaRue (New Hampshire Fisher Cats – Toronto Blue Jays)

LaRue has yet to appear this season after being placed on the 60-day IL on March 28.

Tyler Miller (Portland Sea Dogs – Boston Red Sox)
2024 (65 games): .266/.310/.401, 30 R, 63 H, 15 2B, 1 3B, 5 HR, 29 RBI, 16 BB, 2 SB

After hitting .275 in 36 games with High-A Greenville to start the season, Miller was promoted to Doubla-A Portland on May 28 and has remained productive in his first action at the level. The fourth-year pro was named the South Atlantic League Player of the Week on Apr. 29 after hitting .500 with two doubles, a homer and four RBI in five games the week prior. Miller recently went on an 11-game hitting streak from June 16-July 4.

Blake Rambusch (Arkansas Travelers – Seattle Mariners)
2024 (31 games): .256/.407/.326, 13 R, 22 H, 2 2B, 2 3B, 10 RBI, 17 BB, 8 SB

After starting the season on the 60-day IL, Rambusch started a rehab assignment in May and was assigned to Double-A Arkansas on June 11. He collected five hits in four games from June 14-18 and collected multiple hits on a pair of occasions at the end of the month.

High-A

Blake Burkhalter (Rome Emperors – Atlanta Braves)
2024 (7 games/starts): 0-2, 3.63 ERA, 22.1 IP, 23 H, 9 R/ER, 8 BB, 22 K, .264 B/AVG

Coming off of Tommy John surgery that sidelined him for the 2023 season, Burkhalter began the year on the IL. He struck out five batters in 2.0 scoreless innings in his final rehab start before begin activated by Rome on June 9. In two starts since June 29, the top college reliever taken in the 2022 MLB Draft has turned in a 1.80 ERA with 10 strikeouts and no walks in 10.0 innings. Burkhalter is rated the Braves No. 27 prospect by MLB Pipeline.

Cole Foster (Eugene Emeralds – San Francisco Giants)
2024 (61 games): .237/.330/.364, 35 R, 56 H, 16 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 38 RBI, 22 BB, 6 SB

Entering his first full season of pro ball, Foster played the first 56 games of the year with Single-A San Jose, tallying 20 extra-base hits and driving in 36 runs, highlighted by a six-RBI effort on June 20, before being promoted to High-A Eugene. He wasted no time in making himself at home with his new club as he homered in his second game. Foster is rated the Giants No. 25 prospect by MLB Pipeline.

Peyton Glavine (Wilmington Blue Rocks – Washington Nationals)

Glavine has yet to appear this season after being placed on the 60-day IL on March 20.

Chase Isbell (Quad Cities River Bandits – Kansas City Royals)
2024 (21 games): 4-1, 1.35 ERA, 2 SV, 33.1 IP, 18 H, 8 R/5 ER, 7 BB, 44 K, .159 B/AVG

Also entering his first full season of pro ball, Isbell has been lights out since the beginning of the season. The right hander turned in a 0.79 ERA and 0.62 WHIP in 13 appearances with Single-A Columbia before being promoted to High-A Quad Cities on June 10. He didn’t allow a run in his last seven appearances and 11.1 innings with Columbia, striking out 19 and allowing three hits with three walks during the span, and he hasn’t allowed an earned run in 16 of his 21 appearances this year.

Brody Moore (Peoria Chiefs – St. Louis Cardinals)
2023 (74 games): .243/.303/.325, 41 R, 65 H, 11 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 29 RBI, 11 SB

Moore has spent the entirety of the 2024 season with Peoria and leads the club in a number of categories including games played, at-bats, runs and hits. Moore collected six hits in the first three game of July and is hitting .343 in nine games this month. In his third season on pro ball, he has already collected career highs in runs, hits, doubles, home runs and RBI.

Hayden Mullins (Greenville Drive – Boston Red Sox)
2024 (14 games/13 starts): 2-4, 3.62 ERA, 54.2 IP, 44 H, 30 R/22 ER, 26 BB, 76 K, .218 B/AVG

Enjoying his first full healthy season since being drafted, Mullins has spent the entirety of the season with High-A Greenville and ranks second on the club in starts, innings and strikeouts. His 12.51 strikeouts/9.0 innings are good for eighth most in the league. Mullins in coming off his best month of the season in June in which he turned in a 2.45 ERA with 33 strikeouts and four walks in five starts and 22.0 innings, highlighted by a season-high 10 strikeouts in 5.0 innings on June 13.

Jack Owen (Lansing Lugnuts – Oakland Athletics)
2024 (24 games): 2-1, 7.59 ERA, 32.0 IP, 43 H, 27 R/ER, 13 BB, 22 K, .323 B/AVG

Owen is in his fourth season of pro ball and ranks tied for third on the Lugnuts in appearances. He has posted a 2.70 ERA in three appearances and 6.2 innings in July, striking out five and issuing one walk in the span. The crafty lefty has a 4.28 ERA in 95 career appearances and 202. Innings pitched as a pro.  

Carson Skipper (Spokane Indians – Colorado Rockies)
2024 (32 games): 6-1, 1.49 ERA, 8 SV, 36.1 IP, 29 H, 8 R/6 ER, 7 BB, 53 K, .212 B/AVG

Skipper has spent the entirety of the season with High-A Spokane and has filled up the stat sheet, leading the club in appearances while tying for the lead in wins and ranking second in holds and saves. He has earned either a win, hold or save in 20 of his 32 appearances this year. The lefty didn’t allow an earned run in his first 14 appearances of the season and hasn’t allowed an earned run on 28 occasions this year. His 13.13 strikeouts/9.0 innings are good for second on the team.

Tommy Vail (Winston-Salem Dash – Chicago White Sox)
2024 (16 games/5 starts): 4-2, 1.67 ERA, 43.0 IP, 19 H, 9 R/8 ER, 22 BB, 73 K, .134 B/AVG

Vail signed a minor league contract with the Chicago White Sox prior to the season and has been one of the organization’s steadiest minor league pitchers since. After spending the first three months of the season in Single-A, Vail was promoted to High-A on July 4 and all he has done is turn in a 0.90 ERA with 17 strikeouts in two starts with the club. He recently struck out 10 batters and didn’t allow an earned run in 5.0 innings on July 5 and is striking out 15.3 batters per 9.0 innings.

Single-A

Sonny DiChiara (Island Empire 66ers – Los Angeles Angels)
2024 (61 games): .203/.333/.363, 34 R, 43 H, 13 2B, 7 HR, 35 RBI, 38 BB, 2 SB

Playing in his third pro season after being named the 2022 SEC Co-Player of the Year, DiChiara started the year with Triple-A Salt Lake but has spent the majority of the season with Island Empire. He is hitting .231 with seven homers and 32 RBI in 45 games with the club. The slugger has heated up of late, hitting .333 with nine RBI in the last six games. He recently hit a walk-off grand slam vs. Modesto on July 9.

Bryson Ware (Clearwater Threshers – Philadelphia Phillies)
2024 (67 games): .217/.313/.375, 34 R, 52 H, 11 2B, 9 HR, 41 RBI, 29 BB, 9 SB

Playing in his first full pro season, Ware has spent the entirety of the year with Clearwater and leads the club in RBI while ranking top three in games, hits, doubles and homers. Eight of Ware’s nine home runs this season came between May 17 and July 4, capped off with a two-homer, five-RBI performance vs. Dunedin on July 4.

*Stats accurate through July 11