The professional baseball season is about half over and several former Tulane players are pulling down a professional baseball paycheck. These are the ones I’m aware of:
Jake Rogers. Jake is in his fourth season with the Detroit Tigers. Last year, he hit .221 with 21 home runs but has regressed through the first half of this season with only 6 HR’s and a .208 batting Average. The good news: after only throwing out 16% of stolen base attempts last year, he’s upped that to 31% this year.
Ian Gibaut. Ian entered this season as an integral part of the Cincinnati bullpen after appearing in 74 games last year (75.2 innings and a 3.33 ERA), but injuries limited him to only 6 innings of a rehab stint in the minors this year and what may be a season-ending placement on IR.
Grant Witherspoon. After being released by the Toledo Mud Hens (AAA) last August, Grant was picked up this spring by the AA Arkansas Travelers. Unfortunately, he hit only .143 in 41 games and was released on June 25. At 27 years old, his baseball future is in doubt.
Kody Hoese. After hitting .188, .232, and .244 the past three seasons in AA ball, Kody, a one-time first round draft choice for the Dodgers, fell out of their “top 50” prospect list. Nonetheless, he was invited to the Dodger’s Spring training camp where he performed well enough to be advanced to their AAA team. Although he’s not shown the power normally expected of a corner infielder (7 HR’s in 241 at bats), he’s hit .303 so far this season and may still have a shot at a major league career.
Hudson Haskins. Since being drafted four years ago by Baltimore, Haskins moved steadily through their system landing in AAA in 2023. There, he hit .268 with three HR’s in 82 at bats before injuries ended his season in June. This year, he’s also spent time on IR and his batting average has suffered accordingly, hitting only .198 in 131 AAA at bats this season.
Brendon Cellucci. Brandon is in his second year of AA ball. After posting a 5.29 ERA in 51 innings last year, he’s thrown 24.1 innings to a 5.92 ERA this season. At 25 years old he has a little time left, but he needs to improve.
Chase Solesksy. After a brief stop in AAA last season, Chase was released by the White Sox and started the year in an Independent League. Despite poor results (33.1 innings and a 5.67 ERA), he was signed in early June to play AA ball in the Washington Nationals organization. He’s only pitched 12.1 innings so far but to a good ERA of 3.65. He’ll be 27 in September, so time is starting to run out for him.
Collin Burns. After a lot of IR time earlier in his career, Collin has been pretty injury-free this season in AA ball. He’s now splitting time almost evenly between short stop and 2nd and 3rd base, which probably adds some value to him. Unfortunately, he’s only hitting .227 with 5 HR’s in 203 at bats, so that has to improve.
Donovan Benoit. Benoit had some elbow difficulties last year that resulted in him spending the last half of the season on IR. This year he has been relatively healthy and has pitched 33 innings in AA ball to a 4.91 ERA. Opponents are only hitting .215 against him but he’s put 20 guys on base with free passes.
Keagan Gillies. Thanks to extended stays on IR, Keagan has only thrown 85 innings in his four-year professional career. This year started slowly but he’s now pitched 21.1 innings to a 4.44 ERA in AA.
Conner Pelerin. Connor has only pitched 33 innings so far in his professional career due to multiple injuries. This, his fourth year, ended before it started as he’s out for the entire season.
Tyler Hoffman. Tyler has an ERA of 6.65 in 23 innings so far this year in Class A. He’s still only 24 years old so there is time to advance.
Dylan Carmouche. Dylan bypassed the rookie league in this, his first professional season, and has pitched 71 innings over 13 starts and three relief appearances in A ball. He’s 6-1 overall with a 3.04 ERA, so that is very encouraging.
Players who played for Tulane but finished elsewhere:
J. P. France. After an excellent major league campaign in 2023, J.P. started poorly this year and was returned to the minors where an injury caused him to be placed on IR for the remainder of the year.
Bennet Lee. Bennet started the season on IR, but after a brief stint in A ball, was promoted to Advance A in early May. It hasn’t gone well so far there as he’s only got 8 hits in 72 at bats (.111) with 1 HR. Worse, as a catcher, he’s only thrown out 5 of 41 guys attempting to steal.
Roll Wave!!!
Jake Rogers. Jake is in his fourth season with the Detroit Tigers. Last year, he hit .221 with 21 home runs but has regressed through the first half of this season with only 6 HR’s and a .208 batting Average. The good news: after only throwing out 16% of stolen base attempts last year, he’s upped that to 31% this year.
Ian Gibaut. Ian entered this season as an integral part of the Cincinnati bullpen after appearing in 74 games last year (75.2 innings and a 3.33 ERA), but injuries limited him to only 6 innings of a rehab stint in the minors this year and what may be a season-ending placement on IR.
Grant Witherspoon. After being released by the Toledo Mud Hens (AAA) last August, Grant was picked up this spring by the AA Arkansas Travelers. Unfortunately, he hit only .143 in 41 games and was released on June 25. At 27 years old, his baseball future is in doubt.
Kody Hoese. After hitting .188, .232, and .244 the past three seasons in AA ball, Kody, a one-time first round draft choice for the Dodgers, fell out of their “top 50” prospect list. Nonetheless, he was invited to the Dodger’s Spring training camp where he performed well enough to be advanced to their AAA team. Although he’s not shown the power normally expected of a corner infielder (7 HR’s in 241 at bats), he’s hit .303 so far this season and may still have a shot at a major league career.
Hudson Haskins. Since being drafted four years ago by Baltimore, Haskins moved steadily through their system landing in AAA in 2023. There, he hit .268 with three HR’s in 82 at bats before injuries ended his season in June. This year, he’s also spent time on IR and his batting average has suffered accordingly, hitting only .198 in 131 AAA at bats this season.
Brendon Cellucci. Brandon is in his second year of AA ball. After posting a 5.29 ERA in 51 innings last year, he’s thrown 24.1 innings to a 5.92 ERA this season. At 25 years old he has a little time left, but he needs to improve.
Chase Solesksy. After a brief stop in AAA last season, Chase was released by the White Sox and started the year in an Independent League. Despite poor results (33.1 innings and a 5.67 ERA), he was signed in early June to play AA ball in the Washington Nationals organization. He’s only pitched 12.1 innings so far but to a good ERA of 3.65. He’ll be 27 in September, so time is starting to run out for him.
Collin Burns. After a lot of IR time earlier in his career, Collin has been pretty injury-free this season in AA ball. He’s now splitting time almost evenly between short stop and 2nd and 3rd base, which probably adds some value to him. Unfortunately, he’s only hitting .227 with 5 HR’s in 203 at bats, so that has to improve.
Donovan Benoit. Benoit had some elbow difficulties last year that resulted in him spending the last half of the season on IR. This year he has been relatively healthy and has pitched 33 innings in AA ball to a 4.91 ERA. Opponents are only hitting .215 against him but he’s put 20 guys on base with free passes.
Keagan Gillies. Thanks to extended stays on IR, Keagan has only thrown 85 innings in his four-year professional career. This year started slowly but he’s now pitched 21.1 innings to a 4.44 ERA in AA.
Conner Pelerin. Connor has only pitched 33 innings so far in his professional career due to multiple injuries. This, his fourth year, ended before it started as he’s out for the entire season.
Tyler Hoffman. Tyler has an ERA of 6.65 in 23 innings so far this year in Class A. He’s still only 24 years old so there is time to advance.
Dylan Carmouche. Dylan bypassed the rookie league in this, his first professional season, and has pitched 71 innings over 13 starts and three relief appearances in A ball. He’s 6-1 overall with a 3.04 ERA, so that is very encouraging.
Players who played for Tulane but finished elsewhere:
J. P. France. After an excellent major league campaign in 2023, J.P. started poorly this year and was returned to the minors where an injury caused him to be placed on IR for the remainder of the year.
Bennet Lee. Bennet started the season on IR, but after a brief stint in A ball, was promoted to Advance A in early May. It hasn’t gone well so far there as he’s only got 8 hits in 72 at bats (.111) with 1 HR. Worse, as a catcher, he’s only thrown out 5 of 41 guys attempting to steal.
Roll Wave!!!
