Stratton Becomes 54th Bulldog To Reach The Majors
May 28, 2016 | Baseball
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Once a dominating force on the mound in Starkville, former Diamond Dawg and consensus First-Team All-American Chris Stratton will now have a chance to show those skills for the eight-time World Series Champion San Francisco Giants.
The righty was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento on Saturday, making the Tupelo, Miss., native the 54th Diamond Dawg in school history to reach the highest level of professional baseball.
San Francisco called up the 2012 first round pick from their Triple-A affiliate, the Sacramento River Cats. Stratton has five wins on the season in nine games and has tossed 36 strikeouts in a total of 52.1 innings of work. Most recently, Stratton threw 6.0 innings, surrendering only five hits and two runs while striking out four to earn a win against Nashville on May 22.
Stratton's best stretch of the year came from April 19-May 6, where he earned a win in four-straight appearances, including a season-high nine strikeouts against the Las Vegas 51s on May 6.
Stratton is the second Bulldog this season to be called up, joining former MSU lefty Chad Girodo, who was called up to Toronto on April 22.
With the call up to the Big Leagues, Stratton joins Girodo (Toronto Blue Jays), Kendall Graveman (Oakland Athletics), Mitch Moreland (Texas Rangers) and Jonathan Papelbon (Washington Nationals) as MSU's five representatives in the Majors. Stratton becomes the sixth Bulldog to play for the Giants, joining the likes of former Bulldog All-Americans Jeff Brantley (1988-93) and Will Clark (1986-93).
Since 2014, the Bulldogs have had five players called up to the Majors, as Stratton joins Graveman, Girodo, Jacob Lindgren and Ed Easley on that list.
On June 4, 2012, Stratton became the sixth-highest draft pick in program history and the 11th first-round selection after having his name called by the Giants. In his five seasons since being drafted, Stratton has recorded 27 wins with a 4.17 ERA in 89 appearances, 85 of them being starts. The righty has struck out a total of 406 batters since coming onto the professional baseball scene.
Stratton impressed in Spring Training this year, making four appearances with two starts and a 1-0 record. Sporting a 1.80 ERA, Stratton tossed 10.0 innings with six hits, two runs and seven strikeouts.
The Mississippi product was a key reason why MSU made a 2011 Super Regional and claimed the 2012 SEC Tournament Championship. His dominance on the mound in his final season as a Diamond Dawg lead him to be the first Bulldog since 1985 to be named a Consensus All-American. Leading the SEC with an 11-2 record, 127 strikeouts and a 2.38 ERA, Stratton also pulled in SEC Pitcher of the Year honors and claimed the C Spire Ferriss Trophy, wrapping up one of the more spectacular seasons in MSU history.
For more information on MSU baseball, follow the program on Twitter, like them on Facebook and join them on Instagram by searching for "HailStateBB." You can also find all-access coverage of the program on SnapChat by searching for "HailStateSnap."
