Photo by: Milwaukee Brewers
#STATEtoTheShow: Spring Training 2.0
July 06, 2020 | Baseball
Eleven former Mississippi State baseball student-athletes among MLB 60-player pools
UPDATED: July 9, 2020
by: Greg Campbell, Assistant Director/Communications
STARKVILLE – As Major League Baseball begins the path to the 2020 season, Mississippi State's baseball program will send 12 to major league camps, including all eight Diamond Dawgs that ended the 2019 season on active rosters.
Major League Baseball will resume training on July 1, with games beginning on July 23 or 24. Teams invited up to 60 players to big league camp, with only those players eligible to play during the season. The season starts with a 30-man active roster; it will be reduced to 28 players after two weeks, then to 26 after four weeks.
More information on MLB's Spring Training 2.0 and the upcoming 60-game schedule can be found by clicking here.
The American League East and National League Central will be stocked full of Diamond Dawgs, with four competing in each division. The Milwaukee Brewers, Pittsburgh Pirates and Tampa Bay Rays will each carry two former MSU student-athletes. Adam Frazier and Chris Stratton spending year two in the Steel City, while Hunter Renfroe joins Nathaniel Lowe at Tropicana Field, after spending his first four big league seasons in San Diego. Brandon Woodruff has been a staple in the Milwaukee Brewers rotation over the last two seasons, and he is joined by 2019 first-round draft pick Ethan Small, who was added to the 60-man roster on July 9, giving him a chance to make his major league debut in 2020.
The NL Central also features starting pitcher Dakota Hudson, who will begin his second season with the St. Louis Cardinals. Jonathan Holder and Mitch Moreland will again be on opposite sides in one of the most heated rivalries in baseball as a part of the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, respectively.
Kendall Graveman rounds out Diamond Dawgs on active rosters, as he joins the Seattle Mariners for the 2020 season. Other Diamond Dawgs in the 60-man player pools include Jack Kruger (Los Angeles Angels) and Brent Rooker (Minnesota), who are eligible to make their major league debut during the 2020 season.
Among Southeastern Conference teams, Mississippi State ranks sixth with the 11 players in MLB camps. The MLB also announced that there will not be a Minor League Baseball season in 2020.
Diamond Dawgs Playing in Major League Baseball
Name (Yrs. at MSU)                   Pos.         Organization
Adam Frazier (2011-13)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â IFÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Pittsburgh Pirates
Kendall Graveman (2010-13)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â RHP Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Seattle Mariners
Jonathan Holder (2010-13)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â RHPÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â New York Yankees
Dakota Hudson (2014-16)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â RHPÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â St. Louis Cardinals
Nathaniel Lowe (2016)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â IFÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Tampa Bay Rays
Mitch Moreland (2005-07)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â IFÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Boston Red Sox
Hunter Renfroe (2011-13)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â RFÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Tampa Bay Rays
Chris Stratton (2010-12)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â RHPÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Pittsburgh Pirates
Brandon Woodruff (2012-14)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â LHPÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Milwaukee Brewers
Diamond Dawgs on Player Pool Roster
Name (Yrs. at MSU)                   Pos.         Organization (Level)
Jack Kruger (2016)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â CÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Los Angeles Angels
Brent Rooker (2014-17)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â IFÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Minnesota Twins
Ethan Small (2016, 18-19)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â LHPÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Milwaukee Brewers
In the 2020 MLB Draft, Mississippi State tied for the fifth most picks in the country with three. Their three picks in the first two rounds were tied for the most in 2020 (Miami (Fla.), Texas A&M). In the 56 drafts since 1965, State has had at least three student-athletes drafted on 33 occasions.
Justin Foscue and Jordan Westburg joined the Thunder and Lightning duo of Will Clark (No. 2) and Rafael Palmeiro (No. 22), who were chosen in the first round of the 1985 MLB Draft. The Diamond Dawgs were the 22nd NCAA program to have multiple student-athletes taken in the first round on multiple occasions. Foscue (second base) and Westburg (shortstop) are the highest drafted players at their positions in program history.
The three picks in the first two rounds were just ahead of the 1985 draft, which saw three players go in the first four rounds. Foscue (1st round; 2nd overall), Westburg (1st round; 30th overall) and JT Ginn (2nd round; 52nd overall) each went in the first 52 picks, while Clark (1st round; 2nd overall), Palmeiro (1st round; 22nd overall) and Bobby Thigpen (85th overall; 4th round) are just behind, going in the first 85 picks.
by: Greg Campbell, Assistant Director/Communications
STARKVILLE – As Major League Baseball begins the path to the 2020 season, Mississippi State's baseball program will send 12 to major league camps, including all eight Diamond Dawgs that ended the 2019 season on active rosters.
Major League Baseball will resume training on July 1, with games beginning on July 23 or 24. Teams invited up to 60 players to big league camp, with only those players eligible to play during the season. The season starts with a 30-man active roster; it will be reduced to 28 players after two weeks, then to 26 after four weeks.
More information on MLB's Spring Training 2.0 and the upcoming 60-game schedule can be found by clicking here.
The American League East and National League Central will be stocked full of Diamond Dawgs, with four competing in each division. The Milwaukee Brewers, Pittsburgh Pirates and Tampa Bay Rays will each carry two former MSU student-athletes. Adam Frazier and Chris Stratton spending year two in the Steel City, while Hunter Renfroe joins Nathaniel Lowe at Tropicana Field, after spending his first four big league seasons in San Diego. Brandon Woodruff has been a staple in the Milwaukee Brewers rotation over the last two seasons, and he is joined by 2019 first-round draft pick Ethan Small, who was added to the 60-man roster on July 9, giving him a chance to make his major league debut in 2020.
The NL Central also features starting pitcher Dakota Hudson, who will begin his second season with the St. Louis Cardinals. Jonathan Holder and Mitch Moreland will again be on opposite sides in one of the most heated rivalries in baseball as a part of the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, respectively.
Kendall Graveman rounds out Diamond Dawgs on active rosters, as he joins the Seattle Mariners for the 2020 season. Other Diamond Dawgs in the 60-man player pools include Jack Kruger (Los Angeles Angels) and Brent Rooker (Minnesota), who are eligible to make their major league debut during the 2020 season.
Among Southeastern Conference teams, Mississippi State ranks sixth with the 11 players in MLB camps. The MLB also announced that there will not be a Minor League Baseball season in 2020.
Diamond Dawgs Playing in Major League Baseball
Name (Yrs. at MSU)                   Pos.         Organization
Adam Frazier (2011-13)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â IFÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Pittsburgh Pirates
Kendall Graveman (2010-13)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â RHP Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Seattle Mariners
Jonathan Holder (2010-13)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â RHPÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â New York Yankees
Dakota Hudson (2014-16)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â RHPÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â St. Louis Cardinals
Nathaniel Lowe (2016)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â IFÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Tampa Bay Rays
Mitch Moreland (2005-07)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â IFÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Boston Red Sox
Hunter Renfroe (2011-13)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â RFÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Tampa Bay Rays
Chris Stratton (2010-12)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â RHPÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Pittsburgh Pirates
Brandon Woodruff (2012-14)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â LHPÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Milwaukee Brewers
Diamond Dawgs on Player Pool Roster
Name (Yrs. at MSU)                   Pos.         Organization (Level)
Jack Kruger (2016)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â CÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Los Angeles Angels
Brent Rooker (2014-17)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â IFÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Minnesota Twins
Ethan Small (2016, 18-19)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â LHPÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Milwaukee Brewers
In the 2020 MLB Draft, Mississippi State tied for the fifth most picks in the country with three. Their three picks in the first two rounds were tied for the most in 2020 (Miami (Fla.), Texas A&M). In the 56 drafts since 1965, State has had at least three student-athletes drafted on 33 occasions.
Justin Foscue and Jordan Westburg joined the Thunder and Lightning duo of Will Clark (No. 2) and Rafael Palmeiro (No. 22), who were chosen in the first round of the 1985 MLB Draft. The Diamond Dawgs were the 22nd NCAA program to have multiple student-athletes taken in the first round on multiple occasions. Foscue (second base) and Westburg (shortstop) are the highest drafted players at their positions in program history.
The three picks in the first two rounds were just ahead of the 1985 draft, which saw three players go in the first four rounds. Foscue (1st round; 2nd overall), Westburg (1st round; 30th overall) and JT Ginn (2nd round; 52nd overall) each went in the first 52 picks, while Clark (1st round; 2nd overall), Palmeiro (1st round; 22nd overall) and Bobby Thigpen (85th overall; 4th round) are just behind, going in the first 85 picks.
Players Mentioned
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