Connect with us

WVU Baseball

Six Former Mountaineers Make MLB Teams’ Player Pools

Published

on

At 4:00 p.m. Sunday afternoon, Major League Baseball teams had to submit their 60-man player pools that they would be using for the shortened 2020 season. When all 30 lists were announced today, there were several former Mountaineers who will be in the mix this season.

David Carpenter – RHP, Cincinnati Reds

Carpenter signed as a free agent with the Reds after pitching for the Rangers in 2019. Carpenter pitched 3.1 innings in the majors for the Rangers last season, his first major league action since 2015.

The Morgantown native was a part of the WVU baseball team from 2004-06 where he played as a catcher. He was selected in the 12th round of the 2006 MLB draft by the St. Louis Cardinals. Carpenter transitioned to pitching in 2008 and made his MLB debut in 2011. He has a 3.69 career major league ERA in 214.2 innings.

Michael Grove – RHP, Los Angeles Dodgers

After pitching for the Mountaineers in 2016 and 2017, Grov was drafted by the Dodgers in the second round of the 2018 MLB draft. Grove had a 3.40 ERA in 45 innings for the Mountaineers in 2016 and a 2.87 ERA in 47 innings the following year. After undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2018, Grove pitched 51.2 innings for the high-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes in the California League in 2019.

Jedd Gyorko – INF, Milwaukee Brewers

WVU’s most successful major leaguer, Gyorko signed a one-year deal with the Brewers this offseason with a team option for 2021. Gyorko played for the Cardinals and Dodgers in 2019, hitting .174 with two home runs and nine RBI in 101 plate appearances.

After a record-breaking three-year career with the Mountaineers, Gyorko was selected in the second round of the 2010 MLB draft by the San Diego Padres. Gyorko debuted with the Padres in 2013 and has hit 112 career MLB home runs.

This Spring, Gyorko earned his degree from WVU, 10 years after he had last been in school.

Alek Manoah – RHP, Toronto Blue Jays

A Top-100 MLB prospect, the Blue Jays took Manoah 11th overall in the 2019 draft after a standout career at WVU. Manoah had a 2.81 career ERA with the Mountaineers and was named the 2019 Big 12 Pitcher of the Year after going 9-4 with a 2.08 ERA and 144 strikeouts in 108.1 innings in 2019.

After drafting Manoah, the Blue Jays sent him to the short-season Vancouver Canadians, where he had a 2.65 ERA with 27 strikeouts in 17 innings.

Ryan McBroom – UTL, Kansas City Royals

After being drafted in 15th round of the 2014 MLB draft by the Blue Jays, McBroom finally made his MLB debut with the Royals in 2019. McBroom hit .289 with 20 career home runs in two seasons with WVU in 2013-14. He was drafted after each of his two college seasons, in the 36th round in 2013 and finally signing with the Blue Jays after 2014.

McBroom was hitting .315 with 26 home runs for AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in 2019 before the Royals purchased his contract from the Yankees. Finally in the majors, McBroom hit .293 with six RBI in 23 games with the Royals.

John Means – LHP, Baltimore Orioles

After a brief debut in 2018, Means broke onto the scene with the Orioles in 2019. The lefty went 12-11 with a 3.60 ERA in 155 innings. He was selected as Baltimore’s representative at the 2019 MLB All-Star game and finished second in AL Rookie of the YEar Voting behind Houston’s Yordan Alvarez.

Means had a 3.24 career ERA in 141.2 innings in two seasons at WVU in 2013-14. The Orioles drafted him in the 11th round of the 2014 MLB draft. He spent five seasons in the minors before debuting in 2018.

This year’s MLB season will be only 60 games long due to the coronavirus outbreak and will begin on July 23.

Get WVSN in your mailbox!

Enter your email address to subscribe to WVSN and receive notifications of new posts by email.

COMPLETE COVERAGE