Reaching the major leagues marks the achievement of a significant milestone in any player’s career. Whether it is a high profile prospect or an aging, grizzled veteran of the minor leagues, there is something about a debut that strikes a chord with me.
In the past week (7/6-7/13/2011) five players appeared in a major league game for the first time. Let’s take a quick look – in chronological order of their debuts – at who they are, how they got to the majors and how they did.
SS Zack Cozart (25) – Cincinnati Reds
Preseason Ranking: 8th in BA’s Reds Top-30
2011 Minor League Performance: 0.310/.357/.467, 35 XBH and 9 SB in 323 AB (77 G) for the Louisville Bats (AAA)
Debut Date: July 7th
On June 29th, I called the Reds continued refusal to call up Cozart irresponsible. It was hardly a unique position among baseball writers and fans so chalk this one up as a case of better late than never. Thankfully, Cincinnati did the right thing and Cozart rewarded them. In his first game against the Brewers he went 1-3 with a run scored and has at least one hit in all for of his major league games thus far. Going 5-16 with 5 singles isn’t exactly setting the world on fire, but compared to what Paul Janish and Edgar Renteria were doing with the bat in their hands, Zack is a nice change of pace. If nothing else the early returns are that he’s not overmatched and has been ready to take on the major leagues for some time.
3B Kyle Seager (23) – Seattle Mariners
Preseason Ranking: 9th in BA’s Mariners Top-30
2011 Minor League Performance: 0.312/.381/.459, 30 XBH and 26/38 BB-to-SO ratio in 266 AB (66 G) for the Jackson Generals (AA) . Also hit 0.455/.500/.673, 7 XBH and 5/6 BB-to-SO ration in 55 AB (12 G) for the Tacoma Rainiers (AAA)
Debut Date: July 7th
While Cozart was clearly ready – and way overdue – for his chance to play in the majors, Seager may have been pushed a little too aggressively by Seattle. It’s not hard to understand why – given his brief stint in AAA – but based on the early returns he might need a bit more seasoning in the minors. In his debut against the Angels, Seager went 0-4 with 2 SO and followed that up by going hitless in his next two games as well. On July 10th he notched his first hit in the big leagues and finished 1-2 with a walk. All in all he has a .083/.214/.083 slash line in his first 4 games but it’s still early for Seattle’s 2009 3rd round pick and he’ll surely get plenty of chances to prove himself in the bigs.
RHP Zach McAllister (23) – Cleveland Indians
Preseason Ranking: Not Ranked
2011 Minor League Performance: 2.97 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 1.9 BB/9, 6.6 SO/9 in 97.0 IP (15 GS) for the Columbus Clippers (AAA)
Debut Date: July 7th
McAllister was Cleveland’s return from a August 2010 trade that sent OF Austin Kearns to the Yankees. It’s no surprise New York was willing to let him go considering he had a very forgettable 2010 season in Triple-A, but he clearly got his career back on track this season and was worthy of the call-up he received. He needed 94 pitches to get through 4.0 innings against an offensively talent-laden Blue Jays lineup, but did enough to keep his team in game. It wasn’t pretty however as he gave up 5 hits, 3 runs – 2 of them earned – and 3 walks while striking out 4. Over the long haul McAllister should be a useful arm at the back of a major league rotation but it’s hard to see him becoming much more than that.
CF Mike Trout (19) – Los Angeles Angels
Preseason Ranking: #1 in BA’s Angels Top-30
2011 Minor League Performance: 0.324/.415/.534, 12 2B, 11 3B, 9 HR, 28 SB in 290 AB (75 G) for the Arkansas Travelers (AA)
Debut Date: July 8th
Who doesn’t love Mike Trout? He was Baseball America’s #2 prospect in all of baseball coming into this season and there were plenty who had him #1 – ahead of Bryce Harper – including our own Nathaniel Stoltz. How this young man fell to the 25th pick in the 1st round of the 2009 draft is still a bit of a mystery to me, but it has certainly worked out for the Angels. Trout went 0-3 in his debut against the Mariners, but came back the following day to go 1-3 with a walk and 2 runs scored. Now 3 games into his major league career he’s still looking for his 2nd major league hit, but it’s impossible to miss the level of excitement the young man adds to the game when he steps on a baseball field.
All that aside, I’m generally not a big fan of letting prospects, especially position players, jump to the bigs before getting at least a taste of Triple-A competition. Maybe I’m jaded after the trials and travails of Alex Gordon, but we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that Trout is still a teenager. He’s may be a future cornerstone of the Angels major league roster, but I don’t believe the future needed to start in Anaheim this season.
RHP Kyle Weiland (24) – Boston Red Sox
Preseason Ranking: #20 in BA’s Red Sox Top-30
2011 Minor League Performance: 3.00 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 3.6 BB/9, 9.6 SO/9 in 93.0 IP (17 GS) for the Pawtucket Red Sox (AAA)
Debut Date: July 10th
Weiland, the Red Sox 3rd round pick in the 2008 draft, probably had the “worst” debut of any of the 5 players profiled here. In 4.0 innings pitched, he gave up 8 hits, 6 runs (all earned), 1 home run and 2 walks while striking out 2. Boston wound up winning his start against the Orioles but it surely wasn’t due to his work on the mound. No doubt better things are in store for Weiland’s career and if a spot in the rotation isn’t in his long-term future, a place in a major league bullpen almost certainly is.
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