NORMAL, Ill. – Both Major League and Minor League baseball seasons are in full swing with the Illinois State baseball program having nine alumni in the professional ranks. Below are brief synopses of each active Redbird the pros.
SS - Paul DeJong – St. Louis Cardinals
2021 Rundown: DeJong missed a month of the season after suffering a rib fracture. DeJong has produced 10 home runs and 23 RBIs over 52 games played in 2021. DeJong has a four-game hit streak with two home runs, four RBIs, and a stolen base in his last four games.
MLB Draft: 2015, St. Louis Cardinals, Round: 4, Overall Pick: 131
Pro Notables: MiLB.com Organization All-Star in 2016 … Baseball America Major League All-Rookie Team in 2017—was second in NL Rookie of the Year Voting … MLBPAA Cardinals Heart and Hustle Award in 2019 … NL All-Star in 2019 … Gold Glove Finalist at shortstop in 2019 … career .247 hitter with 83 home runs and 249 RBIs entering 2021.
Years at ISU: 2012-2015
ISU Notables: Named a Capital One Academic All-America and All-District selection in 2015 … was a MVC Scholar-Athlete First-Team selection for the second-straight year in 2015 … led the MVC with 14 home runs in 2015 … tied an Illinois State single-game record with three home runs (at Eastern Illinois on 3/31/2015) … career .326 hitter (31st in school history) … 23 career home runs (T-12th in school history).
SS - Owen Miller – Columbus Clippers – AAA (Cleveland Indians)
2021 Rundown: After a blistering start to his AAA campaign, Miller made his Major League debut with the Indians in May, accumulating 15 games played and numerous firsts before being sent back down. Miller is hitting .327 and 10 extra-base hits and 11 RBIs at the AAA level.
MLB Draft: 2018, San Diego Padres, Round: 3, Overall Pick: 84
Pro Notables: NWL Mid-Season All-Star in 2018 … MiLB.com Organization All-Star in 2019 … Baseball America Double-A All-Star in 2019 … TEX Mid-Season All-Star in 2019 … Was traded from the Padres to the Cleveland Indians and was placed to Cleveland's alternative spring training site in August of 2020 … hitting .307 in minor league career entering 2021.
Years at ISU: 2016-2018
ISU Notables: Named First Team All-Region and Third Team All-American by ABCA/Rawlings in 2018 … hit for the cycle (vs Valparaiso on 5/13/2018) … named to the Louisville Slugger Freshman All-America Team by Collegiate Baseball and to the Baseball America Freshman All-America Second Team in 2016 … was earned All-MVC honors all three seasons … tied for single-season record with 88 hits in 2018 … recorded 23 doubles in 2016 (T-2nd all-time).
RHP – Jeremy Rhoades – Reno Aces– AAA (Arizona Diamondbacks)
2021 Rundown: Rhoades was signed by the Arizona Diamondbacks at the beginning of the 2021 MiLB campaign. Rhoades has a 9.72 ERA over 16.2 innings and 13 appearances but has given up just one run in his last four appearances (4.1 IP). Rhoades has an impressive 22:4 strikeout-to-walk ratio and a 1-0 record.
MLB Draft: 2014, Round: 4, Overall Pick: 119
Pro Notables: Spent six seasons in the Los Angeles Angels organization … Owned a 2.79 ERA over 87 innings in single A in 2015 … Posted a 2.54 ERA over 78 innings between AA and AAA in 2018 … Has racked up 530.1 innings pitched and 490 strikeouts.
Years at ISU: 2012-2014
ISU Notables: Recorded a 2.35 ERA in 2014, limiting opponents to a .226 over 76.2 innings … Recorded a 1.54 ERA in 41 innings and 27 appearances in 2013 en route to earning First-Team All-MVC honors … Rhoades ranks third in school history with 10 career saves.
RHP - Brock Stewart – Oklahoma City Dodgers – AAA (Los Angeles Dodgers)
2021 Rundown: Stewart is expected to miss the 2021 campaign after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
MLB Draft: 2014, Round: 6, Overall Pick: 189
Pro Notables: Made MLB debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2016, posting a 5.79 ERA with a pair of wins … Stewart owned a 3.41 ERA over 34.1 innings in 2017 … after pitching 17.2 innings for the Dodgers in 2018, Stewart spent time with both the Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays in 2019, recording four wins with the Blue Jays … Stewart was re-signed by the Dodgers at the end of 2020.
Years at ISU: 2011-2014
ISU Notables: Recorded a 2.36 ERA in 2014, limiting opponents to a .180 batting average … struck out 30 batters in 26.2 innings in 2014 …batted .333 with 17 RBIs in 2013 … started 29 games as freshman, blasting three home runs.
RHP - Jeff Lindgren – Pensacola Blue Wahoos – AA (Miami Marlins)
2021 Rundown: Lindgren has a 4.63 ERA over 46.2 innings, nine starts, and eight appearances. Lindgren threw six scoreless innings in his best start of the season on May 21 against Rocket City. Lindgren has 32 strikeouts to go with 12 walks.
MLB Draft: 2019, Miami Marlins, Round: 24, Overall Pick: 711
Pro Notables: Threw 28.1 innings in 2019, recording a 1.27 ERA over 16 appearances … Lindgren limited opponents to a .208 batting average while striking out 26.
Years at ISU: 2016-2019
ISU Notables: Pitched five stellar innings in relief in the regular-season finale (vs Evansville on 5/18/2019) to help the Redbirds clinch a share of the MVC regular-season title … career 6.02 ERA … ranked fifth all-time with 83 career appearances … pitched 173.1 innings in his career (40th all-time).
OF - John Rave – Quad City River Bandits – High A (Kansas City Royals)
2021 Rundown: Rave has battled injury throughout the 2021 campaign but is 7-for-22 (.318) since returning from the injured list. Rave has five extra-base hits and eight RBIs over 56 at-bats in 2021.
MLB Draft: 2019, Kansas City Royals, Round: 5, Overall Pick: 139
Pro Notables: Hit .234 with three home runs and nine stolen bases in 2019.
Years at ISU: 2017-2019
ISU Notables: Earned All-MVC honors all three seasons … named to the MVC All-Defensive Team all three seasons … named a Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball in 2017 … hit .297 with 29 extra-base hits, 48 RBIs, and 56 runs scored in 2019 … hit .347 with 30 extra-base hits, 49 RBIs, and 48 runs in 2018.
OF - Joe Aeilts – Fresno Grizzlies – Low A (Colorado Rockies)
2021 Rundown: Aeilts is hitting .268 in 2021, adding five extra-base hits, 10 RBIs, and a trio of stolen bases in 56 at-bats. Aeilts posted back-to-back three-hit performances on June 2 and June 3.
MLB Draft: 2019, Colorado Rockies, Round: 14, Overall Pick: 429
Pro Notables: NWL Mid-Season All-Star in 2019 … Hit .259 with 15 extra-base hits, 17 RBIs, and eight stolen bases in 2019.
Years at ISU: 2017-2019
ISU Notables: MVC Player of the Year in 2019 … 2019 Milt Weisbecker Athlete of the Year … First-Team All-MVC in 2019 … ABCA Rawlings All-District Second Team and All-MVC Scholar-Athlete Team in 2019 … tied for single-season record with 88 hits in 2019 (hit .346).
LHP - Brent Headrick – Fort Myers Mighty Mussels – Low A (Minnesota Twins)
2021 Rundown: Headrick has a 2.87 ERA over 37.2 innings, eight starts, and seven appearances. Headrick was pitched at least four innings with two earned runs or less in all but one of his appearances. Headrick has accumulated 49 strikeouts while walking 16.
MLB Draft: 2019, Minnesota Twins, Round: 9, Overall Pick: 259
Pro Notables: Threw 3.2 scoreless innings in 2019.
Years at ISU: 2017-2019
ISU Notables: MVC Pitcher of the Year in 2019 … earned All-MVC First Team, MVC Scholar-Athlete Team, and MVC All-Tournament Team accolades in 2019 … struck out a season-high 14 batters (most since 2000) against Big Ten Champion Indiana in the Redbirds' history-making win in their NCAA Tournament opener (5/31/2019) … went 7-0 with a 1.31 ERA in MVC play in 2019.
LHP - Matt Walker – Lakeland Flying Tigers – Low A (Detroit Tigers)
2021 Rundown: Walker has a 5.19 ERA over 17.1 innings and 10 appearances with his most recent outing (June 27) being two scoreless innings. Walker has 19 strikeouts to go with eight walks.
MLB Draft: 2019, Detroit Tigers, Round: 13, Overall Pick: 382
Pro Notables: Made professional debut with Connecticut Tigers in 2019.
Years at ISU: 2017-2019
ISU Notables: Struck out 79 batters in 77.2 in 2019 … his 8.52 K/9 is 10th in school history … posted a 5.42 career ERA … his 186 innings pitched is 30th in school history … his 176 career strikeouts is 19th in school history.
List of Active Redbirds in the Pros (MLB organizations only)
Paul DeJong – St. Louis Cardinals
Owen Miller – Columbus Clippers – AAA (Cleveland Indians)
Jeremy Rhoades – Reno Aces – AAA (Arizona Diamondbacks)
Brock Stewart – Oklahoma City Dodgers – AAA (Los Angeles Dodgers)
Jeff Lindgren – Pensacola Blue Wahoos – AA (Miami Marlins)
John Rave – Quad City River Bandits – High A (Kansas City Royals)
Joe Aeilts – Fresno Grizzlies – Low A (Colorado Rockies)
Brent Headrick – Fort Myers Mighty Mussels – Low A (Minnesota Twins)
Matt Walker – Lakeland Flying Tigers – Low A (Detroit Tigers)
The 2021 MLB Draft is set for July 11-13.
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