Twelve from the metro-east are playing pro baseball. Here’s an update on their progress.
Jake Odorizzi of Highland has been one of the best pitchers inn the American League in the last two weeks while Trevor Richards of Aviston is still looking to prove he belongs in The Show as a member of a young Miami Marlins pitching staff.
But for every Jake Odorizzi, now with the Minnesota Twins, and Trevor Richards, there are thousands of other players at various stages of their minor league careers looking to move up the ladder.
Here is a look at where 12 former metro-east area standouts are in minor league baseball. Stats are current through Thursday’s games:
Geoff Hartlieb, 25
Taken in the 29th round of the 2016 draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates, Hartlieb continued to move up the ranks a year ago with a solid season as a member of the Altoona Curve of he Eastern League. In 47 relief appearances, Hartlieb, a Highland native, was 8-2 with a 3.24 ERA. Now, just one step away from the major leagues, Hartlieb is with the Class AAA Indianapolis Indians of the International League where he is 1-0 in eight outings. In 11.2 innings, Hartlieb has a 3.29 ERA while striking out 14 and walking 10.
Zach Haake, 25
A Mater Dei graduate who went on to play at the University of Kentucky, Haake has done nothing but impress after being taken by the Kansas City Royals in the sixth round of he draft in 2018. Now a member of the Lexington (Ky.) Legends of the Class A South Atlantic League, Haake is 1-3 with a 1.73 ERA in five starts. He has allowed only 14 hits in 26 innings while striking out 36 and walking just nine. Opposing batters are hitting .159 against Haake.
Austin Bossart, 25
Taken by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 14th round of the 2015 draft, Bossart, a catcher, enjoyed a solid season a year ago while playing for the Class AA Reading (Pa.) Fightin Phils of the Eastern League. A graduate of O’Fallon High School, Bossart hit .273 with 7 home runs and 29 RBI in 54 games. Off to a bit of a slow start in 2019, Bossart is currently hitting .182 with nine RBI In 12 games.
Chris Holba, 22
An 11th round selection by the St. Louis Cardinals last June, Holba, an O’Fallon High School product, is currently rehabilitating his elbow after tweaking it during spring training. Holba, who played college baseball a East Carolina University, impressed during his time with the Cardinals Class A short-season team in State College, Pennsylvania last summer. Holba made 12 appearances with 10 starts and posted a 3-2 record and 5.14 ERA. In 42 innings, Holba had 33 strike outs and nine walks.
Bryan Hudson, 21
Hudson is in his fourth season with the Chicago Cubs organization and is currently at Class A Myrtle Beach (S.C.) Pelicans in the Carolina League. Much was expected of the 6-foot-8 lefthander when he was the Cubs’ third round selection out of Alton High School in 2015. Plagued by inconsistency throughout his minor league career, Hudson has a career mark of 21-20 with a 4.42 ERA in 65 starts. Hudson has 224 strike outs and 160 walks in 326 career innings. Thus far in 2019, Hudson is 1-2 with a 4.63 ERA.
Josh Fleming, 22
Taken out of tiny Webster University in the fifth round of the 2017 draft by the Tampa Bay Rays, Fleming has quickly moved to the class AA level where he is currently 3-1 with a 1.93 ERA in five starts with the Montgomery Biscuits of the Southern League. A Columbia High School graduate, Fleming has a 13-7 career minor league record with a 2.98 ERA in 36 appearances, including 31 starts. In 170 innings, Fleming has nearly a 5-to-1 strike out-to-walk ratio with 132 strike outs and only 28 walks.
Tanner Houck, 22
A Collinsville High School graduate who played college baseball at the University of Missouri, Houck was the Boston Red Sox first round draft choice in 2017. Now in his second full season, the 22-year-old 6-5, 220 pound pitcher has shown signs he may not be far away from pitching in Fenway Park. In 2018 season, he went 7-11 record in 23 starts with High Class A Salem, and currently is 3-1 with the Class AA Portland Sea Dogs in the Eastern League. In four starts, Houck has a 3.60 ERA in 20 innings of work. He has struck out 21 while walking seven.
Brady Schanuel, 22
An exceptional all-around athlete while attending Belleville East, Schanuel was selected in the 27th round of the 2018 draft by the Milwaukee Brewers after a solid career at the University of Iowa. Assigned to the Helena, (Mont.) Brewers and then Milwaukee’s Arizona Rookie League team, Schanuel struggled in his first taste of professional baseball. In 17 appearances, Schanuel had an ERA of 9.90 with 32 strike outs in 20 innings. Schanuel is currently at the Brewers extended spring training in Phoenix.
Chad Spanberger, 23
Taken in the sixth round of the 2017 draft by the Colorado Rockies, Spanberger was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays organization as part of a three player deal last July. A former Granite City High School and University of Arkansas standout, Spanberger hit 27 home runs and drove in 90 runs while hitting .298. despite playing for three different teams last season. So far in 2019, Spanberger is hitting just .188 with two home runs and 12 RBI in his first season with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats of the Class AA Eastern League.
Trey Riley, 21
An Edwardsville High School graduate who played his college baseball at John A. Logan College in Carterville, Riley has struggled in his four weeks with the Class A Rome Braves, an affiliate of the Atlanta Braves, which competes in the South Atlantic League. In five games, all starts, the hard-throwing Riley is 0-4 with a 6.35 ERA. He has struck out 19 while waking 10 in 22 innings. Riley was the Braves fifth round selection in the 2018 draft.
Zach Neff, 23
A pitcher taken by the Minnesota Twins in the 31st round of the 2018 draft, Neff has shown promise as a closer with Cedar Rapids in the Class A Midwest League. A graduate of Gibault who went on to pitch at Mississippi State University, Neff have five saves and a record of 4-2 in 16 outings with the Twins Elizabethton Rookie League Team and Cedar Rapids a year ago. The Belleville native has struggled in the early going this season, posting a 5.73 ERA in six appearances..
MAKING A COMEBACK?
Josh Thole, 32
After a solid eight-year major league career with the New York Mets and Toronto Blue Jays — during which he was knuckleball specialist R.A. Dickey’s personal catcher — Thole, the Mater Dei graduate is attempting to get back to The Show one more time. After missing the entire 2017 season with an injury, Thole spent last season splitting time between the New Britain (Conn.) Bees of the independent Atlantic League and the Detroit Tigers Class AA team in Erie, Pennsylvania. Signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the off-season, Thole has split time between Class AAA Oklahoma City and Cl,ass AA Tulsa . Currently with Tulsa in the Texas League, Thole is hitting .368 with seven RBI in six games.
LIVING THE DREAM
Jake Odorizzi, 29
Now in his eighth Major League season and second with the Minnesota Twins, Odorizzi (3-2) has won his last three starts and is coming off a seven-inning masterpiece on Monday when he gave up four hits and struck out seven in a 1-0 win over Justin Verlander and the Houston Astros. Drafted out of Highland High School in 2008 by the Milwaukee Brewers, Odorizzi was traded to and played five years with Tampa Bay before being acquired by Minnesota in 2018.. Odorizzi has a lifetime mark of 50-50 with a career ERA OF 3.93.
Trevor Richards, 25
A native of Aviston who attended Mater Dei and later went on to pitch at Drury College, Richards is in his second season with the Miami Marlins and has an 0-4 record and 4.64 ERA in six starts. The Marlins minor league pitcher of the year in 2017 after being discovered while playing Independent League ball with the Gateway Grizzlies, Richards is known to have one of the best in the best change-ups in the game. Richards has a career record of 4-13 with a 4.46 ERA in 34 major league appearances.
This story was originally published May 3, 2019 at 3:10 PM.