Baseball Pro Update - July
Jul 12 | Baseball
Roe selected to Atlantic League All-Star Game at Somerset
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – With the season crossing the midpoint, Rutgers baseball currently has six former players competing in the professional ranks. In addition to major leaguers Todd Frazier and Patrick Kivlehan, the group includes Atlantic League All-Star Nate Roe. The right-hander will compete tonight in the game held at TD Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater.
"Being in the league last year, I think it helped me to prepare and I knew what to expect coming in and I had an idea of what the competition was going to be like," Roe told the New Britain Herald. "I played a little bit out in Australia this winter so I think that just helped with consistency and trying to find a consistent delivery and a consistent arm path and all those things contributed in the development of being comfortable on the mound and throwing strikes and getting ahead of hitters."
TODD FRAZIER | BASEBALL-REFERENCE PAGE
In his second season with the Chicago White Sox, Frazier hit eight home runs in June and has 16 at the break. Overall, the third baseman holds a .335 on-base percentage and a .444 slugging mark for a .779 OPS. Coming off career highs with 40 home runs and 98 RBIs last season, Frazier owns 164 career long balls with 466 RBIs, 435 runs and 62 stolen bases since breaking into the big leagues in 2011. He will become a free agent after the season.
There have been talks Frazier might be moved to leadoff in the order, the spot where he hit for the Scarlet Knights.
"I wonder how they would pitch me?" Frazier told the Chicago Sun Times. ''Would they try to get that first-pitch fastball over? If they do, I'm ready. I'm going, 'You try and do that, and I'm swinging.' The walks and my RBI might go down, but my average would go sky-high, in my opinion."
One of the most accomplished players in Rutgers history, Frazier ranks first in the RU record book with 42 career home runs and 210 runs during his three seasons (2005-07) in Piscataway. He hit .377 with 93 hits, 24 doubles, 22 home runs, 65 RBIs, 62 walks and 25 stolen bases in a memorable All-America 2007 season that saw the Scarlet Knights win the Big East regular season and tournament. Frazier batted .520 (13-for-25) with three homers and seven RBIs in the tournament held in Brooklyn to help lead Rutgers to an NCAA Regional berth. He was selected by Cincinnati as the 34th overall selection in 2007.
PATRICK KIVLEHAN | BASEBALL-REFERENCE PAGE
Kivlehan, who made his MLB debut last August with the San Diego Padres, made the Cincinnati Reds out of spring training and has been on the roster all season. Playing in 62 games, he has five home runs and 12 RBIs in 104 plate appearances as a utility player. Kivlehan's six pinch hits tie for the team lead. The Reds have played the former football player at five different positions: first base, third base, left field, center field and right field.
"The athleticism shows up," manager Bryan Price told the Cincinnati Enquirer. "It showed up in spring training, it shows up when he plays any of the corner or outfield spots. I think this kid can play center, I think it adds to his value and I want to see it in game situations."
After a four-year football career at safety for the Scarlet Knights, Kivlehan joined the baseball program as a walk-on for the 2012 season. Readjusting to the sport for the first time since high school, Kivlehan won the starting job at third base and won the first league triple crown in Big East history with a .402 average, 10 home runs and 36 RBIs. Overall, he batted .392 with 14 home runs and 50 RBIs overall, to go with a .693 slugging percentage and .480 on-base percentage to win Big East Player of the Year and Third Team All-America by Baseball America. The Mariners took selected him in the fourth round of the 2012 MLB Draft.
BRIAN O'GRADY | BASEBALL-REFERENCE PAGE
O'Grady has spent time with AA Pensacola and with A-Advanced Daytona this season as a member of the Cincinnati Reds organization. Now in his fourth professional season, he hit six homers for Pensacola to start the year and accumulated a .340 on-base percentage. One of the highlights included a two-run hit in the bottom of the ninth to help the team to a 3-2 victory. In total, O'Grady has played in 339 career minor league games with a .761 OPS.
A third-team all-conference pick as a senior at Rutgers, he led or tied the team lead with 67 hits, five home runs, five triples, 104 total bases, 20 multiple-hit games and a .510 slugging percentage. O'Grady hit .328 for the season with an on-base percentage of .402, also recording 40 runs and 13 stolen bases. He hit a memorable walk-off home run in the bottom of the 14th inning against Temple to end a four hour, 10 minute game at Bainton Field. He finished his collegiate career ranked third in RU baseball history with 771 career at bats, seventh with 227 hits, ninth with 105 walks and tied for 10th with 46 doubles and 10 triples and was picked in the eighth round in 2014.
HOWIE BREY | BASEBALL-REFERENCE PAGE
Brey is in his first full professional season after being drafted by the Houston Astros in 2016. As a member of the A-Advanced Buies Creek Astros, the left-handed pitcher has logged 21.0 innings of relief in 14 games with 24 strikeouts. He recently picked up his first save of the season by ending the game with a strikeout with the tying runs on base.
A Third Team All-Big Ten selection as a senior in 2016, Brey worked 100.1 in the regular season, second-most in the conference, with four complete games in league play (Indiana, Ohio State, Penn State, Maryland). He also placed fifth in the conference with 84 strikeouts over 14 games, a total that ranks third in a single season in school history. The left-hander pitched to a team-best 3.50 ERA, including a mark of 1.86 in five home starts. For his collegiate career, Brey sits tied for third in program history with 206 strikeouts, fourth with 291.1 innings pitched, tied for fourth with 38 starts and tied for eighth with 18 victories. He made 64 appearances for the Scarlet Knights over four years with 38 starts, earning the nod on Opening Day in each of the last three seasons.
NATE ROE | BASEBALL-REFERENCE PAGE
Roe is with the New Britain Bees of the Atlantic League and earned a spot in the All-Star Game, which will be held today at nearby Somerset. The right-hander has pitched to a 3.29 ERA in 34 games out of the bullpen, totaling 29 strikeouts and a 1.226 WHIP. He has previous played in the Canadian-American Association, the American Association and traveled overseas to Australia.
Roe, who went through Tommy John surgery, pitched in 61 games for the Scarlet Knights over three seasons. He collected five saves as a senior, including one in the 2013 Big East Tournament with the tying run on second base to advance the team to the semifinals. His 26 games worked in 2010 rank tied for ninth-most in a season in program history.
MICHAEL LANG | BASEBALL-REFERENCE PAGE
Lang has been with the Sioux City Explorers of the American Association since 2014 and is hitting .275/.322/.406 in 39 games this season. The outfielder has a .312 batting average with 398 hits, 17 homers, 166 RBIs, 102 stolen bases in five seasons of independent league baseball. He led the league with 83 runs scored last season. He previously spent time in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization.
During his time as a Scarlet Knight, Lang, who had a .338 career average, finished his career tied for fourth in school history with 229 career hits. His also ranked in the top 10 in the RU record book in career triples (tied third, 13), career total bases (fifth, 372), career runs (sixth, 176), career at-bats (sixth, 678), career doubles (tied seventh 48) and career home runs (tied-ninth, 23). He capped his run by earning All-Big East status as a senior in 2011.
Follow Rutgers Athletics on Facebook and Twitter (@RUAthletics) for all of the latest news and updates. For specific updates regarding baseball, follow the program on Twitter (@BaseballRU), Instagram (@rutgersbaseball), Facebook (/BaseballRU) and Snapchat (rutgersbaseball).
