Over its 134-year history of varsity competition, University of Missouri baseball has compiled a rich tradition of player development. More than 200 Tigers have forged careers in professional baseball, including 49 who have reached the major leagues.
Currently, 24 former Mizzou student-athletes are competing on active rosters in affiliated professional baseball leagues throughout the country. Five former Tigers have reached the pinnacle of professional baseball and compete as active members of 2024 big league rosters: three-time Cy Young Award winner and two-time world champion RHP Max Scherzer (Texas Rangers), RHP Pete Fairbanks (Tampa Bay Rays); RHP Kyle Gibson (St. Louis Cardinals), RHP Tanner Houck (Boston Red Sox) and LHP Rob Zastryzny (Milwaukee Brewers). In addition, 20 Mizzou baseball alums are sharpening their skills throughout minor league baseball with the aspirations of joining that select group.
In this weekly series, we’ll chronicle the individual journeys of some of the top Tigers to play the game in pursuit of achieving their big-league dreams. From the Show-Me State to The Show!
July 27, 2024
MLB Notebook
RHP Max Scherzer will celebrate his 40th birthday on Saturday, after kicking off the festivities by breaking into Major League Baseball’s all-time top 10 for career strikeouts (3,400) with a season-high 9 punchouts against the Chicago White Sox in a 2-1 victory Thursday (July 25); he sits 109 K’s behind Hall of Famer Walter Johnson for ninth place on MLB’s distinguished list.
RHP Pete Fairbanks locked up two more saves this past week to run his season total to a career-best 19 saves; he has now converted 9 straight save opportunities and has not allowed more than a single run in any of his last 29 appearances dating back to the beginning of May.
MiLB Notebook
RHP Ian Bedell picked up another victory for Class AAA Memphis (St. Louis) last weekend and is now 2-1 with a 3.18 ERA and 25 K’s over his first 6 Triple-A starts this season…OF Kameron Misner continues to make a bid for a big league call-up with a strong month of July; the former Tiger outfielder is slashing .302/.429/.524 with 4 homers and 15 RBIs this month for Class AAA Durham (Tampa Bay); for the season, Misner has clubbed 15 round-trippers and driven in 44 runs while stealing 26 bases for the Bulls.
July 12, 2024
MLB Notebook
RHP Tanner Houck was named to the American League All-Star Game roster on Sunday (July 7), making the right-hander the 10th former Tiger to earn an MLB All-Star nod. Houck is the first MU product to garner All-Star selection since 2021, when both RHP Max Scherzer and RHP Kyle Gibson earned the honor.
Below is the list of former Tigers who earned MLB All-Star Game roster selections:
- Tanner Houck (2023)
- Kyle Gibson (2021)
- Max Scherzer (2013-19, 2021)
- Aaron Crow (2011)
- Ian Kinsler (2008, 2010, 2012, 2014)
- Tim Laudner (1988)
- Phil Bradley (1985)
- Darold Knowles (1969)
- Sonny Siebert (1966, 1971)
- John O’Donoghue (1965)
For the season, Houck has compiled a 2.54 ERA with a career-best 112 strikeouts in 112.0 innings. The 2017 first-round MLB Draft choice tossed 6.0 scoreless innings Thursday against Oakland to notch his eighth victory of the season.
The 2024 MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard will take place at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. The contest will be televised live on FOX, Tuesday, July 16 at 7:00 p.m. (CT).
July 5, 2024
MLB Notebook
Former Tigers LHP Rob Zastryzny — born in Edmonton — celebrated Canada Day on Monday with a recall to the big leagues, joining the Milwaukee Brewers after a strong stint with Class AAA Nashville to open the year. In his first three appearances with Milwaukee, the lefty has posted 2 2/3 hitless innings, including his first MLB mound victory since a 2023 Opening Day (March 30) win for Pittsburgh.
RHP Tanner Houck saw his string of four consecutive victorious decisions come to an end Saturday against San Diego, suffering an 11-1 setback. His 4 1/3 inning stint marked the first time in 17 starts this season he has failed to complete at least 5.0 innings…RHP Kyle Gibson notched his sixth victory of the season Tuesday (July 2) with a 7-4 decision for St. Louis over Pittsburgh. The Indiana native struck out 8 Pirates — just one shy of his season best — in the win…RHP Pete Fairbanks locked up two more saves this past week, securing a 3-1 win over Washington (June 28) and a 10-8 victory in Kansas City (July 4) for Tampa Bay. He also shared a few rain delay thoughts on his prep days as a multi-sport threat for Webster Groves High School…
MiLB Notebook
RHP Ian Bedell is slated to make his third start for Class AAA Memphis (St. Louis) on Friday. The right-hander has allowed just 3 earned runs and fanned 8 over 9 2/3 innings so far for the Redbirds…RHP Zach Franklin finished the month of June with a 2-2 record, 3.29 ERA and 20 strikeouts over 13.2 total innings pitched for Class A Winston-Salem (Chicago White Sox)…RHP Drew Garrett also turned in a solid June, totaling 11 K’s while posting a 2.45 ERA and one save in his six June outings for Class A Clearwater (Philadelphia)…RHP Rorik Maltrud earned a promotion to Class High-A Lake County (Cleveland) on June 23. In his first two starts for the Captains, Maltrud has allowed just 2 earned runs and fanned 9 over 11.0 innings; for the season, he’s logged a 5-1 record, 2.25 ERA and 71 K’s in 64.0 innings spanning 14 appearances.
June 28, 2024
MLB Notebook
Texas RHP Max Scherzer was dominant in his return to the big leagues Sunday (June 23). In his first start of 2024, Scherzer tossed 5.0 shutout innings of one-hit baseball vs. Kansas City to earn the victory and complete a series sweep…RHP Pete Fairbanks earned saves in back-to-back outings vs. Pittsburgh and Seattle, Sunday and Monday, respectively. Fairbanks worked hitless innings in each Tampa Bay victory to lock down his 11th and 12th saves of the season.
June 21, 2024
MLB Notebook
Tampa Bay RHP Pete Fairbanks recorded his 50th career big league save Tuesday (June 16) in the Rays’ 8-6 win at Atlanta…Boston RHP Tanner Houck continued to insert himself into early 2024 Cy Young Award conversations, working 5 2/3 innings and allowing just 2 earned runs Tuesday (June 18) against Toronto. Houck has been dominant for the Red Sox, becoming the first MLB pitcher during the Live Ball Era to record the trifecta of a sub-2.25 ERA (2.14), 2 homers or fewer allowed (2 in 96.2 IP) and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 5.0 or above (5.53) through his first 15 starts of a season.
RHP Max Scherzer completed his second rehab start for Class AAA Round Rock on Saturday (June 15), working 4 2/3 innings with 8 strikeouts. Scherzer is expected to be added to the Rangers’ big league roster in order to make his 2024 MLB debut Saturday against the Royals in Arlington…Also of note, Scherzer was honored by the Rangers Wednesday (June 19) with this spectacular bobblehead featuring him riding a shark, given away at Globe Life Field as part of Shark Week festivities…
RHP Kyle Gibson improved to 5-2 on the season for St. Louis after blanking the Cubs on 2 hits over 7.0 innings last Friday (June 14), but was a late scratch from his Thursday (June 20) start due to back tightness.
MiLB Notebook
RHP Drew Garrett continued his strong 2024 campaign with another scoreless outing for Class A Clearwater last Friday (June 14). For the season, Garrett has turned in 12 scoreless appearances (in 15 total outings)..RHP Ian Bedell earned a promotion to Class AAA Memphis on Thursday (June 20) after turning in a strong stretch for Class AA Springfield. The former Tiger is 5-5 with a 3.46 ERA over 47 career minor league appearances.
Between COVID and elbow surgery, Ian Bedell threw less than 35 innings in three years. The @Sgf_Cardinals righty is now healthy and on a roll. @LyndalScranton says Bedell has several pitches he can rely on, including a cutter.
Read it: https://t.co/2fzWC8RJoU pic.twitter.com/7pIzldDc1m
— Springfield Daily Citizen (@sgfcitizen) June 12, 2024
INF Luke Mann will bring an 8-game hit streak into the weekend for Class A Lansing. The ‘Missouri Mann’ is hitting .317 with a pair of homers and 11 RBIs through his first 17 games with the Lugnuts…
Mann will square off this weekend against former Tiger teammate INF Torin Montgomery with Beloit. Montgomery is coming off a recent 7-game hit streak of his own for the Sky Carp and just registered a 2-for-5 night in the series opener with Lansing on Tuesday (June 18)…RHP Rorik Maltrud continues to mow down the Class A Carolina League, as the right-hander recorded 6.0 hitless innings against Charleston on Tuesday. In 3 June starts, Maltrud has allowed just 5 hits and struck out 18 over 16.0 scoreless innings. Maltrud has not permitted a run since May 25, a span of 4 starts and 21.0 total innings.
#Guardians 24yr old RHP prospect Rorik Maltrud tossed 6.0 no-hit innings tonight striking out four Charleston batters for Lynchburg lowering his ERA to 2.38 on the season. Maltrud has now gone four straight starts 21.0 innings without allowing a run!
Line – 6.0(IP) 0H 0R 0ER 3BB… pic.twitter.com/PxWdiPL009
— Guardians Prospective (@CleGuardPro) June 20, 2024
OF Kameron Misner belted a pair of homers in Class AAA Durham’s game at Nashville Wednesday, hiking his season total to 10 round-trippers. Misner has swiped 21 bases for the Bulls as well…Neither of those home runs for Misner came at the expense of Nashville LHP Rob Zastryzny, who turned in a scoreless 1 1/3 frames in that same contest against Durham, a 6-4 win for the Bulls. Zastryzny is 4-0 with 2 saves and 36 K’s over 27.0 innings this spring for the Sounds.
June 14, 2024
MLB Notebook
In his first rehab start since April, RHP Max Scherzer held Oklahoma City scoreless on one hit over 4.0 innings Sunday (June 9) in Round Rock’s 3-1 victory. Mad Max, who is working his way back from offseason back surgery, could rejoin the big league Rangers following the completion of an anticipated second rehab appearance this weekend.
Nothing Mad about this one.@Rangers pitcher Max Scherzer piles up five strikeouts in four one-hit innings while on rehab for the @RRExpress. pic.twitter.com/kBHc9dtuwB
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) June 9, 2024
Off the field, the future Hall of Famer left his mark as well…
Max Scherzer is a class act ???? pic.twitter.com/99asA12BYN
— Kent Murphy (@KentMurphy) June 13, 2024
In 13 starts for St. Louis this season, RHP Kyle Gibson has gone 4-2 with a 3.76 ERA. Gibson has won his last three decisions and has logged 67 strikeouts over 76.2 innings for the year…RHP Pete Fairbanks has converted 9 of 10 save opportunities this spring in his 21 appearances for Tampa Bay this season. The right-hander needs one more save to reach the 50-save plateau for his MLB career after locking up the Rays’ 3-2 win over the Cubs on Thursday.
WHAT A PLAY TO END THE GAME AND THE RAYS WIN!! pic.twitter.com/Ic4sVTt006
— Rays Radio (@RaysRadio) June 14, 2024
RHP Tanner Houck has been the model of consistency for the Red Sox this spring, working into the sixth inning in each of his 14 starts, including 12 outings in which he completed 6.0 frames. Houck notched his fourth-straight win Thursday with a 9-3 decision over Philadelphia, eclipsing his career-best season win total with his seventh victory of the season.
Right by ya. pic.twitter.com/qXvxPWgaoM
— Red Sox (@RedSox) June 14, 2024
MiLB Notebook
RHP Ian Bedell has allowed one run or fewer while working into the sixth inning in each of his last three starts for Class AA Springfield (St. Louis); in his two June starts, Bedell has fanned 19 hitters while allowing just two earned runs in 11.1 innings…RHP Zach Franklin has allowed more than one earned run just one time in his last 10 relief appearances since April 25 for High-A Winston-Salem (Chicago White Sox); for the season, the North Carolina native has posted a 3-2 mound mark with 2 saves and a 3.20 ERA in 15 appearances…speaking of relief, RHP Drew Garrett has been lights out for Class A Clearwater (Philadelphia) all season, logging a 1.77 ERA, 3 saves and 32 strikeouts in 20.1 innings over 14 appearances…INF Josh Lester made his 2024 Class AAA debut for Omaha (Kansas City) on Wednesday; prior to his promotion from Class AA Northwest Arkansas, Lester was hitting .323 in the month of June and had clubbed 5 homers with 28 RBIs for the Naturals overall in 2024.
The following roster move has been made:
– INF Josh Lester has been transferred to Omaha from NW Arkansas (AA). pic.twitter.com/nG1eXPGs1P
— Omaha Storm Chasers (@OMAStormChasers) June 11, 2024
RHP Rorik Maltrud has been nearly untouchable since joining Class A Lynchburg’s (Cleveland) starting rotation in late May. The Texas native has not allowed an earned run over his last three starts, striking out 19 while allowing just 8 hits over 15.0 innings. For the season, Maltrud has posted a microscopic 1.04 WHIP, a 4-1 mound record and 2.68 ERA, while striking out 58 hitters over 47.0 innings for the Hillcats.
#Guardians 24yr old RHP prospect Rorik Maltrud tied a career high with 8 strikeouts tonight for Lynchburg tossing 5.0 scoreless innings vs Augusta picking up his 4th win of the season! Maltrud has not allowed a run over his last three starts as he lowers his ERA to 2.68 on the… pic.twitter.com/nCdTCybsLK
— Guardians Prospective (@CleGuardPro) June 14, 2024
Like Maltrud, another Class of 2023 Tiger, INF Luke Mann, has enjoyed a successful start to the season; after hitting .296 and slugging 516 with 8 homers for Class A Stockton (Oakland), Mann has been even better for High-A Lansing since his promotion, batting .319 in his first 13 games with the Lugnuts…OF Kameron Misner has hit 8 home runs and swiped 19 bases for Class AAA Durham (Tampa Bay) so far this spring, including a June stretch over which he has logged hits in eight of his last 10 contests…INF Torin Montgomery has logged hits in six-straight games for High-A Beloit (Miami)…RHP Chandler Murphy has yet to allow more than one earned run in 8 starts for Class A Charleston (Tampa Bay) this season, compiling a 1.21 ERA with a WHIP of 0.94…In 24 relief appearances for Class AAA Indianapolis (Pittsburgh), LHP Rob Zastryzny has turned in 4-0 record and 2 saves to go along with a 2.63 ERA, including a string of 6 consecutive scoreless outings in May.
SOUNDS | Reliever @RobZastryzny_8 of the @nashvillesounds has been on a roll, and he visits our live perch at @FirstHorizonPrk … JOIN US: https://t.co/K3eTuO4WPv
— Murfreesboro Post (@Mboro_Post) June 7, 2024
