There are almost 20 current Major League Baseball players with ties to Long Beach, and plenty more in the minor leagues ready to make their names in The Show.
Wilson High alum Chase De Jong has already made his MLB debut with the Seattle Mariners, but he was traded to the Minnesota Twins organization on Monday. He will likely join Double-A Chattanooga.
De Jong has spent the entire year with the Arkansas Travelers — the AA affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. The right-handed pitcher was top five in the Texas League in starts (21), innings pitched (120.2) and ERA (3.80). He also won the Texas League Pitcher Of The Week award on Monday after striking out 15 and walking three over two starts.
De Jong, 24, helped the Travelers win the Texas League North Division first-half championship last month, which guarantees them a spot in the playoffs in September. He was also named to the Texas League All-Star Game roster. De Jong was the Texas League Pitcher of the Year in 2016 with the Tulsa Drillers, and had one of his best starts of the season last week against Tulsa. He pitched seven scoreless innings while allowing two hits and a walk. He struck out a season-high eight.
A year after playing with three different teams, Lakewood High alum Brendon Davis has played 89 games with the Class-A Advanced Down East Wood Ducks of the Carolina League this season. The Wood Ducks are an affiliate of the Texas Rangers. Davis, 20, has 76 hits, 38 runs scored and 29 RBIs this season. The infielder also has a .950 fielding percentage.
Former Dirtbag Brock Lundquist has remained successful after being moved up to Class-A Advanced as part of the Toronto Blue Jays organization. The outfielder is hitting .353 with 11 RBIs and three home runs in 22 games with the Dunedin Blue Jays in the Florida State League. Lundquist, 22, is hitting .272 this season with 16 home runs and 59 RBIs in 92 games. He was drafted in the sixth round of last year’s draft.
Fellow former Dirtbag Darren McCaughan had been struggling for the Modesto Nuts, the Seattle Mariners affiliate in the California League. However, The right-handed pitcher is coming off of one of his best performances of the year. He picked up his third win with eight scoreless innings after giving up three hits and two walks while striking out five. For his efforts, McCaughan was named Cal League Pitcher of the Week on Tuesday. He has also pitched for the Tacoma Raiders this year, and has a 3.34 ERA with 89 strikeouts in 113.1 innings.
Shane Peterson has been playing in the minor leagues for 10 years after being drafted in the second round by the St. Louis Cardinals out of LBSU. The former Dirtbag outfielder has also played 125 MLB games as recently as last year for the Tampa Bay Rays. Peterson is currently with the Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas as part of the San Diego Padres organization. He is hitting .266 this season with 53 RBIs, 47 runs, 22 doubles and eight home runs.
*Statistics through Sunday
