Opening week has come and gone and the 2019 season has officially began.
There are currently five former Clemson Tigers listed as active on MLB rosters. These Tigers include Steven Duggar, Dominic Leone, Brad Miller, Tony Sipp, and Daniel Gossett.
Gossett remains on the 60-day injured list and looks to play for the Oakland Athletics in the coming weeks.
The Clemson Insider brings you an in-depth look at the performances put on by the former Tigers in this first week of Major League Baseball.
March 28-April 3
Steven Duggar – CF, San Francisco Giants – .286 AVG, .333 OBP, .464 SLG
7 games, 28 at-bats, 8 hits (4 Singles, 3 Doubles, 1 HR), 1 RBI, 1 run, 1 walk, 12 K’s, 0-2 hits with runners in scoring position, 1 stolen base, 1 turned double play
Steven Duggar played in every game the San Francisco Giants had played during the first week of the season. Serving as the lead-off batter in most of these games, the Giants went 2-5 in their seven games. Duggar played one of his best games of the week on April 1st when the Giants played the Los Angeles Dodgers and won 4-2. In that game, he had 5 at-bats where he doubled on 2 hits. He also scored a run that contributed to the 4 runs the Giants scored. He played another good game on April 3rd in the 5-3 loss against the Dodgers. On 4 at-bats, Duggar had 1 hit that went 407 feet to the right for a solo homerun. He tallied his first RBI of the season with this homerun. Steven Duggar will continue to be a threat at the plate for the San Francisco Giants as the season progresses.
Dominic Leone – RHP, St. Louis Cardinals – 0.00 ERA
4 games, 4.2 innings pitched, 17 batters faced, 0 runs, 0 ER’s, 2 walks, 5 K’s, 4 ground balls, 6 fly balls, 77 pitches, 49 strikes, 8 first pitch strikes, 10 called strikes, 9 swinging strikes, 20 foul balls, 10 in play strikes
Dominic Leone saw 4 games for the St. Louis Cardinals during opening week. He pitched for a total of 4.2 innings and saw 17 batters over the course of the week. He was lights out as he allowed 0 runs while he was on the mound, keeping his ERA at a 0.00. Leone was left on the mound for 2 innings on March 30th as the Cardinals lost to the Milwaukee Brewers 4-2. He walked 2 batters and struck out 1 while 5 others hit fly balls. He threw 31 pitches in that game and recorded 16 strikes as he faced 8 batters. The Cardinals were 2-2 in games where Leone was on the mound. He will continue to see the mound with the Cardinals throughout the season.
Tony Sipp – LHP, Washington Nationals – 16.20 ERA
3 games, 1.2 innings pitched, 9 batters faced, 3 hits, 3 runs, 3 ER’s, 1 walk, 2 K’s, 2 ground balls, 1 fly ball, 36 pitches, 22 strikes, 5 first pitch strikes, 4 called strikes, 6 swinging strikes, 6 foul balls, 6 in play strikes
Tony Sipp has had a rough start to the 2019 season as he appeared in 3 games for the Washington Nationals but has recorded an ERA of 16.20. The season is still early and that number can change very quickly. Over the course of 3 games, Sipp saw 1.2 innings on the mound. His first appearance was on March 30th in an 11-8 loss against the New York Mets. He pitched 1 inning, facing 4 batters and retired 1 of them while 2 others grounded out. Tony Sipp has a long way to go to recover his ERA, but there will hopefully be many more opportunities for him with the Nationals this season.
Brad Miller – 2B, Cleveland Indians – .182 AVG, .182 OBP, .182 SLG
4 games, 11 at-bats, 2 hits (2 Singles), 5 K’s, 2 turned double plays
After being released by the Los Angeles Dodgers, Brad Miller was quickly picked up by the Cleveland Indians just in time for opening week. Miller played in 4 of the Indians’ 5 games played in this first week of baseball, starting as the 2nd baseman. He played his best game on March 30th against the Minnesota Twins where he saw 3 at-bats and produced a single to get on base. He also helped turn a double play while fielding in this 2-1 win against the Twins. Miller ended the week with a .182 AVG but looks to continue to see the plate for the Indians.