LC State began the year with two alumni active in the Major Leagues; however, the Athletics released Seth Brown from their roster.
Brown began his seventh Major League season with the Athletics by appearing in 38 games and slashing a career-worst (excluding the 2020 pandemic season) .185/.303/.262 with two doubles and a home run.
Following his release, Brown signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks and reported to Triple-A Reno, where he has four home runs and is batting .382 in eight games.
Two local draftees
Monday’s Major League Baseball draft saw one more Lewis-Clark State Warrior and Washington State Cougar join the ranks of professional baseball.
LC State right-handed pitcher Jadon Williamson and WSU catcher Will Cresswell were selected by the Miami Marlins and Toronto Blue Jays organizations, respectively.
Williamson, of Longview, Wash., earned Cascade Conference Co-Pitcher of the Year honors in his last season in Lewiston, striking out 12.2 batters for every walk he issued and compiling a 2.47 ERA.
Up the road in Pullman, Cresswell, of Puyallup, Wash., earned All-Mountain West second team honors with a .329 batting average, a .927 OPS, 13 doubles, five home runs and 43 RBI. He also caught a MWC-leading 19 runners stealing.
The Marlins selected Williamson 318th overall in the 11th round of the MLB draft. The Blue Jays got Cresswell 532nd overall in the 18th round. Cresswell is the first Cougar catcher to be drafted since PJ Jones in 2015.
Cougars in the minors
WSU has six recent alumni in the Minor Leagues, with outfielder Jonah Advincula (Cleveland), left-handed pitcher A.J. Block (Angels), first baseman Sam Brown (Angels) and right-handed pitcher Zane Mills (St. Louis) in Double-A.
Right-handed pitchers Dakota Hawkins (New York Mets) and Brandon White (Miami) compete at the High-A level.
Advincula, Brown and Hawkins were each on the Cougs in 2023.
Advincula hit .278 with 44 hits, including five doubles, four triples and five home runs at the High-A Lake County to start the season before his promotion to Double-A Akron in late June. In 14 games with the RubberDucks, he’s slapped three doubles and turned in a 5-for-5 stolen base mark.
Brown rose rather fast, as many prospects in the Angels organization tend to do. In 83 games with the Double-A Rocket City Trash Pandas, he has totaled 71 hits, including 12 doubles, four triples, four home runs, 38 RBI and 32 runs scored.
Catcher Jacob Morrow and pitchers Duke Brotherton, Grant Taylor and Connor Wilford play in the independent leagues, professional baseball clubs not affiliated with specific MLB franchises.
Warriors in the minors
Right-handed pitchers Trent Sellers (Double-A, Yankees) and Drake George (High-A, Giants) join Brown and Williamson, whose assignment is forthcoming, as the four Warriors active in the Minor Leagues.
Sellers, with stops at WSU, LCSC and Oregon State, has a 1-4 record, 3.56 ERA and 79 strikeouts through 15 starts with the Somerset Patriots.
The Kennewick, Wash., native was the 2022 Cascade Conference Pitcher of the Year.
George heard his name called in the 13th round of the 2024 MLB draft after a junior season in which he earned Cascade Conference Co-Pitcher of the Year honors with a 6-2 record, 4.91 ERA and 74 Ks over 66 innings.
This year, with the San Jose Giants, George has posted a 2-1 record, 3.20 ERA and 62 strikeouts through 13 games (12 starts).
Following the All-Star break, most pro baseball action resumes on Friday.
Taylor can be reached at 208-848-2268, staylor@lmtribune.com, or on X or Instagram @Sam_C_Taylor.