After Boomer Synek's signing with the Pittsburgh Pirates organization last week, five former University of Evansville baseball players are now plying their trade with Major League-affiliated clubs this summer.
The eighth-overall pick of the 2014 draft, Kyle Freeland has continued to move briskly through the Colorado Rockies ranks. The Denver native was called up to the Albuquerque Isotopes late last month, which competes in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League, one stop away from the big league club.
Freeland, a near-consensus first team All-American, started off this year with a bang, impressing with the Hartford Yard Goats. He made 14 starts with the upstart team in the Double-A Eastern League, earning a call-up after posting a 3.87 earned run average over 88.1 innings of work. With Albuquerque, he's made four starts and currently owns a 5.55 ERA with 18 strikeouts over 24.1 frames. His best outing came earlier this month at Sacramento, when he tossed six one-run innings while fanning five to pick up his first Triple-A victory.
For the season, Freeland has tossed 112.2 combined innings, posting a 6-9 record with a 4.23 ERA.
Eric Stamets, a sixth-rounder in 2012, also recently joined Freeland in Triple-A, playing with the Cleveland Indians-affiliated Columbus Clippers of the International League. A former All-American with the Aces, the shortstop out of Dublin, Ohio, made his return to Columbus on July 14 after a brief stint with the team in April. Known for his defensive prowess, he's shown a bit of power this season as well, hitting five combined home runs with the Double-A RubberDucks and Clippers.
In all, Stamets has played 52 games this season, posting a .236 batting average with 10 doubles, 29 scores and 23 runs batted in.
After starting out the year as a reliever, Kyle Lloyd has moved to a starting role with the San Antonio Missons of the Double-A Texas League. A 2013 29th-round pick by the San Diego Padres, the Carmel, Ind., product has continued to move through the organization over the past four years.
Lloyd, who has 22 appearances on the mound with 12 starts, has seen 82.1 innings on the mound, striking out 70 while posting a 4-4 record with a 3.61 ERA. He's coming off his best outing of the year, tossing a season-best seven innings of shutout baseball on Wednesday against the Frisco RoughRiders.
Kevin Kaczmarski, who was recently called up the St. Lucie Mets of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League, has been on a tear ever since moving on from the Columbia Fireflies. In seven games, the Cary, Ill., native has hit .480 with 10 runs and four RBI. He's also doubled three times and earned seven walks.
For the season, the former NCAA batting champion and 2015 UE graduate, is hitting .287 over 76 games with 51 scores and 32 RBI.
Synek, who started out the summer with the Lake Erie Crushers of the independent Frontier League, made his debut with the Rookie league Gulf Coast Pirates on Wednesday, going 1-for-3 with a walk.
