With the Minor League baseball season in full swing, here’s an update on former Georgia Bulldogs playing in the professional ranks.
The latest Bulldog to reach the Triple-A level is Levi Hyams, now a first baseman in the Atlanta Braves organization. Recently, Hyams, who was a 19th round pick of the Braves in 2012, earned a promotion to Gwinnett. He owns a .249 career batting average with 16 home runs and 142 RBI. He has appeared in two games with Gwinnett and has a couple of hits in seven at bats.
Former Bulldog pitcher Jeff Walters, who is on the 40-man roster of the New York Mets, is playing for the Las Vegas 51s in the Pacific Coast League. He is 0-1 with a 5.06 ERA and one 1 save in 11 relief appearances.
Outfielder Zach Cone, a supplemental first round selection of the Texas Rangers in 2011, is batting .266-3-16 in Double-A for the Frisco Rough Riders.
Kyle Farmer, an eighth round pick of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2013, is batting .292-3-10 in Double-A for the Tulsa Drillers. Farmer, now a catcher, is on the 7-day disabled list.
Infielder Curt Powell, a 21st round selection of the Tigers in 2013, was batting .182-0-2 for the Lakeland Flying Tigers at the Advanced-A level. Powell retired in late April.
Nelson Ward, a 12th round pick of the Seattle Mariners in 2014, is hitting .235-1-6 in Double-A for the San Antonio Missions of the Texas League. Ward, an infielder, was traded to the Padres organization this past November.
Infielder/outfielder Hunter Cole, a 26th round selection of the San Francisco Giants in 2014, is hitting .211-0-2 in Double-A for the Richmond Flying Squirrels.
Ryan Lawlor, an eighth round pick of the Braves in 2015, is 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA in five starts for the Carolina Mudcats in the Advanced-A Carolina League.
Sean McLaughlin, a 19th round selection of the Braves in 2015, is 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA and one save in 10 innings for the Carolina Mudcats in the Advanced-A Carolina League.
First baseman Jared Walsh, a 39th round pick of the Angeles in 2015, is batting .209-0-0 with the Burlington Bees who play in the Single-A Midwest League. Walsh is on the 7-day disabled list.
Catcher Zack Bowers, a 24th round selection of the Giants in 2015, is batting .170-0-3 began the season with the Augusta Green Jackets in the Single-A South Atlantic League. He has now been assigned to the Giants extended spring training.
Cecil Tanner, a 23rd round selection of the Oakland A’s in 2011, who made a comeback in 2015, is now pitching in the Miami Marlins organization. He began the season with Jupiter in the Advanced-A Florida State League and recently was assigned to Batavia, the Class A Short Season club in the New York Penn League.
A trio of pitchers from the 2015 draft, Jared Cheek, a 21st round pick of the Cubs, Taylor Hicks, a 26th round pick of the Tigers and David Sosebee, a 28th round selection of the Yankees, have yet to make their 2016 debut.
Currently, Georgia has six Bulldogs at the Major League level: infielder Gordon Beckham (Atlanta), relief pitcher Joshua Fields (Houston), relief pitcher Justin Grimm (Chicago Cubs), starting pitcher Alex Wood (Los Angeles) plus St. Louis Cardinals pitching coach Derek Lilliquist.
Georgia returns to action Friday when it plays host to seventh-ranked Ole Miss at Foley Field in an SEC series starting at 7 p.m.