Southern Arizona Baseball

Tracking former Southern Arizona & Arizona Wildcats baseball players in pros (7/4)


NOTE: This is a compilation of stats involving players from Southern Arizona and the Arizona Wildcats’ program in MLB-sanctioned leagues (MLB and minor leagues). The list does not include players in foreign leagues or independent leagues in the US.

Cienega grad Kevin Stevens, at Double-A of the New York Yankees’ organization, is a remarkable story of perseverance

Right-handed reliever Kevin Stevens, a Class of 2016 Cienega graduate, suffered through injuries that cut his high school career two years short but he has still managed to make a living off baseball. In the summer of 2014, when he was heading into his junior year at Cienega, he partially tore his ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) and found brief relief with a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection. Soon after, a hyperextended elbow caused the UCL to partially tear again, costing him his junior season and preventing him from pitching as a senior. Stevens went on to play for Yavapai College, but he was hit with shoulder tendinitis his freshman year. His scholarship was taken away and he was redshirted. He pitched 13.1 innings as a redshirt freshman in 2018 with a fully torn UCL. He accepted his lone offer to continue pitching for a NAIA school after that season, but before reporting, he decided to take a chance on himself instead. He underwent Tommy John surgery in August 2018.
 
“The day after surgery I was in the gym, in a cast, doing as much as I could. I rehabbed an entire year at home,” Stevens stated on the Texas Rio Grande Valley baseball website. “You learn a lot about yourself, about how bad you want it when you’re on your own, throwing into nets and fences. Year to year, I had two options in those situations: either call it quits or do what you gotta do. It’s been a ride, but I found the drive. It honestly comes from my dad always saying when I was younger, ‘If you want something, you have to work for it.'” 

Kevin Stevens during his Cienega career (Andy Morales/AllSportsTucson.com)

Stevens sent emails to coaches across the country asking them to watch him throw a bullpen. Nobody paid him any attention, except for The Texas Rio Grande Valley head coach Derek Matlock. While in Arizona for the WAC tournament, Matlock made the drive to Tucson to meet Stevens. 
 
“He had a big downhill arm, physical kid, threw a ton of strikes. You could tell he wasn’t 100% because of Tommy John but I got after him right there to get him down here,” Matlock told UTRGV. “We took a chance and called him and said, ‘We can’t give you money, but come walk-on and earn money.’ He showed up on campus and from that minute on, it was over. He kicked the door down.”  
  
On Feb. 14, 2020, Stevens made his first start at the NCAA Division I level over 22 months after his last collegiate outing. Stevens tossed five hitless innings against Kansas State with nine strikeouts. The only baserunner in his outing reached on an error in the second inning, then Stevens retired the next 12 Wildcats he faced. Stevens and Gonzalez combined for a one-hitter as UTRGV rolled to a 5-0 victory. 
 
Stevens remained UTRGV’s Friday night starter for the remainder of his career. He finished with an 18-7 record and 2.99 ERA after pitching 195.2 innings in 33 starts. His 228 career strikeouts are the sixth-most in program history. He boasted a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 4:1 and held opponents to a .226 batting average. 
 
Stevens went from throwing 86-88 miles per hour his first year at UTRGV, to hitting 90-92 MPH, to getting to 92-95 MPH his final season. 

Despite his success, Stevens went undrafted. He had a contract in place to play with a Mexican league team and was preparing to run with that opportunity. But that changed with a phone call.
 
Brian Rhees, the south Texas scout for the New York Yankees, calls me and says, ‘I’m with the front office right now and I want to get you to be a Yankee,'” Stevens said. “He calls me back, offers me a contract, and says ‘I believe in you.'” 
 
Stevens signed a free agent contract with the Yankees organization on July 19, 2022. 
 
“I thought, ‘here’s one team that wants to give me the chance,'” Stevens said. “The same way I did in college, I went in with a chip on my shoulder believing I’m supposed to be here.” 
 
Stevens made his professional debut on August 22, 2022 with the rookie-level Florida Complex League (FCL) Yankees and was promoted to the single-A Tampa Tarpons in less than two weeks.

His average fastball velocity is at 97 mph. His peak velocity 100.2 mph.

“It’s pretty much the same exact story, my college career and pro baseball journey,” Stevens said. “I just needed a chance. I got that here at UTRGV. And when the Yankees called, it was like, there’s my chance. At this point, it’s all on me, depending on what I do and how I perform. As long as I have this chance, I’m going to run with it.” 

The third UCL tear of his career, this time a partial tear, occurred just before the conclusion of spring training last season, sidelining him until the end of summer. By the time he was ready to pitch, the minor league season had ended. Stevens was shipped to the Arizona Fall League, where he posted a 2.25 ERA with 10 strikeouts over 7.1 innings for the Mesa Solar Sox.

Despite Stevens’ limited professional experience, the Yankees assigned him to Double-A Somerset to begin the 2024 season, where he’s been one of the top pitchers in the Eastern League. He is 3-0 with a 2.89 ERA with 44 strikeouts and 10 walks. He earned his fourth save of the season on Wednesday night.

LOCAL BASEBALL PLAYERS IN THE PROS

Listing of local baseball players either from high school, Pima or Arizona currently playing in pro baseball. College players not from Southern Arizona high schools are listed who played at Pima College or completed their careers at Arizona.
*Barraza, Sahuarita graduate
*Romero, CDO graduate
*Salazar, Sahuaro graduate

PlayerPosSchYrsTeamLvlOrg
Nate Baez1BIRHS16-19Cedar RapidsA+MIN
Branden Boissiere1BUA19-21WilmingtonA+WAS
Tony Bullard3BUA20-23BeloitA+MIA
Alex BustamantePCDO16-18TampaANYY
Clark CandiottiPUA24ACL PadresRKSD
Demetrio CrisantesSSNogales19-22VisaliaAARI
Bobby Dalbec1BUA14-16BostonAAABOS
Chase DavisOFUA21-23SpringfieldAASTL
Jose DicocheaPSahuarita16-19StocktonAOAK
Matthew DyerCUA19-20MontgomeryAATB
German FajardoPNogales16-19ModestoASEA
Michael FlynnPUA16-18DurhamAAATB
Matt FraizerOFUA17-19AltoonaAAPIT
Kevin GinkelPUA16ArizonaMLBARI
Nick GonzalesINFCienega14-17PittsburghMLBPIT
Darick Hall1BBuena11-13Lehigh ValleyAAAPHI
Garrett IrvinPUA20-22LansingA+OAK
Kobe Kato2BUA19-21TacomaAAASEA
Jackson KentPUA23-24FCL NationalsRKWAS
Scott Kingery2BUA13-15Lehigh ValleyAAAPHI
Randy LabautP UA17-19ColumbusAAACLE
Trevor LongPUA21-24ModestoASEA
Gil LunaPUA18-21BirminghamAACHW
Aiden MayPPima22FCL MarlinsRKMIA
Nik McClaughry2BUA20-23Fort WayneA+SD
Cade McGeeINFSalpointe18-21Palm BeachASTL
Tylor MegillPUA17-19NY MetsMLBNYM
Ian MejiaPSahuarita16-19MississippiAAATL
Andrew NardiPUA19MiamiMLB MIA
Kevin NewmanSSUA13-15Arizona MLBARI
Jared OlivaOFUA15-17ArkansasAASEA
Spencer PackardOFCDO13-16Tacoma AAASEA
Rob RefsnyderOFUA10-12BostonMLBBOS
Alfonso Rivas1BUA16-18MemphisAAASTL
Kiko Romero1BUA*23SomersetAANYY
Milo RushfordCFWGHS19-22ACL RoyalsRKKC
César SalazarCUA*16-18HoustonMLB HOU
Chase SilsethPUA21Salt LakeAAALAA
Austin SmithPUA21RomeA+ATL
Kevin StevensPCienega13-16SomersetAANYY
Cal StevensonOFUA17-18PhiladelphiaMLBPHI
Anthony SusacPUA 22-24Down EastATEX
Daniel SusacC UA21-22MidlandAAOAK
Alex VerdugoOFSahuaro11-14NY YankeesMLBNYY
Cam WaltyPUA21-24TBDTBDCLE
Avery WeemsP UA18-19Round RockAAATEX
Austin WellsC UA19-20NY Yankees MLBNYY

LOCAL BATTERS IN THE PROS

Through games of Sept. 22
*Injuries
Dyer (60-day/undisclosed)
Packard (7-day/leg)
Refsnyder (10-day/forearm)
PlayerTeamLvlGABRH2B3BHRRBISBAVG
BaezMINA+82276386610212320.239
BoissiereWAS A+481631934503230.209
BullardMIAA+4715312461101224.301
CrisantesARIA63249588316164020.333
DalbecBOSAAA973616891201206811.252
DavisSTLAA8283720143.250
*DyerTBAA39118172562195.212
FraizerPITAA5619225467152110.240
GonzalesPITMLB8934238921835475.269
HallPHIAAA1144325010217016722.236
KatoSEAAAA16591621610136.356
KingeryPHIAAA12546373124175256725.268
McClaughrySDA+8325531381021185.149
McGeeSTLA206681310181.197
NewmanARIMLB10828441801713288.282
OlivaSEAAA6921445637474037.294
*PackardSEAAAA4015424431502280.279
*RefsnyderBOSMLB93272327716111402.283
RivasSTLAAA9631551722123381.229
RomeroNYYAA3101200140.200
RushfordKCRK1652101002146.192
SalazarHOUMLB11245820080.333
StevensonPHIMLB18242630060250
SusacOAKAA88343398819312507.257
VerdugoNYYMLB1455467212728112581.233
Wells NYYMLB110339398118113541.239

WEDNESDAY’S HOME RUNS

None.

WEDNESDAY’S STANDOUTS

SS Demetrio Crisantes (Nogales), Diamondbacks A, 3-5, run, double, 2 RBIs, stolen base

CF Cal Stevenson (Arizona), Phillies AAA, (doubleheader) 3-7, 2 runs, 2 doubles, 2 RBIs

3B Tony Bullard (Arizona), Marlins A+, 2-4

CF Chase Davis (Arizona), Cardinals A, 1-3, double, 2 walks

LOCAL PITCHERS IN THE PROS

Through games of Sept. 22
*Injuries
Bustamante (60-day/arm)
Silseth (7-day/elbow)
Stevens (60-day/arm)
Nardi (60-day/elbow)
PlayerTeamLvlW-LGGSSVIPHRERBBSOERA
*BustamanteNYYA0-00000000000.00
CandiottiSDRK-----------
DicocheaOAKA3-62214178.175504042844.54
FajardoSEAA3-2350065.161483741735.10
FlynnTBAAA0-06005.2644496.35
GinkelARIMLB8-3690567.266312515733.33
IrvinOAKA+3-2350138.145302625435.95
KentWASRK-----------
LabautCLEAAA3-636316157383143524.57
LongSEAA1-09018.1311381.08
LunaCHWAA4-342034529201446482.80
MayMIARK-----------
MegillNYMMLB4-51514071.162363230833.98
MejiaATLAA8-724231124.11085548561233.47
*NardiMIAMLB3-2590049.244292818705.07
*SilsethLAAAAA0-377028.133212018166.35
SmithATLA+0-16016.2743484.05
*StevensNYYAA4-031073929111116562.54
SusacTEXA1-08009.16106120.00
WaltyCLERK-----------
WeemsTEXAAA0-24104.1544238.31

WEDNESDAY’S STANDOUTS

RHP Jose Dicochea (Sahuarita), Athletics A, 4 IP, 5H, 1R, 1ER, 0BB, 6K (no decision)

RHP Kevin Ginkel (Arizona), Diamondbacks MLB, 1.1 IP, 1H, 0R, 0ER, 1BB, 1K (no decision)

LHP Gil Luna (Arizona), White Sox AA, 1.2 IP, 0H, 0R, 0ER, 1BB, 2K (no decision)

LHP Andrew Nardi (Arizona), Marlins MLB, 0.2 IP, 0H, 0R, 0ER, 1BB, 1K (no decision)

RHP Kevin Stevens (Cienega), Yankees AA, 1 IP, 1H, 0R, 0ER, 0BB, 1K (save)

RECENT TRANSACTIONS (LAST 14 DAYS)

Wednesday, July 3
Matthew Dyer- IL-7 Injured (Tampa Bay Rays)

Sunday, June 30
Tylor Megill – Assigned to Syracuse Mets (AAA) (New York Mets)

Friday, June 28
Daniel Susac – Activated from IL-7 (undisclosed) (Oakland Athletics)

Wednesday, June 26
Donta’ Williams – Assigned to Bowie Baysox (AA) (Baltimore Orioles)

Tuesday, June 25, 2024
Chase Silseth – Assigned to Salt Lake Bees (AAA) (Los Angeles Angels)
Chase Silseth – Activated from injured list (Los Angeles Angels)

Saturday, June 22
Bobby Dalbec – Assigned to Worcester (AAA) (Boston Red Sox)

FOLLOW @JAVIERJMORALES ON TWITTER!

ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon. He became an educator five years ago and is presently a special education teacher at Sunnyside High School in the Sunnyside Unified School District.

print
Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Comments
To Top