By Dylan Groce: Mizzou Strategic Communications Intern
With the summer months upon us,its time to check in on our Mizzou Baseball alums playing in Major League Baseball. This is the first of the weekly summer series that will look at how the Tigers are doing in professional baseball. We will also take time this summer to take a look at how Tigers are doing in the Minors as well as how some current Tigers are doing in their respective summer leagues.
Aaron Crow - Miami Marlins - Fifth Season - Relief Pitcher
Aaron Crow has done some moving around since we last checked in. The former first-round draft pick was traded from the Kansas City Royals in November 2014 to the Miami Marlins for LHP Brian Flynn and RHP Reid Redman.
In March, Crow was told by doctors that he would need elbow ligament replacement surgery that may cost him the rest of his season, after Tommy John surgery he has landed on the 60-day DL.
Crow posted a 6-1 record last season with a 4.12 ERA in 61 appearances while playing for Kansas City but was left off the postseason roster.
At Marlins spring training this season, Crow let up just two runs and six hits over 8.0 innings in seven spring training games with nine strikeouts and four walks. His current contract will bring in $1,975,000 this year
Max Scherzer - Washington Nationals - Eighth Season - Starting Pitcher
Since last checking in with our 2013 Cy Young Award winner, Max Scherzer has done some moving of his own in the form of free agent signing to the Washington Nationals.
Scherzer agreed to a 7 year, $210 million deal with the Nationals, while making $17,142,857 in the 2015 season alone.
So far in his first season with Washington, Scherzer has posted a 6-3 record (good for fourth in the NL for Wins), a 1.51 ERA (third-best in the NL), 85 strikeouts (second-best in NL), and a 0.88 WHIP (making him second-best in that category in the NL).
Ian Kinsler - Detroit Tigers - Tenth Season - Second Base
Mizzou and Detroit Tiger Ian Kinsler has a .271 batting average entering into the third month of the season after hitting his first homerun of the season on May 30th playing in Los Angeles vs. the Angels.
Kinsler is also at 22 runs batted in on the season and holds a .350 OBP, while swiping six bases for a 100 percent success rate for stealing on the year.
Of Kinsler's 54 hits this season, 12 of those have gone for doubles, and two for triples, with one homerun so far, and he has come around to score 29 times.
Kinsler also holds eighth place on the leaderboard for the AL in walks this season at 25.
For the 2015 season, Kinsler will make $16,000,000.
Kyle Gibson - Minnesota Twins - Third Season - Starting Pitcher
In 10 games started with the Twins this season, Gibson has posted a 4-3 record and a 2.61 ERA, a 1.29 WHIP, and an opponent's batting average of .253, while fanning 30 batters.
His ERA of 2.61 is good for an appearance as eighth place on the AL leaderboard in earned run averages. He is a big reason why the Twins have posted a 20-7 record in the month of May while ascending to first place in the AL Central. Gibson won three starts in the month of May.
Gibson's salary for his 3rd season with the Twins will be $537,500.
Nick Tepesch - Texas Rangers - 3rd Season - Starting Pitcher
After a rough spring training in the Cactus League and a 10.38 ERA there, Tepesch lost out on the fifth spot in the starting rotation to Nick Martinez and was optioned to AAA Round Rock.
Tepesch began the season on the Triple-A Round Rock Disabled list due to ulnar nerve inflammation.
On April 27th, Tepesch was transferred from the 15-day DL to the 60-day DL to clear a spot on the Rangers' 40-man roster for the arrival of Josh Hamilton.
He remains out indefinitely with a nerve issue in his throwing elbow.
Matt Stites - Arizona Diamondbacks - 2nd Season - Relief Pitcher
Matt Stites entered his second big league season with soreness in his right elbow and started a slow recovery after going down with a strained right flexor tendon in spring training.
The Diamondbacks placed Stites on the 15-day DL and set him on a recovery plan that sent him to extended spring training.
Stities threw a scoreless inning in an extended spring training game in the last week of May, and could return in June if all goes well from here.
Stites is making $510,500 in this year of his rookie contract.