With the minor league baseball season having come to an end, and the Major League season rapidly nearing its conclusion, here is a look back at how former Stetson players fared in the professional ranks this summer.
 
Of course, any review of former Hatters in professional baseball starts with two of the best pitchers active today in the Major Leagues – Corey Kluber of the Cleveland Indians and Jacob deGrom of the New York Mets.
 
Both former Hatters were selected to the All-Star game in July, although Kluber was unable to participate due to a knee injury that has bothered him for much of the year. The two-time American League Cy Young Award winner earned his 19^th victory of the season, a career-high, on Tuesday against the Chicago White Sox with 8.0 strong innings of work. He struck out 11, which is the second most in a game this season.
 
The 11 strikeouts also pushed him past 200 Ks for the season, the fifth consecutive year he has hit that milestone. He joined with Sam McDowell (1965-70) as the only pitchers in Cleveland history to accomplish that feat. Not even the great Bob Feller had five straight years with 200Ks, but he did have five total seasons hitting the milestone.
 
With the Indians having already clinched the American League Central title for a third consecutive year, Kluber will likely only get one chance to become a 20-game winner for the first time in his career. He will likely pitch either on Sunday in the Indians' home finale against Boston, or on Monday in Chicago against the White Sox.
 
If Kluber does get just one more start in the regular season, he would be well rested for the Indians' playoff opener against defending World Series Champion Houston on October 5.
 
For deGrom, thoughts of playoff outings will have to wait for another year as the Mets have struggled all year to score runs. That has especially been true every time the former Hatter has taken to the mound.
 
Despite the fact that deGrom is just 8-9 on the season, he is the odds-on favorite to win his first Cy Young Award. How good has he been this year? His 1.78 ERA for the season is not only the best in the big leagues this year, it is a mark that has been bettered just three times in the last 20 years.
 
But the Mets are just 12-18 this year in deGrom's starts. He has 13 no decisions and has made eight starts this year in which he allowed zero or one earned run, but failed to get a win. Only one other time in the last 111 years has a pitcher had that kind of bad luck – Roger Craig with the expansion 1963 Mets.
 
He is currently second in the National League in both strikeouts (251) and innings pitched (202), trailing only three-time Cy Young winner Max Scherzer in both categories.
 
If you dive deeper into deGrom's season, you'll get a better understanding as to why he may earn his first Cy Young award.

• He has a streak of 27 consecutive starts, the longest in MLB history, of allowing three or fewer runs.
• He has posted 22 consecutive quality starts (6+ IP with 3 or fewer ER), tied for the most in a season in MLB history with Bob Gibson (1968) and Chris Carpenter (2005)
• Leads the Major Leagues in FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching) at 2.05
• Leads the Major Leagues in slugging percentage allowed at .288
• Leads the National League in OPS against at .540
• Leads MLB pitchers in Wins Above Replacement (8.0) according to FanGraphs

 
In a poll of members of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) conducted this week, 30 of 33 voters selected deGrom over Scherzer and Philadelphia's Aaron Nola.
 
After striking out 12 in a no decision against Boston on Sunday, deGrom will likely get two more starts before the season ends. He is scheduled to pitch against Scherzer head-to-head on Friday night in Washington. That would mean his final start of the year will come at home against Atlanta on either Wednesday or Thursday, September 26 or 27.
 
With the top two Hatters' in the pros winding down toward the end of their seasons, here is a look at how the rest of the former Stetson players performed this summer.
 
Nick Rickles – Catcher – Philadelphia Phillies
Rickles spent the entire season, his eighth in professional baseball, with the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs, the Class AAA affiliate of the Phillies in the International League. He finished the season hitting .245 in 57 games with seven home runs and 26 RBI. Some of the highlights from the season included a walk-off single in the 13^th inning of a 3-2 win over Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in a playoff game on September 8. Rickles also had game-tying home runs in the ninth inning of games on June 3 against Toledo and July 13 against Buffalo. Rickles' season included a stint on the disabled list in August, but 2018 will be a memorable year for him for more than just baseball. In January, he and his wife Cassidy welcomed the birth of their first child, daughter Riley.

Patrick Mazeika - Catcher - New York Mets
After getting a non-roster invite to the Mets Major League spring training camp, Mazeika spent the entire 2018 season in the Class AA Eastern League as a member of the Binghamton Rumble Ponies, where he was teammates with a certain former Heisman Trophy winning quarterback. The former Hatter earned selection to the league All-Star game in July and finished the year hitting .231 in 87 games, with 12 doubles, nine home runs and 39 RBI. 
 
Walker Sheller – Pitcher – Kansas City Royals
Sheller spent his second full season of professional baseball mostly with the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, the Class AA Texas League affiliate of the Kansas City Royals after opening the season with Wilmington in the Carolina League. Sheller made 35 appearances on the mound for the Naturals, all in relief, posting a 3-2 record with a 3.52 ERA in 51 innings of work. He was shut down for two weeks in late June after suffering a non-baseball injury off the field while moving furniture. Combined between the two teams, Sheller had a 4-3 record and a 3.30 ERA with two saves in 40 games. He can be found many days this fall at Melching Field, working out with the current Stetson team.
 
Vance Vizcaino – Outfielder – Kansas City Royals
Vizcaino spent most of the summer in Wilmington, the Class A Advanced Carolina League affiliate of the Royals. After playing 13 games to start the year with the Class A Lexington Legends, Vizcaino played 73 games for Wilmington, hitting .241 with nine doubles, two triples and a home run in 73 games. Combined, he played 89 games between the two teams with a .232 average.
 
Mitchell Jordan – Pitcher – Oakland Athletics
Jordan spent his second full summer with the Beloit Snappers, the Class A Midwest League affiliate of the Oakland A's. His second trip through that league showed tremendous improvement as Jordan posted an 8-4 record with a 2.67 ERA in 25 games, including 19 starts. His 2.67 ERA led the league and he was second in the league in WHIP at 1.16. Jordan finished the season with 105 strikeouts in 124.2 innings of work.
 
Logan Gilbert – Pitcher – Seattle Mariners
Gilbert was not expected to see much action this summer after throwing 112.1 innings in the spring for the Hatters. However, once he was diagnosed with mononucleosis, the Mariners shut him down for the year. Ranked as the No. 3 prospect in the Mariners organization, Gilbert is not expected to take the mound in competition until next spring.
 
Brooks Wilson – Pitcher – Atlanta Braves
The biggest news for Wilson over the summer was the removal of his trademark beard. The clean-shaved look didn't hurt his production as Wilson made a total of 17 appearances on the mound between stops in Danville (Va.), a rookie league team in the Appalachian League, and Rome (Ga.), a class A South Atlantic League club. Between the two teams Wilson posted a 3-2 record with a 1.30 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP. He earned just one save but had 25 strikeouts in 27.2 innings of work.
 
Jack Perkins – Pitcher – Philadelphia Phillies
Perkins spent the most of his first summer in pro ball with the Class A Williamsport Crosscutters of the New York-Penn League. He made a total of nine appearances this summer, eight with Williamsport, posting a 1-1 record and a 4.05 ERA in just 20 innings of work. He had a solid 1.15 WHIP and recorded 20 strikeouts while allowing just five walks.
 
Ben Onyshko – Pitcher – Seattle Mariners
Once he got his work status cleared up, Onyshko made appearances for three teams in the Mariners' system. He made his professional debut with Modesto in the Class A Advanced California league, pitching two shutout innings with two strikeouts in his only outing there. He went on from there to make a pair of appearances for the Mariners' Arizona Rookie League team before spending the rest of the summer with the Everett AquaSox in the Class A Short Season Northwest League. Overall, Onyshko made 15 appearances, all in relief, posting a 1-0 record with a 2.63 ERA and one save. He had 29 strikeouts in 24 innings of work.
 
Austin Hale – Catcher – Minnesota Twins
Hale played 26 games for the Gulf Coast League Twins in Ft. Myers, hitting .232 with a home run and five RBI, before deciding to retire from baseball.
 
Joey Gonzalez – Pitcher – Houston Astros
Gonzalez spent most of his first summer with the Gulf Coast League Astros in Kissimmee, but was promoted to the Tri-City ValleyCats in the Class A Short Season New York-Penn League at the end of the year. Gonzalez had a 4-2 record with a 1.72 ERA in 13 appearances for the GCL Astros, recording 22 strikeouts in 15.2 innings of work. He made two appearances for the ValleyCats, working a total of four innings without allowing a base runner, striking out three.
 
Mike Spooner – Outfielder – Cincinnati Reds
After signing with the Reds as an undrafted free agent, Spooner played 17 games with the Billings Mustangs in the Pioneer Rookie League He had just four hits in 48 at bats during his time in Montana. He played three games for the Dayton Dragons of the Class A Midwest League at the end of the year, getting one hit in 11 at bats.
 
Two other former Hatters moved on to their post-baseball lives this year. Ben Carhart became as assistant coach for the Tennessee Smokies, the Class AA Southern League affiliate of the Chicago Cubs.
 
Lindsey Caughel opened the 2018 season at Class AA Arkansas, the Texas League affiliate of the Mariners, earning a win in his only outing before being promoted to Class AAA Tacoma. He made 13 appearances for the Raniers, posting a 2-2 record with 19 strikeouts in 29 innings of work before being released on June 18. Caughel is moving on to focus on a music career and is getting married to long-time girlfriend Clara Kruger on October 13.
 
About Stetson University Athletics: Stetson University's Athletics Program has a vision of developing a culture of champions athletically, academically and within the community. This vision is accomplished through a mission of recruiting and developing student-athletes, coaches and staff, creating a culture of champions, within and outside of competition. The department operates with five core values: Championship Culture, Integrity, Excellence, Pride/Tradition and Leadership. To learn more about the Vision, Mission and Core Values for Stetson Athletics, visit GoHatters.com and click on Mission Statement under the Inside Athletics tab.