Lake Zurich’s Svanson makes MLB debut with Cardinals
Right-handed pitcher Matt Svanson made his major-league debut Thursday with one inning of scoreless relief for the St. Louis Cardinals during a loss at Citi Field to the Mets.
According to baseball-reference.com, Svanson is the first Lake Zurich High School grad to play in MLB.
“I mean, it was pretty exciting,” Svanson told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch after the game. “I got some really good advice from coach (Dean) Kiekhefer, ‘When you go out there, just lock on the catcher so you’re not paying attention to anything else.’”
The 6-foot-5 Svanson, 26, played in college at Lehigh, was a 13th-round pick of Toronto in 2021, then was traded to the Cardinals for Antioch's Paul DeJong on Aug. 1, 2023. He started this season by making his Triple-A debut for the Memphis Redbirds.
Svanson threw 20 pitches against the Mets and averaged an impressive 96.2 mph with his sinker, according to Statcast.
“That was really good to see. 96-97 (mph) with good sink,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said after the game. “This is a guy that usually fills up the zone and stays on the ground, so that was good.”
Gowens delivers for Barons:
Three of the White Sox top seven prospects, per MLB Pipeline, are in the starting rotation at Double-A Birmingham — Noah Schultz (1), Hagen Smith (3) and Grant Taylor (7).
But it's Libertyville's Riley Gowens off to the best start, with a 2.70 ERA through two games and 13 strikeouts in 10 innings.
Smith has a 3.72 ERA after three starts. Schultz (Oswego East) was at 4.00 heading into his third start of the season on Friday night against Biloxi. Taylor has a 1.69 ERA but has worked just 5 innings.
Gowens was a ninth-round pick of the Braves in 2023 out of Illinois, then traded to the White Sox in the Aaron Bummer deal.
Priester home brew:
Right-hander Quinn Priester (Cary-Grove) is on his way to becoming a fan favorite in Milwaukee. His home debut for the Brewers featured 5 hitless innings against Detroit on Tuesday. Through two starts with Milwaukee, Priester's ERA is 0.90.
Originally a first-round pick of the Pirates in 2019, Priester was traded to Boston last year and was working in Triple-A Worcester when the Brewers — with numerous injuries to starting pitchers — worked out another trade. Priester is on schedule to start against the Cubs on May 2 in Milwaukee.
Quick hitters:
Miami's Lake Bachar (Wheaton North) has been one of the most effective relievers in MLB so far, with a 1.46 ERA and 0.81 WHIP in 9 appearances. …
Right-hander Eric Orze (Glenbard North) was called up from Triple-A on Monday and has made three scoreless relief appearances for the Tampa Bay Rays. Orze made his major-league debut last year with the Mets. …
The pro debut of Ryan Sloan (York) lasted just 1 inning. In his second start for the Class-A Modesto Nuts (Seattle), Sloan struck out 7 in 3⅔ innings, allowing 1 run and 2 hits. …
Catcher Cooper Johnson (Carmel) opened the season with 3 home runs in his first six games at Double-A Frisco (Texas). …
Jack Wenninger (Cary-Grove) has a 1.20 ERA with 22 strikeouts in 15 innings through his first three starts at Double-A Binghamton (NY Mets).