University Southern California Trojans
Trojan Alum Garrett Stubbs Makes Major League Debut With Houston Astros
May 28, 2019 | Baseball, Features
HOUSTON, Texas – Former USC baseball great Garrett Stubbs was called up by the Houston Astros this weekend and made his MLB debut on Tuesday, making him the 114th Trojan to reach the big leagues.
Stubbs got the start behind the plate for the first-place Astros, going 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a run scored. He doubled in his first major league at-bat, hitting one off the wall against the Chicago Cubs' Jon Lester. Stubbs would then single in a run his next time up, helping the Astros to a 9-6 win.
A former Johnny Bench Award winner (now called the Buster Posey Award), Stubbs played at USC from 2012-15, racking up a laundry list of awards as one of the top catchers to ever come out of Troy. At USC he was named an ABCA/Rawlings First Team All-American, Baseball America First Team All-American, Gold Glove honoree, Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, First Team All-Pac-12, Pac-12 All-Defensive Team and ABCA/Rawlings First Team All-West Region.
Stubbs was drafted in the eighth round of the 2015 MLB draft by the Astros, and has since steadily progressed through their system. He was the 12th-ranked prospect in the team's farm system prior to his call-up on Sunday. This season at triple-A Round Rock Express, Stubbs owns a .250/.364/.440 slash, with four homers, four doubles and seven RBI in 28 games. Known especially for his defensive work behind the plate, Stubbs has thrown out 44 percent of base stealers in his four years as a pro.
The left-handed hitting catcher had a breakout year for USC prior to getting drafted, helping to lead the Trojans to their first NCAA Regional appearance in 10 years. He finished the year leading the Pac-12 by throwing out 52.8 percent of would-be base stealers (28-of-53). The senior only had three errors in 468 chances all season, while tallying 68 assists. He picked off six runners and was only credited with four passed balls. Offensively, Stubbs was second on the team with a .346 batting average. He drove in 25 runs as the team's No. 2 hitter in the lineup and started 59 of the Trojans' 60 games on the year. The speedy catcher also led the team with 20 stolen bases.
USC's 114 big leaguers are the most of any collegiate program.
Stubbs got the start behind the plate for the first-place Astros, going 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a run scored. He doubled in his first major league at-bat, hitting one off the wall against the Chicago Cubs' Jon Lester. Stubbs would then single in a run his next time up, helping the Astros to a 9-6 win.
Congratulations to @USC_Baseball great @GarrettStubbs on his first major league hit! #USCtotheMLB pic.twitter.com/p8t5H42K7b
— USC Trojans (@USC_Athletics) May 29, 2019
Making a splash. #TakeItBack pic.twitter.com/xXRrbm67cb
— Houston Astros (@astros) May 29, 2019
A former Johnny Bench Award winner (now called the Buster Posey Award), Stubbs played at USC from 2012-15, racking up a laundry list of awards as one of the top catchers to ever come out of Troy. At USC he was named an ABCA/Rawlings First Team All-American, Baseball America First Team All-American, Gold Glove honoree, Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, First Team All-Pac-12, Pac-12 All-Defensive Team and ABCA/Rawlings First Team All-West Region.
Stubbs was drafted in the eighth round of the 2015 MLB draft by the Astros, and has since steadily progressed through their system. He was the 12th-ranked prospect in the team's farm system prior to his call-up on Sunday. This season at triple-A Round Rock Express, Stubbs owns a .250/.364/.440 slash, with four homers, four doubles and seven RBI in 28 games. Known especially for his defensive work behind the plate, Stubbs has thrown out 44 percent of base stealers in his four years as a pro.
The left-handed hitting catcher had a breakout year for USC prior to getting drafted, helping to lead the Trojans to their first NCAA Regional appearance in 10 years. He finished the year leading the Pac-12 by throwing out 52.8 percent of would-be base stealers (28-of-53). The senior only had three errors in 468 chances all season, while tallying 68 assists. He picked off six runners and was only credited with four passed balls. Offensively, Stubbs was second on the team with a .346 batting average. He drove in 25 runs as the team's No. 2 hitter in the lineup and started 59 of the Trojans' 60 games on the year. The speedy catcher also led the team with 20 stolen bases.
USC's 114 big leaguers are the most of any collegiate program.
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