USC Baseball Alum Blake Sabol Makes MLB Debut With San Francisco Giants
March 31, 2023 | Baseball
NEW YORK – USC baseball alum Blake Sabol made his Major League debut with the San Francisco Giants on Thursday in New York, becoming the 119th Trojan to play in the MLB.
Sabol, who was named to the Giants active roster after he was claimed in the Rule 5 Draft during the offseason and then traded to San Francisco, got the start in left field and worked a walk in three plate appearances against the Yankees on opening day.
The Trojan alum was a selected in the seventh round of the 2019 MLB Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates and spent three years in the team's farm system, reaching triple-A last season. The Cincinnati Reds selected Sabol in the Rule 5 Draft this past December and then traded him to the Giants. Across all levels, Sabol posted a minor league slash line of .282/.372/.478 with 34 homers and 142 RBI. Sabol is listed as a catcher on the Giants roster but has also seen plenty of time in the outfield throughout his career.
Sabol spent three seasons at USC before being drafted (2017-19), posting a career average of .269 with nine homers and 62 RBI. He started all 55 games for USC during the 2019 season, leading the team with 62 hits, 29 walks and 37 runs scored. Sabol also earned All-Pac-12 honorable mention in 2018.
He is one of five Trojans to appear on an MLB opening days roster this season and extends USC's lead in all-time major-leaguers. USC has produced 119 big leaguers over the years — more than any other NCAA program in the nation. Trojan alums boast 67 All-Star appearances, 29 World Series appearances, nine Cy Young awards, three Hall of Fame inductions, three Rookie of the Year Awards, one American League MVP and one World Series MVP.
Sabol, who was named to the Giants active roster after he was claimed in the Rule 5 Draft during the offseason and then traded to San Francisco, got the start in left field and worked a walk in three plate appearances against the Yankees on opening day.
The Trojan alum was a selected in the seventh round of the 2019 MLB Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates and spent three years in the team's farm system, reaching triple-A last season. The Cincinnati Reds selected Sabol in the Rule 5 Draft this past December and then traded him to the Giants. Across all levels, Sabol posted a minor league slash line of .282/.372/.478 with 34 homers and 142 RBI. Sabol is listed as a catcher on the Giants roster but has also seen plenty of time in the outfield throughout his career.
Sabol spent three seasons at USC before being drafted (2017-19), posting a career average of .269 with nine homers and 62 RBI. He started all 55 games for USC during the 2019 season, leading the team with 62 hits, 29 walks and 37 runs scored. Sabol also earned All-Pac-12 honorable mention in 2018.
He is one of five Trojans to appear on an MLB opening days roster this season and extends USC's lead in all-time major-leaguers. USC has produced 119 big leaguers over the years — more than any other NCAA program in the nation. Trojan alums boast 67 All-Star appearances, 29 World Series appearances, nine Cy Young awards, three Hall of Fame inductions, three Rookie of the Year Awards, one American League MVP and one World Series MVP.
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