2024 Major League Report, Part I

The Valley League exists, obviously, to give college players a place to gain more experience. Pitchers can experiment with new pitches or windups, and hitters can get two months of work with wood- for some, it’s their first experience with a non-metal bat.

But the tagline for the league is “Gateway to the Majors,” which also indicates a deeper goal- preparing players for pro ball and the potential to reach the major leagues.

To put some perspective on all this, the Valley League has sent 265 players to the major leagues in its history. Six of those made their debut in 2024, a year that saw 26 alumni make at least one appearance at the game’s highest level. Again, for some perspective, six debuts is tied for the second most since 2019, and 26 total is the most since the same amount played in the majors in 2019 (30 played in the majors in 2018).

What I’d like to do in this space is take a individual look, in two parts, at the alumni who played in the major leagues this year. So while the VBL is not churning out major leaguers like the Cape Cod League, it still is living up to that tagline!

We’ll start with a list of the debuts, and then hit each individual player, in alphabetical order, with a couple sentences…

Debuts in 2024

The six seven players who debuted in ’24- with their debut date and VBL team and year.

Wyatt Langford	March 28	Charlottesville 2021
Kyle McCann	March 30	Harrisonburg 2019
Connor Norby	June 3	Waynesboro 2019
Connor Gillispie	August 4	Charlottesville 2017
Rhett Lowder	August 30	Strasburg 2021
Bryce Teodosio	September 7	Waynesboro 2018

***Quick addition here- Carlos Rodriguez, Charlottesville 2021, also made his MLB debut in 2024 (on June 30)***

Major Leaguers, A-H

• Austin Adams (Staunton 2011), Oakland A’s: Adams signed with the New York Mets last November, but did not make the team in Spring Training, instead getting snapped up by Oakland in late March. (This caused a kerfuffle in August when Adams inherited a bases-loaded, no out situation against the Mets, got out of it, and had a, ahem, “reaction” coming off the mound.) Anyway, the 33-year old righty was pretty solid as a middle inning reliever for the soon-to-be Sacramento A’s. Overall, he went 1-2, 3.92 in 41 1/3 innings, with 23 walks, 53 K’s, and a 1.476 WHIP.
• Justin Anderson (Front Royal 2013), Chicago White Sox: Anderson made his long-awaited return to the majors in 2024. Recovering from his 2020 Tommy John surgery, Anderson pitched briefly in the minors with Texas in ’21 and ’22, and Kansas City in ’23. He signed with Chicago in November, and after putting up a 4/25 BB/K ratio in 18 Triple-A innings, the White Sox recalled him to the majors. Anderson then went 1-2, 4.39 in 53 1/3 innings, with one save, 32 walks and 57 K’s.
• Graham Ashcraft (Waynesboro 2018), Cincinnati Reds: After making 26 starts for the Reds in 2023, Ashcraft has been a bit more mercurial in 2024, spending three weeks in Triple-A Louisville in June, getting recalled for a couple weeks, and then sent down again. About the same time of the second demotion, Ashcraft reported some elbow stiffness, and was placed on the major league IL for the remainder of the year. In his 15 starts for the Reds in 2024, Ashcraft went 5-5, 5.24, with 27 walks and 57 K’s in 77 1/3 innings.
• Jonathan Bowlan (New Market 2016), Kansas City Royals: Another pitcher recovering from a TJ surgery (in 2021), Bowlan pitched in just one game for the major league club, allowing six hits, three walks and four earned runs in his start that lasted 2 2/3 innings. In Triple-A, he was an excellent 12-4, 4.67 in 104 innings, allowing 106 hits and 34 walks, while striking out 98.
• Dominic Canzone (Front Royal 2017), Seattle Mariners: Canzone was injured twice this season, once with a right adductor strain, and once with a sprained AC joint. Despite missing all that time, he still accumulated 188 plate appearances for the Mariners, hitting .196/.271/.381, with seven doubles and eight home runs. He also played in 29 games for Triple-A Tacoma, where he hit .287/.354/.513. He has consistently destroyed minor league pitching since being drafted in 2019.
• Chris Devenski (Woodstock 2011), Tampa Bay Rays: Devenski may be under the radar for many VBL fans- did you know that he was 4th in the Rookie of the Year voting in 2016 and an All-Star and World Series champion in 2017? Anyway, Devenski spent the first part of the season in the majors with the Rays, going 2-1, 6.75 in 26 2/3 innings. He was released on June 30, and signed with Seattle. The Mariners assigned him to Triple-A Tacoma, where he was excellent (2.35 ERA, 31 K’s in 23 innings), but he was not recalled to the majors. He is currently a free agent.
• Randy Dobnak (Front Royal 2015), Minnesota Twins: Dobnak made headlines in 2019, when he ripped through the Twins’ system, and then started a game in the Divisional Series against the Yankees (when he was very soon about to get married). Now five years later (!!), Dobnak spent almost all season in Triple-A St. Paul, where he went 12-7, 4.25 in 133 1/3 innings, with 63 walks and 134 K’s. He pitched in five games in the big leagues, all in relief, going 0-0, 5.59 in 9 2/3 innings.
• Brendan Donovan (New Market 2016), St. Louis Cardinals: Donovan played in 153 games for the Cardinals this season, accumulating 652 plate appearances. He slashed .278/.342/.417, with 65 runs scored, 34 doubles, three triples, 14 home runs, 73 RBIs, and an excellent 47/81 BB/K ratio. Not counting designated hitter, he played four different positions, too (left field, second base, third base, and right field). While we’re here, I’ll add that Donovan won a Gold Glove and finished third in the Rookie of the Year voting in 2022.
• Reed Garrett (New Market 2013), New York Mets: Garrett has carved out a major league career, it appears. Heading into 2024, he had appeared in 42 total major league games from 2019 to 2023. This summer, however, he appeared in 53 games, going 8-5, 3.77 with four saves. In 57 1/3 innings, he allowed 50 hits, 30 walks, and struck out a whopping 83 batters. His season isn’t over yet, of course, as the Mets are still alive in the playoffs.
• Connor Gillispie (Charlottesville 2017), Cleveland Indians: Scarfed from Baltimore in the 2023 rule 5 draft, Gillispie turned in an excellent 2024 season at Triple-A Columbus, and was called up for a handful of games in Cleveland in August. He finished eight innings over three games, allowing four hits, two runs, and five walks against eight strikeouts.
• Austin Gomber (Luray 2012), Colorado Rockies: It’s no easy task to pitch in Denver, but Gomber acquitted himself pretty well, going 5-12, 4.75 in 30 starts over 165 innings. He allowed 178 hits, only walked 38, and struck out 116 batters. (And his salary was $3.15 million, too.) Gomber isn’t the last Luray Wrangler left… but he’s one of only two remaining (the other will be in part 2).
• Romy Gonzalez (Staunton 2016), Boston Red Sox: Gonzalez changed the color of his socks this year, as the Red Sox selected him off waivers from the White Sox in late January. He was a true utility player for Boston, appearing at every position except catcher and pitcher over his 89 games played. He hit at just about league average (99 OPS+), slashing .266/.306/.417, with ten doubles, six home runs, 29 RBIs, and 11 stolen bases.
• Kevin Herget (Strasburg 2012), Milwaukee Brewers: Herget became the second Express player to make the major leagues in 2022, at age 31. He dominated Triple-A Nashville in 2024, allowing only 45 baserunners in 47 2/3 innings, along with 59 strikeouts. That earned him a brief call-up, when he appeared in seven games, going 0-0, 1.59, with one save, three walks, and nine strikeouts in 11 1/3 innings.

Thus concludes the first half of our list of 26 major league players!