UVA Baseball: Tracking how our alums are doing in MLB, the minors

The rosters for the 2026 MLB All-Star Game were announced on Saturday night, and UVA Baseball has one alum set to play in the game in Philadelphia on July 14 – Ernie Clement, who you might remember as the guy who delivered the game-winning hit that sent Virginia to the 2015 College World Series, the one that our guys won.

Clement, hitting .293 BA/.746 OPS with seven homers and 29 RBIs in 2026, will start the game at second base as the leading vote-getter in the American League.

Clement is one of the better examples of grinder – he was released twice, by Cleveland and Oakland, before finally catching on in Toronto, which signed him to a minor-league deal in 2023, his age-27 season, and called him up to the bigs after he hit .348/.944 with 11 homers in 72 games at Triple-A Buffalo.

Clement became a full-time guy in 2024, playing in 139 games, and he had a career year in 2025, hitting .277/.711 with nine homers and 50 RBIs in 157 games.

Where he earned the undying love of Canadian baseball fans was in the 2025 playoffs, in which he set a single-postseason record with 30 hits, set a single-postseason record with 10 multi-hit games, and hit .387 (12-for-31) in the World Series, with three hits in Game 7.

Clement, who eclipsed 3.2 million votes in the first phase of 2026 All-Star voting, will get the start at second base for the AL.

‘Hoos in MLB

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• 2B/3B/SS Ernie Clement (Toronto Blue Jays, UVA: 2015-2017): Another solid season (7 HRs, 29 RBIs, .293 BA/.746 OPS).
• 3B/CF/2B Zack Gelof (Athletics, UVA: 2019-2021): 11 HRs, 29 RBIs, .283 BA/.839 OPS.
• LHP Connelly Early (Boston Red Sox, UVA: 2023): 7-5, 3.44 ERA/1.26 WHIP in 17 starts.
• LHP Andrew Abbott (Cincinnati Reds, UVA: 2018-2021): 5-4, 3.88 ERA/1.44 WHIP in 18 starts.
• C Kyle Teel (Chicago White Sox, UVA: 2021-2023): In 10 games since returning from a preseason injury, Teel is hitting .222 BA/.650 OPS with a homer and eight RBIs in 41 PAs.
• LHP Bennett Sousa (Houston Astros, UVA: 2015-2018): 8.10 ERA in 3.1 IP; in 2025, he was 5-1 with a 2.84 ERA/1.03 WHIP in 50.2 IP.
• OF/1B Pavin Smith (Arizona Diamondbacks, UVA: 2015-217): 1 HR, 4 RBIs, .152 BA/.472 OPS in 77 PAs.
• RHP Mike Vasil (Chicago White Sox, UVA: 2019-2021): 5-3, 2.50 ERA/1.25 WHIP in 101.0 IP in 2025; out for the season after Tommy John surgery.

Triple-A

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• C Matt Thaiss (Los Angeles Angels system, UVA: 2014-2016): 3 HRs, 24 RBIs, .201 BA/.626 OPS. MLB career: 23 HRs, 95 RBIs, .210 BA/.652 OPS in 305 career games.
• RHP Josh Sborz (Texas Rangers system, UVA: 2013-2015): Trying to work his way back into the bigs. Current numbers: 0-1, 6.66 ERA, 1.56 WHIP in 22 appearances. MLB career: 13-13, 4.96 ERA/1.33 WHIP in 154 appearances.
• RHP Zach Messinger (New York Yankees system, UVA: 2019-2021): 5-1, 2.86 ERA, 1.14 WHIP in 22 appearances.
• SS/2B/3B Nic Kent (Colorado Rockies system, UVA: 2019-2021): 10 HRs, 37 RBIs, .272 BA/.890 OPS.
• OF Ethan O’Donnell (Miami Marlins system, UVA: 2023): 3 HRs, 23 RBIs, .230 BA/.659 OPS.
• RHP Griff McGarry (Los Angeles Dodgers system, UVA: 2018-2021): 2-0, 6.26 ERA/2.17 WHIP in 26 appearances.

Double-A

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• 3B/2B/1B Jake Gelof (Los Angeles Dodgers system, UVA: 2021-2023): 16 HRs, 45 RBIs, .236 BA/.849 OPS.
• OF Chris Newell (Los Angeles Dodgers system, UVA: 2020-2022): 15 HRs, 49 RBIs, .206 BA/.720 OPS.
• LHP Brandon Neeck (Pittsburgh Pirates system, UVA: 2020-2022): 1.72 ERA/1.53 WHIP in 11 appearances in Double-A; pitched in 13 games in Triple-A before being sent down, with a 2-1 record, 3.31 ERA/1.71 WHIP.
• 3B/1B Devin Ortiz (Chicago Cubs system, UVA: 2018-2022): 3 HRs, 15 RBIs, .120 BA/.451 OPS.
• RHP Kyle Whitten (Tampa Bay Rays system, UVA: 2018-2021): 2-0, 9.64 ERA/2.68 WHIP in eight appearances.

High-A

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• 3B/SS/2B Luke Hanson (Texas Rangers system, UVA: 2023-2025): 11 HRs, 45 RBIs, .248 BA/.747 OPS.
• 2B/SS/3B Henry Godbout (Boston Red Sox system, UVA: 2023-2025): 7 HRs, 14 RBIs, .277 BA/.902 OPS.
• LF/1B/DH Anthony Stephan (Cincinnati Reds system, UVA: 2022-2024): 0 HR, 3 RBIs, .316 BA/.879 OPS in 24 PAs.
• LHP Nate Savino (Arizona Diamondbacks system, UVA: 2020-2022): 4-2, 7.31 ERA/1.69 WHIP in 16 appearances.