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Naturalhoosier

Aaron Slegers - LA Angels

By Naturalhoosier, in IUHoosier Baseballers in the Pros

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Aaron    4,292

Aaron
Posted

No Slegers in Indy this week:(.

He's pitching tomorrow on Sunday which means he is the one guy in their rotation that will not get used during 4 game series in Indy Mon-Thur. I don't blame Rochester at all for how they arranged their rotation but it's very unfortunate when a guy's team comes to his nearby hometown or alma mater and he is not scheduled to pitch in the series.  

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Class of '66 Old Fart    84,744

Class of '66 Old Fart
Posted

Andy Brown - Indpls. Star

On doorstep of majors, former IU pitcher Aaron Slegers still a Hoosier at heart

NDIANAPOLIS – Minnesota Twins prospect Aaron Slegers is not from Indiana, and he only played one full season for Indiana University's baseball team in 2013. But for all intents and purposes, his return to Indiana this week for the Rochester Red Wings' four-game series against the Indianapolis Indians is a homecoming. 

With his team in town through Thursday, Slegers made a beeline down Ind. 37 to his adopted home in Bloomington, where he spent the night Monday. Then, he ate at local favorite Uptown Café on Tuesday morning and walked around campus. The place just means that much to him. 

He can explain why, but you'll have to excuse him for getting chills.

"(Indiana) is such a part of me now," he said. "It's just such a comfortable place for me, the people there are just such a source of comfort and lifelong friends ... I can't say enough what the community at IU, the athletic department, my time there ... I can't say enough for what that's meant to me." 

IU's bats got a lot of the attention, but Aaron Slegers

IU's bats got a lot of the attention, but Aaron Slegers was equally as important in the Hoosiers' run to the College World Series. (Photo: Phil Sears, AP)

 

To understand how a guy born and raised in Scottsdale, Ariz., can identify so strongly as a Hoosier, you have to know Slegers' unique backstory. The 6-10 right-hander didn't pitch his senior year of high school after a 7-inch growth spurt caused unbearable pain in his forearm. Then he walked on at IU after then-coach Tracy Smith watched a DVD of his highlights and liked what he saw. 

Wrist and leg injuries derailed his first two seasons in Bloomington, but in his redshirt sophomore year, he was a dominant weekend starter for a team that reached the College World Series in Omaha, Neb. After posting a 2.04 ERA and allowing just one homer in 18 starts, the Twins picked him in the fifth round of the 2013 MLB draft. 

"I owe a lot to that coaching staff for the opportunity they gave me as a walk-on," Slegers said. "Not many people at that time in my life and my baseball career were willing to give me a chance. And they certainly did, and I'll always be grateful for that."

At 6-10, Aaron Slegers can be an imposing figure on

At 6-10, Aaron Slegers can be an imposing figure on the mound. (Photo: Ricardo Rolon / The News-Press)

His path has been anything but ordinary. But, now in his fourth season in the minors, Slegers is one step shy of the big leagues with the Triple-A Red Wings. 

He's 11-4 this season with a 3.35 ERA in 18 starts and at 24, he's entering a time when many at his skill level are making their debuts or close to doing so. That's not to mention that he's won his last seven starts, and was just named the International League Pitcher of the Week. If and when that call-up happens, he will join a relatively sizable fraternity of former IU players who have made the majors recently, including Kyle Schwarber, Sam Travis, Josh Phegley, Micah Johnson and Alex Dickerson. 

IU has undergone a bit of a baseball renaissance, with eight of its 31 all-time Major Leaguers breaking through in the past decade. There are also possibly more on the way — Slegers was quick to point out that his former teammates Ryan Halstead, Dustin DeMuth and Joey DeNato  all are coming up through the minors, too.

And you can be certain he'll be keeping close tabs on all of them.

"It's just fun to watch, and fun to root for those guys," Slegers said. "I have my teammates here, but those teammates I had at IU will always almost be like family. It was a pretty special bond we had there. We're all extremely close."

LIHoosier, ALASKA HOOSIER and HoosierAloha reacted to this

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Class of '66 Old Fart    84,744

Class of '66 Old Fart
Posted (edited)

Major league debut tonight as Slegers takes the mound for the Twins against the Cleveland Indians.

 

.@aslegers' start tonight will be the 1st MLB start by an @IndianaBase alumnus since Chris Peters started for @Montreal_Expos on 5/11/2001.

Edited by Class of '66 Old Fart
Added Add'l. Info
ccgeneral, Diadem, LIHoosier and 1 other reacted to this

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ccgeneral    38,084

ccgeneral
Posted

https://www.milb.com/red-wings/news/slegers-pitches-wings-to-third-straight-victory/c-272275666

Aaron Slegers faced one batter over the minimum in 6.0 innings and the Red Wings held off a 9th inning rally as Rochester beat the Gwinnett Stripers 4-2 Saturday night at Coolray Field. The Wings have now won three games in a row to begin this seven-game road trip.

Slegers (1-0) surrendered three hits and did not walk a batter while striking out five. 

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Class of '66 Old Fart    84,744

Class of '66 Old Fart
Posted

Adam Berry - Pirates beat reporter:  

In non-arb news, the Pirates claimed RHP Aaron Slegers off waivers from the Twins and DFA'd Dario Agrazal to make room on the 40-man roster.  Slegers, listed at 6-foot-10, made eight appearances for the Twins over the last two years. The 26-year-old had a 3.80 ERA in 15 starts for Triple-A Rochester last season.

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