2020 Auburn Baseball, Omaha Stays in Sight

The future of Auburn baseball looks promising as two of Auburn baseball’s starters turn down major league deals to return for the 2020 season and there is no doubt that Omaha is in their sights.

Auburn baseball’s season ended in Omaha last week after a heartbreaking late 9th inning loss to Mississippi State sent them to an elimination face-off against Louisville where the Tigers lost 5-3. The look of disappointment and anguish in the Tigers’ faces were apparent with many players voicing their motivation in the words “we will be back” on Twitter after the game.

One of the biggest contributors of stability to the bullpen, LHP Elliot Anderson, will be forgoing his senior season to play for the Kansas City Royals organization. short stop Will Holland will be leaving as well to play for the Minnesota Twins organization. Their contributions to the Auburn program did not go unnoticed and we wish them the best in their major league careers.

Auburn signee Gunnar Henderson has decided to forgo his Auburn career and play for the Baltimore Orioles organization. The short stop was voted as the 2019 Mr. Baseball for the state of Alabama and was the first pick in the second round of the MLB draft.

There is no word yet on the future of upcoming junior Davis Daniel. Daniel threw just two innings in Auburn’s season opener before going down with an injury that would sit him out for the season eventually leading to Tommy John surgery. Daniel was taken by the Los Angeles Angels in the seventh round of the MLB draft. Daniel is an upcoming senior.

Four players have emerged in the transfer portal as of noon today: Jarrett Eaton, Everett Lau, Troy Bearden, and Kyle Gray. Of the players in the transfer portal, Kyle Gray has had the most significant impact on this team. Gray showed shades of promise after showing composure in the season opener after Daniel went down with forearm tightness, but struggled to maintain composure at the end of March through early May and as a result saw less of the mound.

The biggest news regarding Auburn’s 2019-2020 season came this morning when a pair of beloved Tigers announced that they would forgo the draft and return to Auburn to take another shot at Omaha.

“JE VAIS ETRE DE RETOUR!” which in French means “I WILL BE BACK!” Third baseman Edouard Julien made his heartfelt announcement to return early this morning receiving loads of love in support in response. One of Auburn’s most skilled hitters, Julien stunned in his Omaha debut with this home run that put Auburn up 2-0 against Mississippi State. They don’t call him the Canadian Crusher for nothing. Joulien was drafted in the 18th round by the Minnesota Twins.

Another star returning to the plains for the 2020 season is left-handed pitcher Jack Owen. Owen suffered a majority of the season with shoulder soreness but pitched masterfully in the offseason. Owen has matured so much in the last year. In the 2017-2018 season he pitched 34.2 innings and had an ERA of 5.97. This last year he pitched 68.2 innings and had an ERA of 2.75. Owen is a pitcher with tremendous work ethic and reliability. His return is one to be celebrated as he will continue to provide great stability within the bullpen. Owen was drafted in the 21st round by the Saint Louis Cardinals.

Like every team in college athletics Auburn baseball’s roster will shuffle around next year, but with leadership in Butch Thompson and motivation for Omaha in their sights this team is already showing signs of great promise for the 2020 season. This team isn’t going down quietly and just like Auburn basketball they too have “unfinished business.”