Auburn baseball: Former Tigers star impresses in MLB debut

Former Auburn baseball star and No. 1 overall draft pick Casey Mize’s MLB career is off to a hot start

It wasn’t long into Casey Mize’s collegiate career that pretty much everyone realized he was something special. By the end of his sophomore year, Mize had already garnered All-American honors and by the end of his Auburn career, the Arkansas native was seen as one of the best pitchers in program history.

As a senior in 2018, Mize helped Auburn record their first 40-win season since 2018 while also leading the Tigers to an appearance in the Super Regionals.

In his three-year career at Auburn, Mize posted a 20-13 record, a 2.96 ERA, pitched five complete games and struck out an incredible 324 batters. That success, coupled with his stellar arm and arsenal of different pitches made Mize a pretty obvious No. 1 overall pick for the Detroit Tigers in 2018. That selection made Mize the first No. 1 pick in Auburn baseball history and only the fifth in the history of the SEC.

Mize’s professional baseball career has started strong as after just over one season with the Single-A Lakeland Flying Tigers and the Double-A Erie Seawolves, the former Auburn standout was called up to Detroit’s active roster.

Mize made his MLB debut on Wednesday night against the Chicago White Sox. Immediately, Mize showed why he is considered one of the best prospects in all of baseball.

https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1296241456257150978

In only 4.1 innings pitched, Mize was able to show off his strong arm and elite-level control over his pitches. Although he ended up allowing three runs, the rookie struck out seven batters.

However, perhaps most impressive was according to Austin Drake of Fox Sports Detroit, Mize became the first player in team history to record seven or more strikeouts and zero walks in his MLB debut.

Unfortunately, the Tigers were unable to come away victorious and Mize was stuck with a no-decision. With Detroit now falling to 9-13 on the year, they probably need all the help they can get. Therefore, you can probably expect Mize to be a regular fixture in the Tigers’ rotation throughout the season.

After his debut, Mize posted the following message on his Twitter:

Mize also got a shoutout from Auburn football and baseball legend Bo Jackson after he was called up to the big leagues.

With Mize now officially an MLB player, he joins players like Miami Marlins first baseman Garrett Cooper, Atlanta Braves pitcher Grant Dayton and former AL MVP (now with the Minnesota Twins) Josh Donaldson as other former Tigers on MLB rosters.