Auburn Professional Athletes

Casey Mize's first month in San Diego has been nothing if not eventful — and not always in the way the Padres had in mind when they acquired the Auburn product at the trade deadline.

On Saturday, Aug. 23, Mize exited early against the Twins after slipping down the dugout steps and spraining his ankle — a freak, non-pitching injury that briefly threatened to derail one of the Padres' most significant deadline additions. He allowed four earned runs in just 2.2 innings that afternoon, the kind of outing San Diego would rather forget, and the ankle news amplified the concern. Imaging came back clean, however, and the club listed him as day-to-day.

That day-to-day tag lasted about as long as it needed to.

By Friday, Aug. 28, Mize was back on the mound against Tampa Bay — and this time he looked like the pitcher the Padres traded for. He went five full innings, surrendering just two earned runs and striking out one in a controlled, efficient outing that kept his ERA at a tidy 3.45. For a rotation that needed arms down the stretch, Mize's durability — literal and figurative — is exactly what the front office was buying.

Acquired from the Tigers, Mize was only making his fourth start for San Diego when the dugout-steps incident occurred. Context matters here: the Padres didn't give up assets at the deadline for a pitcher to get five weeks and a limp. They needed him for October baseball, and Mize's quick turnaround suggests he's locked in on that same goal.

The broader Auburn contingent in MLB had a quieter week. Of the two-dozen-plus Tigers alumni scattered across the league, none generated the kind of narrative arc Mize delivered. Mize remains the most prominent Auburn arm in the majors right now, and his performance Friday — pitching through what could have been a multi-week absence — only reinforces that status.

San Diego's playoff window is real, and Mize is now a meaningful piece of whether it opens or closes. One strange Saturday stumble, literally and figuratively, wasn't enough to keep him out. Auburn fans watching the NL West race have every reason to keep their eyes on the Padres rotation.

Two Auburn pitching alumni took the mound in the same MLB week — and got wildly different results.

Casey Mize delivered the better story. The right-hander turned in a quality start for the San Diego Padres on August 16, going six innings against the Cleveland Guardians while striking out three and maintaining a sharp 3.18 ERA. The Padres won the series, and Mize's outing was a centerpiece of that run. Nearing 30 and fully removed from the Tommy John surgery that derailed his Detroit career, Mize continues to look like a legitimate mid-rotation arm in San Diego — the kind of quietly steady presence a contender can depend on down the stretch.

Then there was Mason Barnett.

The Athletics reliever had a rough showing on August 17 against the Kansas City Royals, surrendering six earned runs in just 2.2 innings of work. The outing ballooned his ERA to 7.08 — a number that tells a difficult story for the 2023 first-round pick still trying to find his footing at the big-league level. Barnett has the pedigree — he was one of Auburn's most decorated pitchers before Oakland selected him in the first round — but translating that ceiling into major league consistency has proven to be the challenge.

The contrast between the two Tigers is instructive. Mize has lived through the hard part already — injuries, rebuilding, reinvention — and is now reaping the rewards of persistence. Barnett is still in the thick of that development arc, working through the lumps that come with being a young power arm on a rebuilding club.

No other Auburn alumni made headlines this week across the league, though the Tigers' footprint in MLB remains broad, with former players scattered across more than a dozen rosters from the Mets to the Mariners to the Rockies.

For Auburn fans tracking the pipeline, this week was a reminder that the program punches well above its weight in pitching development — even when the individual outcomes diverge sharply. Mize is proving the ceiling is real. Barnett is showing the path there isn't always straight.

Casey Mize gave San Diego exactly what it needed.

The Auburn right-hander turned in a 6-inning, 6-strikeout performance against the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday, allowing just two earned runs in a 3-2 Padres win. It was the kind of outing that doesn't just win a ballgame — it answers a question. Padres fans had been openly skeptical of the club's trade deadline acquisitions, with a recent fan survey indicating the new arrivals hadn't yet earned much goodwill. Mize's start landed as a direct rebuttal.

His ERA now sits at 3.38, a number that speaks for itself. The Brewers entered the game at 74-44, one of the hottest records in baseball, making the performance all the more credible. Mize didn't just survive a tough lineup — he controlled it.

The start came against Logan Henderson and a Milwaukee squad in the middle of a West Coast road trip, which meant the Padres needed a pitcher who could absorb innings and keep the bullpen fresh. Mize delivered on both counts.

Elsewhere in the Auburn Alumni Report

Not every former Tiger had a week to celebrate. Mason Barnett, pitching for the Oakland Athletics, lasted just 4.0 innings in a Wednesday outing against Tampa Bay, surrendering 5 earned runs in a lopsided 12-4 loss. His ERA climbed to 6.16, and Oakland's season context — deep in a rebuilding cycle — offers little cushion for rough outings. Barnett will need to stabilize quickly to hold his rotation spot.

In Colorado, Edouard Julien's tenure with the Rockies hit an abrupt snag. The second baseman was designated for assignment as the club recalled outfielder Zac Veen, a move that reflects both Colorado's offensive struggles and a reshuffling of roster priorities. Julien's time in the organization may not be over, but the DFA designation puts his immediate future in limbo.

The Bigger Picture

The week illustrates the wide range of fortunes that can hit Auburn's MLB contingent in a single seven-day stretch. Mize — whose career has been defined by patience after Tommy John surgery derailed his early promise with Detroit — now looks like a genuine rotation piece for a Padres team still clinging to postseason relevance at 62-57. His ability to deliver in a high-stakes, low-margin win over a division-leading opponent is the kind of evidence that changes a fan base's mood.

The rest of Auburn's sprawling MLB roster — which includes names scattered from the Twins to the White Sox to the Cubs — had a quieter week by comparison. But with Mize now firmly in the spotlight in San Diego, Auburn fans have a compelling reason to tune into the Padres stretch run.

Casey Mize arrived in San Diego as the centerpiece of a playoff push. His first start there looked more like a fire sale.

The former Auburn ace and No. 1 overall pick surrendered a career-high 8 earned runs in just 3.1 innings on August 6, as the Padres fell to the Diamondbacks. Mize — who came over from Detroit in a deadline deal that confirmed the Tigers' full-blown rebuild — called himself "frustrated and embarrassed" after the outing, a performance that was worse than anything he produced in six-plus seasons wearing the Old English D.

The trade itself earned San Diego high marks. The Padres had already nabbed Robbie Ray earlier on deadline day before beating the clock to land Mize, who was enjoying a career-best season in Detroit and was the Tigers' second-best starter behind Tarik Skubal. CBS Sports handed the Padres an A for their rotation overhaul, and some analysts argued Mize could ultimately have a bigger playoff-race impact than Skubal — who was dealt to the Dodgers — given San Diego's immediate wild-card needs. Manager Craig Stammen called the influx of pitching reinforcements "quality" as the new-look rotation took shape.

Then Mize took the mound and reality hit.

The debut wasn't just bad — it was historically bad for him personally. He struck out just one batter and couldn't escape the fourth inning. The silver lining, if there is one: Mize told reporters his next move was lunch with Skubal, his former Tigers teammate and close friend. The two were both drafted by Detroit in 2018 and are now NL West rivals. Mize also reflected on the Tigers' decision to trade him, acknowledging the bittersweet nature of leaving the only MLB organization he'd known.

The Padres are betting that one catastrophic start is noise, not signal. They'll need to be right.

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Elsewhere in the Tiger Family

Mason Barnett had a rocky week of his own. The Auburn righty, now with the Athletics, allowed 5 earned runs over 4.1 innings against the Reds on August 6, leaving his ERA at 5.56. Barnett logged 7 strikeouts, showing the upside that got him to the bigs, but the run prevention continues to be an issue.

Edouard Julien has been grinding through a tough stretch with the Rockies. The second baseman posted a .208 average through the week's final game on August 8, though he drew three walks in a single game against the Royals on August 2 — a reminder that his plate discipline remains a weapon even when the hits aren't falling.

It was a week that captured Auburn's MLB presence in miniature: high stakes, mixed results, and plenty of reasons to keep watching.