California Professional Athletes

Dylan Beavers Catches Fire in Baltimore

Dylan Beavers gave Cal fans plenty to cheer about this week, going deep in three straight games (Aug. 19–21) for the Baltimore Orioles and positioning himself as one of the hotter bats in the American League East down the stretch.

The surge started Wednesday, Aug. 19, against the Yankees — Beavers went 1-for-4 with a home run, an RBI, a run scored, and a walk, nudging his average to .238. He followed it up Thursday with an identical line: 1-for-4, solo shot, RBI, run scored. By the time Friday rolled around, the Rays were the victims — Beavers again went 1-for-4 with a homer and an RBI, lifting his average to .241. On Saturday, Aug. 22, he added a hit and another RBI against Tampa Bay as the Orioles completed a 5-3 win, with Beavers contributing to a well-rounded offensive effort that also featured a Pete Alonso two-run blast and six strikeouts over seven innings from Trevor Rogers.

Over the four-game stretch from Aug. 19–22, Beavers posted four consecutive games with at least one hit, drove in four runs, and raised his season average from .237 to .244. For a player who entered the week in a quiet stretch, the timing — with Baltimore fighting for positioning in a competitive AL East — couldn't be better.

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Vaughn Chips In for Brewers Upset

In the National League, Cal alum Andrew Vaughn contributed an RBI in Milwaukee's eye-catching 6-2 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Jake Bauers drove in two runs to lead the charge, and a pair of Tommy Edman errors helped the Brewers manufacture three runs in what amounted to a statement win over one of the NL's best teams. Vaughn's role was supporting rather than starring, but any contribution against a Dodgers pitching staff that has dominated most opponents this season is worth noting.

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Semien Stays Steady in New York

Marcus Semien has been quietly productive for the Mets across the week's slate. The veteran second baseman went 1-for-4 Wednesday, then picked up two-hit games in back-to-back appearances Friday and Saturday against the White Sox, each time driving in a run. His season average sits at .215 — not a vintage Semien campaign — but he's showing signs of finding a rhythm at the plate in August. Two multi-hit games in three days from a veteran middle-of-the-order presence is exactly what a contending Mets club needs heading into the final weeks of the regular season.

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Around the Alumni

Lucas Erceg had a rough outing Monday for the Royals against the Athletics, allowing an earned run and watching his ERA tick up to 6.23. The right-hander out of Berkeley hasn't been able to find consistency in Kansas City and now faces a critical stretch to prove his roster value heading into September.

The rest of Cal's wide MLB alumni footprint — including Darren Baker, Mark Canha, and Daulton Jefferies — was quiet in the stat lines this week, but the Beavers power surge alone gives Golden Bears fans something to track as the playoff picture sharpens.

Semien Provides the Spark

Marcus Semien's season has been a quiet one — a .213 average entering the week is not what the Mets envisioned when they signed the Cal product — but the veteran second baseman has a knack for arriving when it matters. On Friday, Aug. 7 against the Pirates, Semien crushed a three-run homer that served as the decisive blow in a 6-4 New York win, pushing the Mets to a season-high four-game winning streak.

It wasn't an isolated flash, either. A day earlier, on Thursday against the Guardians, Semien went 3-for-something with another home run, two RBI, and two runs scored — his best multi-game stretch in months. Those back-to-back performances lifted his average from .208 to .215, modest in isolation but meaningful in the context of a stretch run where the Mets are monitoring whether the former All-Star's bat still has a place in their 2027 plans. According to Yahoo Sports, Semien is among the players whose performance down the stretch could directly influence next year's roster decisions in Queens.

The honest read: the sample is small, the average is still low, and one good week does not rewrite a difficult season. But for Mets fans watching closely, the power — and the timing — is still there.

Vaughn Produces in Milwaukee's Rotation

Andrew Vaughn quietly had a strong week in a Brewers uniform. The Cal first baseman drove in two runs with a single in one Pittsburgh victory and went deep in another, as Milwaukee swept a series against the Pirates. The Brewers won both games covered in the brief, 4-2 each time, and Vaughn contributed in the middle of the lineup on both occasions. For a player finding his footing in a new environment, consecutive productive outings against the same opponent is exactly the kind of momentum a hitter can build on.

Beavers Stays Steady in Baltimore

Dylan Beavers didn't generate headlines, but the Orioles outfielder showed up in the box score consistently throughout the week. He recorded hits in multiple games — including a 1-for-2 effort Saturday against the Rangers — and nudged his average up from .241 to .246 over the stretch. That quiet reliability has defined Beavers' season in Baltimore, and a week without a slump is a week worth noting.

Erceg Struggles Out of the Royals' Pen

Not every Cal alum had a week to celebrate. Lucas Erceg posted a rough pair of outings for Kansas City: a three-earned-run frame Sunday against the Rockies pushed his ERA to 6.37, and a follow-up appearance Saturday against the Cubs — one scoreless inning, but the damage from the week prior — left his ERA at 6.21. For a reliever still trying to establish himself in a major-league bullpen, consistency is the hardest thing to find, and Erceg hasn't found it yet.