Central Arizona College Professional Athletes

The Vitello Stamp of Approval

Central Arizona College's most interesting MLB story right now isn't a box score — it's a blueprint. Giants manager Tony Vitello has gone on record outlining a realistic future for CAC alum Matt Wilkinson in San Francisco's starting rotation, a public endorsement that carries real weight heading into the offseason.

Wilkinson's performance this week gave Vitello plenty to work with. On Sunday, Sept. 20, Wilkinson turned in his most impressive outing of the stretch, going five innings against the Dodgers with six strikeouts in a 1–3 Giants loss — the kind of quality start that keeps a manager talking about a pitcher's upside. He followed that up Saturday, Sept. 26, with three innings of one-run ball against Los Angeles again, punching out two more and sitting at a 3.58 ERA on the season. The Giants dropped that one 3–4, but Wilkinson's competitiveness against one of the NL's toughest lineups was not lost on anyone in the dugout.

CAC's Giants Contingent

What makes this story richer is the company Wilkinson keeps on the San Francisco roster. Fellow CAC product Joel Kuhnel has been logging important bullpen innings alongside him, and the two have now shared the mound in the same game multiple times this month alone.

Kuhnel worked a scoreless inning Saturday with a strikeout against the Dodgers and has been a steady, if not always clean, presence out of the pen. He also appeared Wednesday, Sept. 23, against Minnesota, and was touched for a run in two-thirds of an inning Sunday, Sept. 20 — both games involving opponents Wilkinson was also facing during this stretch. The convergence of two CAC alumni on the same MLB roster, facing the same opponents in the same games, is the kind of junior college pipeline story that rarely gets its due.

Brett Harris rounds out the CAC presence on the Giants' active roster this week, though Harris did not appear in the pitching lines during the period.

The Rest of the CAC Map

Beyond San Francisco, two other Vaqueros pitchers made noise across the league. Cam Booser continues to be one of Tampa Bay's most reliable bullpen arms, posting a 1.98 ERA through his most recent appearance. He tossed a clean inning with two strikeouts in a 12–1 blowout win over Philadelphia on Saturday and has worked his ERA down to that level through a full season of work — a quiet, impressive campaign.

In Detroit, Drew Sommers had a mixed week. He struck out two in two-thirds of an inning against Pittsburgh on Friday, Sept. 25, but had surrendered a pair of earned runs in a full inning Monday against Washington, leaving his ERA at 3.63. The Tigers won both games, so Sommers at least avoided the loss column.

The Bigger Picture

Central Arizona doesn't produce headlines the way Power Four programs do, but this week is a reminder of what the Coolidge, AZ program quietly builds: professional-caliber arms distributed across MLB rosters. With Vitello publicly mapping out a starting future for Wilkinson and two CAC alumni sharing a Giants bullpen, the Vaqueros have a legitimate case as one of junior college baseball's most productive pipelines — and the numbers to back it up.

Central Arizona College has a quiet pipeline running straight into the San Francisco Giants' bullpen — and this week, both ends of it made noise.

Tugboat Makes History

Matt "Tugboat" Wilkinson — a nickname that does a lot of heavy lifting for a middle reliever — hit a career milestone during the Giants' midweek series against the Cardinals. On Wednesday, September 9, Wilkinson tossed two innings and struck out two, lowering nothing dramatic on the ERA (it sits at 5.40), but the outing was notable enough to constitute the first time he'd achieved the career benchmark in question. The details of exactly what that first was weren't elaborated upon by the Giants, but Heavy Sports flagged it as meaningful — and for a fan base that's already adopted him by nickname, it didn't take much.

Wilkinson's longevity in the bigs will ultimately come down to whether the results back up the affection. A 5.40 ERA isn't a comfortable place to operate, but a two-inning, two-strikeout outing against a live Cardinals lineup is the kind of rep that keeps a roster spot warm.

Kuhnel Earns the Save — and a Piece of Franchise History

If Wilkinson was the feel-good story, Joel Kuhnel was the one putting up hardware. The right-hander, claimed off waivers from the Brewers just days before the week began, earned a save in his third appearance with San Francisco — becoming the 11th different reliever to record a save for the Giants this season. That ties a franchise record, per the San Francisco Chronicle's Susan Slusser (h/t MLB Trade Rumors).

Kuhnel's week wasn't without turbulence. He allowed a run in 1.1 innings against the Cardinals on Wednesday, and gave up another in a full inning against the Padres on Saturday in a 7-6 Giants loss. His ERA settled at 4.85. But the save — the one that matched the franchise mark — came against the Mets on Sunday, September 6, when he threw a clean inning to close out the game.

Three appearances, one save, one franchise record footnote. Not a bad first week in a new uniform.

The Bigger Picture

The fact that 11 relievers have now saved games for San Francisco this season says something about the Giants' roster construction — whether by design or necessity, they've built (or assembled) a bullpen by committee. That Kuhnel walked into that situation via waiver wire and immediately contributed to a record-tying moment is either a testament to the depth of available arms or a reminder that the closer's role in San Francisco has been anything but settled.

For Central Arizona College, it's a straightforward week to celebrate: two Vaqueros alumni, same bullpen, same franchise record, same city. The Coolidge, Arizona junior college doesn't always make headlines in professional baseball — but this week, it had two names in the San Francisco Chronicle and on the scoreboard.

When the San Francisco Giants claimed right-hander Joel Kuhnel off waivers from the Milwaukee Brewers this week, they didn't just add a bullpen arm — they created a Central Arizona College reunion at Oracle Park. Kuhnel joins fellow Vaqueros alum Matt Wilkinson on the Giants' roster, giving the small-college program in Coolidge, Arizona a pair of representatives on the same MLB club during the final weeks of the season.

The Kuhnel Move

The Brewers designated Kuhnel for assignment after reinstating him from the 15-day injured list, ending a brief Milwaukee stint that saw the 31-year-old righty make ten appearances and allow seven earned runs across 9 innings after being acquired from the Athletics in a cash deal in June. San Francisco pounced on the waiver claim, with reports noting the move looks as much like a long-term investment as a short-term pickup. To fit Kuhnel on their full 40-man roster, the Giants were expected to make a corresponding move, with transferring Marcelo Mayer to the 60-day IL among the options floated.

Kuhnel wasted little time making his Giants debut count — or at least showing up. He appeared Saturday against the Mets, firing 0.1 innings and striking out one batter. His ERA sits at 4.79 on the season.

Wilkinson Stumbles vs. Mets

Wilkinson's week was rougher. The right-hander took the ball Friday against New York and was tagged for four earned runs over three innings, bumping his ERA to 6.14. It wasn't the outing the Giants needed from a depth piece during a stretch-run series, but the workload — three full innings — suggests San Francisco still sees him as a reliable bulk option when the situation calls for it.

Sommers Shines in Detroit

Across the league, Drew Sommers continued his breakout season in Detroit. The big lefty has quietly become one of the Tigers' most trusted high-leverage arms in a bullpen that hasn't had much else to brag about. Sommers worked a clean inning against the Guardians on Friday, striking out one, though he ran into trouble Wednesday against Minnesota — allowing three earned runs in just a third of an inning to nudge his ERA from 3.99 to 4.15. Still, Yahoo Sports flagged his emergence as the one genuine bright spot in Detroit's relief corps this season.

Booser Stays Steady in Tampa

Cam Booser kept doing what he's done all year for Tampa Bay: not much noise, steady results. The Rays lefty worked 0.2 innings Saturday against Texas, part of a 7-6 game, and owns an ERA of 2.38 on the season. He's appeared multiple times during this stretch — including a clean inning against San Diego on August 30 — and has been a reliable low-leverage option for a Tampa squad managing through a tough campaign.

Four Central Arizona alums on active MLB rosters in the same week is a notable data point for a program that doesn't always get its due. The Kuhnel-Wilkinson pairing in San Francisco is the headline, but the broader picture is a Vaqueros pipeline that's quietly placing arms across the league.