Central Michigan Professional Athletes

Central Michigan Alumni in MLB | Sept. 13–19, 2026

Jakob Marsee Is Turning Heads in Miami

The Central Michigan product is making a late-season case that he belongs. Jakob Marsee went on a tear this week for the Marlins, collecting seven hits across the stretch — highlighted by a pair of home runs that have scouts and columnists paying attention.

Tuesday against Arizona was the signature moment: Marsee went 3-for-3 with a homer, one RBI, and two runs scored as Miami dropped a tight one 8-7. He followed that two days later with another multi-hit game — 2-for-4, including another home run — helping the Marlins edge the Diamondbacks 4-3. Per Sportsnet, Marsee scored twice and drove in two in that victory, complementing a four-hit night from Heriberto Hernandez.

Sports Illustrated took notice, running a feature this week under the headline "Jakob Marsee Is Finally Looking Like the Player Marlins Saw in 2025." The piece credited Marsee with a standout second half and raised the ceiling: SI suggested that pairing him with the right hitting coach could push his development even further. At .228 on the season after bumping his average several points over the past week, the numbers are trending the right direction at exactly the right time.

Marsee's emergence is notable context for a Marlins franchise that has leaned on rebuilding pieces. The CMU alum is no longer just filling a roster spot — he's producing at a clip that invites real projections for 2027.

Zach McKinstry Stays in Detroit's Lineup Mix

Across the state, Zach McKinstry continued to see regular action for the Tigers at second base, though his week was quieter at the plate. McKinstry went hitless in Detroit's Thursday loss to the White Sox but contributed two walks and two runs scored in Sunday's 8-1 blowout of Colorado. He added a walk and a run Monday against Toronto in a 6-5 Tigers win. McKinstry is batting .202 on the season — a workmanlike finish to a year in which his value has come more from his glove and on-base presence than his bat.

The Rest of the Chippewas

No other Central Michigan alumni logged stats during the Sept. 13–19 window, though the active-roster picture across MLB remains notable: Mario Camilletti (White Sox), Dietrich Enns (Orioles), Griffin Lockwood-Powell (Dodgers), Zavier Warren (Reds), and Grant Wolfram (Red Sox) are all affiliated with big-league organizations. None surfaced in game logs this week.

The headline, though, belongs to Marsee. Two home runs, multiple multi-hit games, and a Sports Illustrated feature in a single week — that's the kind of stretch that gets a young outfielder remembered when rosters are built in the offseason.

Central Michigan in MLB | Sept. 6–12, 2026

Central Michigan's most visible MLB alumni had contrasting weeks — one turning heads at the plate in Miami, the other navigating the front-office uncertainty that defines roster life in Detroit.

Jakob Marsee Is Making Noise in South Florida

The Marlins' center fielder put together one of the best stretches of his young season over a six-game run that should have CMU fans watching the box scores closely.

Marsee opened the week quietly with a 2-hit, 1-run effort against the Cubs on Sept. 6, then caught fire against the Mets. He went 2-for-whatever on Sept. 7, followed by a 3-hit, 1-RBI showing on Sept. 8. Then came Sept. 9 — the signature game of his week — when Marsee went 4-for-whatever with 3 RBIs and a run scored against New York, the kind of line that puts a name on the national radar.

He carried that momentum into the weekend against the Dodgers, appearing in both Friday and Saturday's games. By Saturday, his season average had climbed to .221 — modest on its face, but the trajectory matters. Marsee opened the week at .211, meaning this six-game surge pushed him ten points in the right direction during the final weeks of a lost Marlins season. For a young outfielder trying to cement his big-league standing heading into the offseason, that timing is everything.

The Marlins lost to the Dodgers on Saturday, 4–3, but Marsee drew a walk to go along with his contributions, continuing to show solid plate discipline throughout the stretch.

McKinstry's Detroit Future Is an Open Question

While Marsee was piling up hits, Zach McKinstry was dealing with something more complicated: roster decisions.

The Tigers made multiple announcements involving McKinstry this week, including a move tied to the club's series against the Twins and a subsequent decision pairing his roster status with that of Javier Baez. The specific nature of each move — activation, designation, option — was the subject of both Heavy Sports reports, reflecting just how much organizational shuffling McKinstry has weathered in Detroit.

On the field, the Chippewa-turned-Tiger contributed at a modest clip. He went 1-for-whatever with a run scored on both Sept. 7 and Sept. 8 against Minnesota, and the Tigers took two of three in that series to improve to 67–79. McKinstry drew a walk on Friday against Colorado and scored a run in Saturday's 11–7 Tigers win, holding his average at .210 on the season.

The numbers are what they are, but McKinstry's week underscores a broader truth for veterans in his position: late-season roster maneuvering is as much a part of the job as anything that happens between the lines.

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Two Chippewas, two very different stories — but both reminders that Central Michigan's MLB pipeline is real, and active, as the 2026 season winds toward October.

Central Michigan's Jakob Marsee had his loudest moment of the week when he launched a home run Wednesday as part of a three-homer barrage that carried the Miami Marlins past the Kansas City Royals, 9-6. Marsee joined Kyle Stowers and Javier Sanoja in going deep, with Heriberto Hernández adding two RBIs for good measure in a high-scoring affair. The blast — Marsee's lone hit of the game — came with a walk and two runs scored, bumping his average up a tick to .209 on the night.

The week as a whole showed flashes of the tools that made Marsee a Marlins prospect worth watching. He went 2-for-something on Monday against the Nationals, driving a run and scoring another on Sunday with a walk added in. By the time Miami shifted to a Cubs series over the weekend, Marsee was drawing walks but not finding hits, closing out the period at .208. Still, the Wednesday homer stands as a clear high point — a reminder that the CMU product can impact a box score in a hurry when he squares one up.

Chip Alum on the Mound — Sort Of

Elsewhere in the CMU alumni circuit, Zach McKinstry continues to occupy a unique roster niche with the Detroit Tigers. The former Chippewa logged a hit and a run scored Friday against the Cleveland Guardians as part of an otherwise quiet stretch at the plate, where he's hovering around .211–.214. The more eyebrow-raising line from the week: McKinstry threw a full inning on Monday in Detroit's game against the Twins, allowing two earned runs for an ERA of 18.00 in that role. Position players pitching remains one of baseball's most chaotic spectacles, and McKinstry delivered accordingly.

The rest of CMU's MLB contingent — Mario Camilletti (White Sox), Dietrich Enns (Orioles), Griffin Lockwood-Powell (Dodgers), Zavier Warren (Reds), and Grant Wolfram (Orioles) — didn't surface in notable action during the period.

For Central Michigan fans, the week belonged to Marsee. A home run in a three-man long-ball showcase against a legitimate big-league opponent is the kind of stat line that makes a brief alumni section. The Marlins are nowhere near a postseason race, but Marsee is clearly using the stretch run to make a case for his spot on the 2026 roster. Mount Pleasant should be watching.