Oregon State Professional Athletes

The Bazzana Breakout

When Travis Bazzana's post-All-Star slump started drawing raised eyebrows, the Cleveland Guardians' former No. 1 overall pick had a pointed response: home runs. Lots of them.

The Oregon State product authored two of the week's most electric performances for Cleveland, starting Tuesday, Sept. 15 against the White Sox. Bazzana went 2-for-4 with two home runs, two RBIs, and two runs scored in a tense 7-6 win — a milestone night that, per Heavy Sports, served as a definitive statement after weeks of outside doubt. It was the kind of performance that doesn't just win a game; it resets a narrative.

He wasn't done. On Friday, Sept. 18 against Oakland, Bazzana added another solo shot — his 15th of the season — going 1-for-4 with an RBI, a run, and a walk in a 5-3 Cleveland victory. José Ramírez collected his 1,000th career RBI in the same game, and Bazzana's homer helped Cleveland stay atop the AL Central. The Guardians, sitting atop the AL Central, are looking like exactly the kind of postseason-ready club their rookie second baseman has been describing publicly — and now backing up at the plate.

Kwan Turns Up the Heat

Steven Kwan has been the other engine quietly driving Cleveland's late charge. The veteran center fielder has been, per Sports Illustrated, "one of the main catalysts" of the Guardians' recent success — and the stats from this week bear that out.

Kwan contributed across multiple games: a hit and a run scored in the Tuesday White Sox win alongside Bazzana, a pair of walks in Friday's Oakland victory, and a standout Saturday against the A's (12-6) where he went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored, lifting his average to .277. His signature moment came in Sunday's series-capping 9-2 rout of the Minnesota Twins, where Kwan led an offense that scored in five different innings — a performance Sports Illustrated called central to keeping Cleveland's AL Central chase alive.

Kwan's heating up at exactly the right moment, and for a Guardians team trying to close out a division title, that timing is everything.

Around the Beaver Alumni Circuit

Beyond Cleveland, several other Oregon State alumni made noise this week in the junior circuit.

Wade Meckler delivered one of the week's signature individual moments in Anaheim. The Angels outfielder went 2-for-4 with an RBI on Friday and capped it with a walk-off RBI single in the 10th inning Thursday, Sept. 17, to lift Los Angeles past Minnesota 5-4. The hit followed a tying single from Mike Trout, but it was Meckler's knock that ended it. He's hitting .295 on the season.

Matthew Boyd, now with the Cubs, toed the rubber Saturday against Cincinnati and turned in a workmanlike outing: five innings, four strikeouts, one earned run (ERA: 4.06). The Cubs won 5-2, though Boyd's outing earlier in the week against the Pirates ended in a hard-luck 4-3 loss — he deserved better, per Yahoo Sports.

Adley Rutschman has been steady behind the plate for the Red Sox even as his offensive numbers (.234) remain a work in progress. Per Sports Illustrated, Boston's front office views his pitch-framing and game-management as an overlooked edge — the kind of value that doesn't show up in the box score but matters in September.

Nick Madrigal was optioned to Triple-A Durham by Tampa Bay this week to make room on the active roster — a roster crunch move as the Rays navigate their own late-season positioning.

The Beaver alumni footprint is wide across MLB's final stretch, but right now, the story runs through Cleveland — and two former Corvallis stars who look every bit like October players.

Oregon State alumni had one of their biggest weeks in recent memory across MLB, headlined by a history-making pitching debut, a surging rookie reviving a pennant race, and a star catcher navigating injuries while still delivering in the clutch.

Cooper Hjerpe Writes His Name Into the Record Books

The headline belonged to Cooper Hjerpe. The Cardinals left-hander made his MLB debut on Sunday against the Colorado Rockies and was nothing short of immaculate — coming on in relief and pitching four scoreless innings without allowing a single base runner. According to Sports Illustrated, it was a historically perfect line for a debut, drawing comparisons that put him in rare company. MLB Trade Rumors had confirmed his recall from Triple-A Memphis earlier in the week, with the Cardinals sending righty Hancel Rincón down in a corresponding move.

The 25-year-old's week didn't end as cleanly — he allowed four earned runs in one inning of work in a September 12 outing against the White Sox, a more turbulent follow-up. But the debut itself is the kind of moment Oregon State fans will be talking about for years.

Travis Bazzana Is Heating Up at the Right Time

Cleveland's Travis Bazzana, the former No. 1 overall pick, has been one of the Guardians' most important storylines down the stretch. After a midseason dry spell, the Oregon State product has turned things around in a significant way. On Tuesday against the Orioles, he launched a three-run homer as part of a 9-5 Cleveland win. He kept rolling through the week, posting two hits, two runs, and two walks in Saturday's game against the Twins, bumping his average to .247.

Sports Illustrated noted that Bazzana's resurgence has given Cleveland — a team chasing a playoff spot — genuine new life heading into the final weeks of the regular season.

Adley Rutschman: Big Moments, Bigger Concerns

Adley Rutschman's week with the Red Sox was a push-and-pull of brilliance and worry. On Monday against the Angels, he crushed a three-run homer off the Pesky Pole in right field — a defining blow in Boston's 5-2 victory, their fifth straight win at the time. The Red Sox improved to an MLB-best 34-17 since the All-Star break and closed to two games behind the Yankees for the AL's top wild-card spot.

But Rutschman also missed time mid-week, sitting out Wednesday's lineup for a second straight game while reportedly receiving a cortisone injection for a nagging injury. Sports Illustrated raised the question of whether his roster spot behind the plate could be threatened in a playoff scenario. He bounced back Saturday against Kansas City with two hits, an RBI, and a run scored — a hopeful sign, if not a full resolution to the health concerns.

Steven Kwan and the Supporting Cast

Rutschman's Guardians teammate and fellow Beaver Steven Kwan has been quietly steady. The center fielder logged multi-hit efforts in multiple games this week — two hits Monday against the Orioles, two more on Wednesday — while sitting at .274 on Saturday. He and Bazzana form a genuine Oregon State nucleus powering a Cleveland squad fighting for October.

Elsewhere, Wade Meckler (Angels) hit .296 on the week with some on-base contributions, and Michael Conforto posted a productive stretch with the Cubs, collecting RBIs in back-to-back series. Matthew Boyd gave the Cubs a quality seven-inning, seven-strikeout start against the Brewers on Labor Day. Trevor Larnach homered for the Twins on Monday and reached base consistently throughout. Drew Rasmussen turned in a gem Friday — seven innings, one earned run, four strikeouts — as the Rays edged the Astros.

Fourteen Oregon State alumni on active rosters. Multiple playoff races. One historic debut. It was a full week of Beaver baseball in the majors.

Adley Rutschman Silences Baltimore — and His Critics

One month after the Orioles traded him, Adley Rutschman walked back into Camden Yards in a Red Sox uniform and delivered one of the most theatrical homecoming performances in recent memory. The Oregon State product went 2-for-4 with two home runs, two RBI, and three runs scored on September 3, leading Boston to a 6-5 victory and making MLB history in the process.

OptaSTATS confirmed Rutschman became the first player in at least 29 years to homer twice at a ballpark in his first return after being traded away from that club — a feat that had not been accomplished in nearly three decades. It was also his first multi-homer game since April, snapping a prolonged power drought that had fueled criticism of the Red Sox's deadline deal since the moment it was made.

The crowd received him warmly, Orioles fans offering a hearty ovation before their former franchise cornerstone reminded them exactly why the trade cost Boston a significant haul. "Home runs are fun, man. They're really fun," Rutschman said afterward. The Red Sox had announced he'd bat third in the lineup — a vote of confidence entering his most scrutinized start as a member of the organization.

The game landed at precisely the right moment. Boston was looking to separate itself from Baltimore in a tight wild card race, and Rutschman's bat did the heavy lifting. The injury news that had shadowed his early Red Sox tenure — a worrying update emerged earlier in the week — made the performance all the more meaningful for a fanbase that had started to question the return on investment.

Bazzana Delivers Walk-Off Heroics in Cleveland

Travis Bazzana, the former No. 1 overall pick who played his college ball at Oregon State, had a week worth remembering in Cleveland. The rookie second baseman delivered a walk-off hit on September 4 as the Guardians swept a doubleheader against the Tigers in back-to-back walk-off fashion — one of the more outrageous single-night feats of the MLB season. Bazzana went 2-for-2 with a home run, three RBI, and a run scored in the first game of the twin bill, then added another two-hit performance in the nightcap.

His coaching staff had already gone public saying his recent .235 batting average was not a concern, and the Tigers series backed that up. Bazzana is heating up at exactly the moment Cleveland needs it in a key AL Central race.

The Rest of the Beavers

Wade Meckler (Angels, OF) quietly put together one of the stronger weeks among Oregon State's MLB alumni. He went 3-for-3 with an RBI on September 2 and followed with a two-hit, two-RBI performance on September 5, pushing his average to .298 on the season.

Michael Conforto (Cubs, RF) bookended the week with home runs — a three-RBI blast on August 31 and a solo shot on September 5 — keeping his average near .240 and remaining a consistent contributor in Chicago's outfield.

Drew Rasmussen (Rays, P) turned in arguably the week's best pitching line among Beaver alumni: seven innings, seven strikeouts, and just one earned run on September 5, dropping his ERA to 2.88. That's a staff ace-caliber outing.

Trevor Larnach (Twins, LF) and Steven Kwan (Guardians, CF) remained steady contributors throughout the week without a singular breakout moment — Larnach collecting hits in multiple games and Kwan reaching base consistently via hit and walk. Matthew Boyd (Cubs, P) took the mound September 1 with modest results: 5.1 innings, three strikeouts, three earned runs.

But make no mistake — this was Rutschman's week. Oregon State's most prominent MLB export delivered when the stage was biggest.

Oregon State alumni are all over Major League Baseball in late August, but nowhere are the Beavers more dangerous than in Cleveland's lineup — where Steven Kwan and Travis Bazzana have formed one of the game's most productive alumni duos.

Kwan's Five-Hit Masterclass

The headliner of the week came Wednesday night, when Kwan went 5-for-5 against the Angels, driving in a run and scoring three more in what sources describe as a stunning comeback win for Cleveland. Kwan's five-hit outburst included a tying double in the ninth inning, and the Guardians eventually claimed the series sweep — capped by Bazzana's sacrifice fly that proved to be the decisive blow in a 5-6 thriller. It was the kind of game Kwan was built for: relentless contact, big moments, and a performance that carried his average to .274 by game's end.

The 5-hit night wasn't a flash in the pan. Kwan went 2-for-the-game the night before against the Angels in a 4-2 Cleveland win, added two more hits in Sunday's series finale against the Rockies to open the week, and closed the period still batting .273. Over the full stretch, he's been one of the most consistent hitters in the Cleveland order.

Bazzana Handles His Half

While Kwan grabbed the headlines, Bazzana quietly had a week worth noting in its own right. The rookie second baseman went 2-for-the-game with 2 RBIs in Tuesday's earlier Angels matchup, followed with a hit, an RBI, a run scored, and a walk in Wednesday's sweep-clinching win. Over the Guardians' Angels series alone, Bazzana finished with multiple hits, multiple RBIs, and a current season average of .241 — numbers that reflect a young hitter growing into a lineup role that matters.

More Beavers Worth Tracking

The OSU production didn't stop in Cleveland.

Matthew Boyd (Cubs) was sharp Wednesday against Arizona, working six innings with five strikeouts and only one earned run. His ERA sits at 3.99. The Cubs lost the game 2-0, and Boyd earned no decision, but per reporting out of Chicago, he was one of the team's standout performers across the series — even if the offense left him stranded.

Michael Conforto had a productive week at the plate for the Cubs. He went deep Tuesday against the Diamondbacks in a 7-0 blowout — a two-run shot described as going "into orbit" — and added a home run Sunday against the Mariners. He's now batting .229, with three multi-hit games in the stretch.

Drew Rasmussen gave the Rays a quality outing Monday in Tampa Bay's 4-1 win over Detroit — six innings pitched, five strikeouts, one earned run. His ERA stands at 2.95, making him one of the more quietly effective starters in the American League right now.

Adley Rutschman, traded to Boston at the deadline, has had an uneven integration with the Red Sox. He went 3-for-the-game with two runs scored Saturday against the Yankees, but has also dealt with an elbow issue that kept him out of multiple games earlier in the week. His average sits at .240 — a work in progress in a new home.

From Cleveland to Chicago to Tampa Bay to Boston, Oregon State alumni are a legitimate presence across the league. But right now, Kwan and Bazzana in Cleveland are the story — and they're writing it together.