San Diego State Professional Athletes

San Diego State sent two of its own to opposite dugouts this week, and the result was one of the more compelling alumni storylines of the MLB stretch run. First basemen Cole Carrigg (Rockies) and Ty France (Padres) squared off in a Coors Field series that had plenty of Aztec fingerprints all over it.

Carrigg's Monster Wednesday

The headline moment came Wednesday, Sept. 16, when Carrigg delivered the kind of game that stops a clubhouse in its tracks. The rookie first baseman went 4-for-4 with two home runs — a three-run shot and a two-run blast — and finished with five RBI and two runs scored as Colorado pounded San Diego 9-3. Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer didn't bother dressing it up, offering a blunt assessment of Carrigg's performance that made the rounds in Colorado media. It was the kind of breakout night that changes how a fanbase views a prospect.

Carrigg didn't stop there. On Tuesday, Sept. 15 — a Rockies loss — he still went 2-for-4 with a solo homer, an RBI, and a run scored. Over the four-game Padres series (Sept. 15–17), Carrigg accumulated 7 hits, 3 home runs, and 6 RBI, lifting his season average from .258 to .270. By Saturday, Sept. 19, he tacked on a 3-hit, 1-RBI performance in a 5-4 loss to Seattle, pushing his average to .272.

France Keeps Grinding

On the other side of the diamond, Ty France quietly had one of his better weeks of the season. The Padres' veteran first baseman posted multi-hit games in three of the four matchups against Colorado, chipping away with the kind of professional at-bats that have defined his career.

He went off on Tuesday with 3 hits, an RBI, and a run scored in an 8-7 San Diego win. In the Thursday doubleheader, France posted a hit in each game, including an RBI double in the second contest of a 9-3 Padres win. He capped the week Saturday against Miami, going 2-for-4 with a home run and 3 RBI in an 8-2 rout, lifting his season average to .301. France is now firmly entrenched as one of San Diego's most consistent bats down the stretch.

Melton Checks In From Toronto

Away from the Carrigg-France showdown, SDSU right-hander Troy Melton made a brief but notable appearance for the Tigers on Monday, Sept. 14. Melton worked 2.2 innings out of the bullpen in Detroit's 6-5 win over Toronto, striking out three and allowing two earned runs. His ERA settled at 2.52 on the season — still one of the more quietly impressive pitching lines in the American League.

The Bigger Picture

For San Diego State, this week was a rare treat: two alumni, same position, facing each other on a major league diamond during a pennant-race month. Carrigg is making a case that his bat belongs in the majors long-term. France is proving, again, that consistency is its own kind of statement. The Aztecs had a good week — it just depended on which jersey you were rooting for.

The Incident That Stopped the Baseball World

San Diego State's most talked-about alumnus this week wasn't making headlines for his bat — at least not at first. Colorado Rockies rookie Cole Carrigg was benched for "a couple days" after flipping off fans at Truist Park during a late-inning comeback win by the Atlanta Braves on Saturday, August 30. The gesture came moments after Carrigg narrowly missed a diving catch in the outfield, a play that effectively gave Atlanta the lead. Rockies manager called the moment an "embarrassment," and Carrigg issued a public apology shortly after.

The story went national fast. The New York Times covered it. Bleacher Report, Yahoo Sports, and The Sporting News all weighed in. For a rebuilding Colorado club, it was exactly the kind of noise they didn't need — but for Carrigg, the story didn't end there.

A Quiet, Productive Response

After sitting out of the lineup, Carrigg was deployed as a pinch hitter — and then returned to full action. What followed was one of his better stretches of the season. On Wednesday, September 2 against the Orioles, Carrigg went 3-for-the-game with an RBI and a run scored, lifting his average to .262. By Saturday, September 5 against the Cardinals, he added 2 more hits, a home run, an RBI, and a run scored — finishing the week hitting .265. That's not a superstar line, but for a rookie who spent part of the week on the bench for conduct reasons, it's a meaningful response.

The arc — controversy, discipline, productive return — is exactly the kind of story that tends to define or derail young careers. Carrigg's week offered a bit of both.

France Keeps Rolling in San Diego

While Carrigg was generating headlines for all the wrong reasons, fellow Aztec Ty France was quietly putting together a strong week for the San Diego Padres. France went 1-for-the-game with an RBI and a run scored on Sunday, August 30 against the Rays, then rattled off a 3-hit, 1-RBI performance on Monday against the Reds. By Wednesday, he'd added 2 more hits, a home run, 2 RBIs, and a walk — finishing that game at .292. He capped the week Saturday against the Yankees with another 2-hit, 1-run outing, pushing his average to .295.

France has been a steadying presence in San Diego's lineup down the stretch, and this week reinforced why. His numbers against the Reds were backed by a team 5-0 win, with France's RBI single part of a balanced offensive effort that also featured a dominant six-inning start from Michael King.

The Week in Brief

Two Aztecs, two very different storylines. Carrigg's gesture will follow him — that's the nature of viral moments — but his bat gave Colorado's coaching staff a reason to move past it quickly. France, meanwhile, keeps doing what he's done all year: put the ball in play, get on base, and contribute to wins. For SDSU alumni watchers, it was a week that had everything: drama, redemption, and steady production from a proven veteran.

San Diego State's pipeline to the majors is as healthy as ever, and the week of Aug. 23–29 gave Aztec fans plenty to follow across three time zones.

Troy Melton, Tigers — The Headliner

Troy Melton is pitching like one of the more quietly dominant arms in the American League, and the numbers back it up. The right-hander took the mound Wednesday against the Rays and delivered seven innings of three-run ball, striking out four and keeping his ERA at a gleaming 1.86. It was another gem in what has become a genuinely compelling season — the kind that makes you wonder why Melton isn't getting more national attention. Tigers fans know. Aztec fans definitely know.

Ty France, Padres — Steady in San Diego

If Melton is the week's headliner, Ty France is the dependable veteran doing exactly what a lineup anchor should. France put together a productive stretch for the Padres, capping the week Saturday with a two-hit, one-homer, two-RBI performance that sent his average to .287. The home run was his most notable swing of the stretch, but France's full-week profile tells a more complete story: multiple walks drawn, consistent on-base presence, and a .292 peak average earlier in the week before settling at .287. Against the Pirates midweek, he contributed a hit and a pair of walks in the same series. France isn't flashy, but he's exactly the kind of disciplined hitter San Diego needs in its lineup.

Cole Carrigg, Rockies — Emerging in Colorado

The youngest of the three Aztec headliners this week, Cole Carrigg turned in the most volatile — and arguably the most exciting — stretch. The Rockies first baseman came into the week hovering around .273 but showed some real pop Wednesday against the Nationals, going 2-for-whatever with a home run, two RBI, and two runs scored. That kind of production from a young hitter in Colorado is exactly what the organization is looking for. Carrigg's average dipped slightly as the week closed — he finished Saturday at .263 — but the raw tools on display against Washington were encouraging. For a player still finding his footing at the big-league level, a multi-hit, multi-RBI game with a home run is the kind of resume line that matters.

The Bigger Picture

Three alumni. Three organizations. Three distinct roles — a top-of-the-rotation starter, a veteran middle-of-the-order bat, and a young corner infielder still writing his story. That's a reasonable snapshot of what San Diego State has built as a baseball program: players who stick, players who produce, and — in Melton's case this week — players who genuinely dominate.

With the pennant races heating up and rosters tightening heading into September, all three Aztecs are on teams that will want contributions down the stretch. Melton's ERA alone makes him one to watch the rest of the way.