Stetson Professional Athletes

Jacob deGrom is supposed to be the Rangers' ace. Right now, he looks like their biggest liability.

The Stetson product turned in back-to-back disasters over the week of Sept. 20–26, allowing 11 earned runs across just 8.1 innings in two starts — outings that have sent genuine alarm bells ringing through the Texas clubhouse with the AL West still in the balance.

It started Sunday, Sept. 20, against the Blue Jays at Globe Life Field, where deGrom lasted just 4.1 innings, surrendering three earned runs while recording only two strikeouts in a 2–7 loss. That was worrying enough. Then came Saturday, Sept. 26, at Target Field, where things got considerably worse: deGrom was knocked around for eight earned runs in four flat innings against Minnesota, pushing his ERA to 4.20 and raising the kind of questions that don't have comfortable answers this late in the season. Per Sports Illustrated, the performance should "terrify Rangers moving forward" — and it's hard to argue otherwise.

The timing is brutal. Texas is fighting for its life in a tight AL West race, and its nominal front-line starter is posting outings that a fifth starter would be embarrassed by. Two starts, two losses, a combined strikeout total of seven, and an average of just over four innings per outing. For a pitcher with deGrom's ceiling and contract weight, these aren't blips — they're red flags.

---

The Rest of the Hatters

Not every Stetson arm had a rough week.

Over in Oakland, Jack Perkins quietly put together one of the more impressive lines in the brief: six innings, one earned run, four strikeouts against Cleveland on Sept. 20. The Athletics may be out of contention, but Perkins (ERA: 5.90 entering the start) gave his team exactly what it needed and then some. A six-inning, one-run outing is the kind of start that rebuilding organizations file away.

Logan Gilbert had a tougher go of it in Seattle on Sept. 23 against Houston. The Mariners righty allowed four earned runs in four innings — not a disaster, but not the outing a 12-10 pitcher needs heading into the final week of a lost season. His ERA ticked up to 3.81, and with Seattle sitting at 73–83, the game carried more draft-positioning weight than playoff meaning. Gilbert's season as a whole remains solid, but the Astros tagged him when it counted.

---

The Bottom Line

This is deGrom's story, full stop. The Rangers' AL West hopes hinge, in part, on whether their veteran right-hander can find anything resembling his previous form before the calendar runs out. Two consecutive short, ugly starts against playoff-caliber and competitive lineups aren't the résumé of a staff anchor — they're the résumé of a problem. For a Stetson program that produced one of the most electric arms in modern baseball history, watching deGrom stumble through September is equal parts painful and alarming.

The Rangers need answers. They're running out of chances to find them.

On the same September Wednesday night, two Stetson alumni toed the rubber in separate MLB games — and both gave their clubs exactly what they needed during a crucial stretch of the season.

deGrom Keeps Rangers Breathing

Jacob deGrom was every bit the two-time Cy Young winner on Wednesday, striking out eight batters across five innings to lead Texas to a 4-2 victory over the Boston Red Sox — a fellow playoff contender with just 12 games left on the schedule. Elias Diaz contributed a two-run double and Corey Seager went 2-for-4 with a two-run single to back the Hatter ace, but deGrom was the story.

What makes the performance more impressive: he's been doing it through mild groin tightness. deGrom, who made clear he wanted to remain in Texas and not be dealt at the deadline, now has an ERA of 3.79 and is pitching like a true top-of-rotation arm down the stretch. The Mets, Blue Jays, and others who circled him as a trade target got their answer — he's exactly where he wants to be, and he's earning it.

Boston's Patrick Sandoval, who struck out his first four batters and looked sharp early, was pulled after just 2⅔ innings having surrendered four runs. The Rangers made it count.

Gilbert Grinds Out Six — and Blames Himself Anyway

Across the country, Logan Gilbert toed the rubber for Seattle against the Angels and delivered six innings of two-run ball, striking out seven in a game the Mariners dropped 2-1. His ERA sits at 3.69 on the season — a legitimate ace-level mark — yet by Gilbert's own account, it wasn't enough.

That's become something of a theme for the right-hander and his club. Seattle's lineup has consistently failed to give Gilbert the run support his performances deserve, placing the ace in an impossible position: pitch brilliantly, or lose. On Wednesday, he did the former and still got the short end.

The contract subplot looms large, too. Cade Cavalli's recent extension with Washington has sharpened the Mariners' calculus: the longer they wait on locking up Gilbert, the more leverage shifts to their homegrown star. At 28, with a sub-3.70 ERA and durability on his side, Gilbert is making the case for himself every fifth day — whether the front office is listening or not.

Perkins Flashes Potential in Oakland

A night earlier, Jack Perkins (Athletics) had a turn worth noting. The Stetson product worked 6⅔ innings against Tampa Bay on Tuesday, punching out eight batters in a 2-1 Oakland loss. His ERA of 6.14 on the season doesn't reflect a showing like that, and it's the kind of outing that suggests the building blocks are there — even if the A's have little to play for in the standings.

---

Three Stetson alumni, three quality starts across two nights. For a small private school in DeLand, Florida, that's a pretty good week in the big leagues.

Logan Gilbert put on a masterclass Thursday afternoon at T-Mobile Park — and it couldn't have come at a more complicated moment for the Stetson product.

The Seattle Mariners right-hander struck out 11 over seven innings, allowing three earned runs as Seattle rallied past Texas 4-3. The win was punctuated by Julio Rodriguez's three-run blast in the seventh, but Gilbert was the story entering the late innings. His ERA now sits at 3.72, and his ability to control the running game has quietly become one of the more underrated subplots of his season.

The irony? The performance may only deepen Seattle's offseason dilemma. Multiple reports indicate the Mariners could explore trading Gilbert this winter, driven by a surplus of starting pitching and a lineup that still lacks a true middle-of-the-order threat. Sports Illustrated argues the trade case has merit but cautions that Seattle risks underselling one of the game's most dependable workhorses. Heavy Sports and The Sporting News both frame Gilbert as the most logical trade chip in a rotation loaded with quality arms. The core tension: move a proven All-Star starter to land an impact bat capable of reshaping the 2027 lineup, or hold onto the pitcher who just carved up a big-league lineup for seven innings on a Thursday afternoon.

No resolution is imminent, but Gilbert's Thursday outing did him no favors in staying anonymous — in the best possible way.

The Other Stetson Arm on the Mound

Gilbert wasn't the only Hatters alum dealing Thursday. Jacob deGrom, pitching for the opposition, was equally electric and arguably more unlucky. The two-time Cy Young winner struck out 12 in six innings of one-hit ball — a vintage, clock-turning-back performance — only to watch the Rangers bullpen cough up the lead. deGrom took the loss despite one of the best-pitched lines of his season, with his ERA now at 3.80.

deGrom's afternoon also arrived against the backdrop of his own trade drama. The Rangers came close to dealing him to the Atlanta Braves at the deadline — a package that would reportedly have sent Spencer Strider to Texas — but deGrom invoked his no-trade clause to block the move. In hindsight, given what Atlanta was offering, Rangers observers may quietly thank him for staying put. His future in Texas beyond this season remains an open question, with the Blue Jays and others already circling should the Rangers revisit the market this offseason.

Two Stetson pitchers, one game, both dominant, both at crossroads. Not a bad week for DeLand, FL.

Perkins Gets the Call in Oakland

Elsewhere, Jack Perkins was recalled by the Athletics after J.T. Ginn landed on the 15-day IL with a right elbow impingement. Perkins had been optioned down just a day prior when Joey Estes was recalled — the revolving door of a rebuilding roster in September. In his most recent outing against the Blue Jays on Wednesday, Perkins went five innings but allowed four earned runs, finishing with a 6.53 ERA on the season. The recall keeps him in the mix, though Oakland's focus is squarely on evaluating depth pieces for next year.