Three #ProBears Named to 60-Man MLB Player Pools

MACON, Ga. – With Major League Baseball (MLB) starting up, three former Mercer University baseball players have been named to their selected clubs' 60-man rosters for the upcoming 2020 season. Cory Gearrin, Kyle Lewis, and Austin Cox were named to the rosters by their respective teams.

The 60-man player pool is the group of players who will be able to play for their select teams this season. According to the league's Operating Manual, all players on a 40-man roster "that the Club anticipates participating" during the season will be part of the Player Pool, while the rest will be made up of non-40-man roster players under contract. No team will be allowed to exceed the limit of 60 players in its Player Pool at any time during Spring Training 2.0 or the regular season.

"I am happy for the three former players that made the 60-man MLB player pools," stated head coach Craig Gibson. "Kyle [Lewis] is set for a breakout season this year with Seattle. Austin [Cox] has been outstanding in his first couple of years of professional baseball. Cory [Gearrin] has made a career out of professional baseball as he enters his ninth year. I am happy for those three and can't wait to see what they accomplish this season. I thought we had a few more Mercerian's who had an opportunity to join the 60-man squads but that, unfortunately, didn't happen."

Gearrin, an eight-year MLB veteran, joins the Minnesota Twins 60-man player pool as a non-roster invitee. Over his professional career, Gearrin has played with six different teams. He finished the 2019 campaign with the New York Yankees before signing a minor league contract with the Twins in February.

During the 2019 season, which saw him split time with Seattle and New York, Gearrin appeared in 66 games and picked up one victory. He had an ERA of 4.07 on the season in 55.1 innings pitched and struck out 47 hitters.

For his career, Gearrin has pitched 302 innings and holds an ERA of 3.64. He made his Major League debut on April 25, 2011, with the Atlanta Braves, when he pitched two scoreless innings.

Gearrin left Mercer after being selected by the Atlanta Braves in the fourth round of the 2007 MLB Draft. The Chattanooga, Tenn., native recorded a 2.44 ERA and 13 saves at Mercer that spring, both of which still rank in the top-10 in Mercer single-season history.

Lewis made his major league debut on Sept. 19, 2019. He became only the second player in MLB history to homer in his first three career games which included a 457-foot blast; the longest home run of the season by a Seattle Mariner.

Over the first 18 games of his career, Lewis hit .268 (19-for-71) with 11 extra-base hits. He finished 2019 off with six home runs and 13 RBI.

Lewis is the most decorated student-athlete in Mercer history. In June 2016, Lewis won the Golden Spikes Award, given annually to the top amateur baseball player in the country, and became the highest pick in Mercer and Southern Conference history upon being selected 11th overall by the Mariners in the MLB Draft.

In his final year at Mercer, the Snellville native led the Bears to a second consecutive SoCon regular season title and a seventh straight season with at least 35 wins. In addition to his 20 homers and 72 RBI, he ranked in the top-five nationally in walks (66), on-base percentage (.535) and runs (70) and top-15 nationally in batting average (.395). These numbers earned him recognition as a consensus All-America first-teamer, Baseball America National Player of the Year, American Baseball Coaches Association Player of the Year and Dick Howser Trophy semifinalist. He was also named the SoCon Player of the Year for the second straight season.

Cox was a fifth-round draft pick of the Kansas City Royals in 2018. In two professional seasons, he has been promoted to Advanced A level and is the Royals No. 11 prospect in their farm system. To finish the 2019 season, Cox was a member of the Wilmington Blue Rocks. He appeared in 11 games, making 10 starts. He pitched 55.1 innings and had an ERA of 2.77. The Forsyth native, recorded 52 strikeouts, while only issuing 16 walks.

Cox helped the Blue Rocks win the 2019 Carolina League Mills Cup Championship. This was the first time since 1999 that the Blue Rocks got to hoist the trophy. Cox played a crucial role in helping the Wilmington win the title. Trailing 2-1 in the best-of-five series, Cox made the start in game four and tossed six scoreless innings. He was nearly untouchable, only allowing one hit as Wilmington won the contest 2-0.

During his final year at Mercer, Cox was one of five players nationally with 17 or more starts during the 2018 season and became the ninth player in program history to toss 100-plus strikeouts in a single season (124). The left-hander ranked ninth nationally in strikeouts per nine innings (12.73) and led Mercer in innings pitched (87.2) while going 7-4 with a 4.52 earned run average.

For more info on Mercer's #ProBears, click here.

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Three #ProBears Named to 60-Man MLB Player Pools

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