Long Beach State University Athletics
Darren McCaughan Makes MLB Debut with Mariners
7/21/2021 1:40:00 PM | Baseball
Dirtbag alum, Darren McCaughan, became the 53rd Dirtbag to make their major league debut on Wednesday.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – Darren McCaughan received the call on Wednesday morning and made his major league debut with the Seattle Mariners in Colorado. He becomes the 53rd Dirtbag to reach the majors and second in the last week.
McCaughan was putting together another solid campaign in the minors before being called up. In 11 games across both AA and AAA, he was 5-4 with a 4.18 ERA. Totaling 64.2 innings, he recorded 52 strikeouts and posted a 1.14 WHIP.
The right-hander spent four seasons in the minor leagues, pitching to a 3.75 ERA in 73 games and totaling 324 strikeouts in 369.2 innings. His best season came in 2019 where he posted a 2.89 ERA in AA Arkansas allowing just 35 runs in over 100 innings.
A Downey, Calif. native, McCaughan joined the Dirtbag pitching staff in 2015 and was phenomenal in his three seasons. Appearing in 56 career games, he had a 2.31 ERA and a .199 opponent average in over 280 innings of work. He still ranks fifth all-time in wins (23), winning percentage (.821), and ERA.
A member of Team USA's 2016 Collegiate National Team, he received six All-America honors and is one just three Dirtbags in history to win Big West Pitcher of the Year twice, claiming the award in both 2016 and 2017.
McCaughan is now the seventh LBSU alum to be currently active in the major leagues joining Evan Longoria, Bryan Shaw, Matt Duffy, Garrett Hampson, Jeff McNeil, and Jarren Duran.
