Harper Makes MLB Debut, Becomes 174th Hillcat to Make Majors
April 30, 2019 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Lynchburg Hillcats News Release
Lynchburg, Va. - Former Lynchburg Hillcats pitcher, Ryne Harper, made his Major League debut for the Minnesota Twins on Sunday, March 31, against the Cleveland Indians. He pitched a scoreless ninth inning to preserve a 9-3 win for Minnesota, while striking out the first batter of his career.
The Clarksville, Tenn. native was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 37th Round (No. 1,136 overall) of the 2011 MLB Draft out of Austin Peay University. The right-hander was released by the Braves following the 2015 season, and spent 2016-2017 seasons in the Seattle Mariners organization, where he pitched for Triple-A Tacoma. He signed with Minnesota in 2018 and spent the entire season at Triple-A Rochester before cracking the Twins Opening Day roster in 2019 as a non-roster invitee in Spring Training.
Harper, 30, wore a Hillcats uniform in 2012, back when Lynchburg was affiliated with Atlanta. He appeared in 27 games in relief, sporing a 2-1 record with a 1.83 ERA, and struck out 49 batters over 44.1 innings pitched.
Through Minnesota's first 26 games in 2019, Harper has been a key member of the Twins' bullpen. He has appeared in 10 games in relief, going 0-0 with a 2.45 ERA over 11 innings of work. Major League hitters are batting just .179 against him.
Harper is the 174th Hillcats player to make his Major League debut since 1995, and is the first to make The Show in 2019.
The Lynchburg Hillcats are the Advanced-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians. The Hillcats are eight-time Carolina League Champions, having most recently won the Mills Cup Championship in 2017. The Hillcats play their home games at City Stadium, which has been home to Minor League Baseball in Lynchburg since 1963. Visit the Hillcats online at Lynchburg-hillcats.com, and follow the Hillcats on Twitter (@LynHillcats), Instagram (@LynHillcats) and Facebook (Lynchburg Hillcats). For more information about the Lynchburg Hillcats, please contact Max Gun at mgun@lynchburg-hillcats.com.
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