Launched to the League: Trash Pandas
January 25, 2023 - Southern League (SL)
Rocket City Trash Pandas News Release
2022
Chase Silseth
MLB Debut - May 13, 2022
RHP Chase Silseth
The Angels' 11th round pick in the 2021 draft out of Arizona, Chase Silseth quickly emerged as a top pitching prospect. In September 2021, he became the first of the Angels' 2021 draft picks to reach Double-A when he made two starts for Rocket City in a September series at Birmingham, taking the loss in each start.
He began his first full professional season with the Trash Pandas in 2022 and was stellar, allowing two or fewer runs with at least six strikeouts in his first five starts of the season, including three straight quality starts from April 22 through May 5. On April 24, he was named Southern League Pitcher of the Week following a win at Tennessee where he allowed one run over six innings with seven strikeouts.
On May 13, he became the first player from the entire 2021 draft class to reach the big leagues with his promotion to the Angels after just eight professional outings. In his debut that night against Oakland, he earned the win with six scoreless innings, striking out four for his first MLB win.
Silseth was later recalled by the Angels from Rocket City on multiple occasions, but always found himself on the mound when the Trash Pandas needed a big win. During the 2022 season, Silseth started both the first and second half title clinching games, as well as the first playoff game in Toyota Field history.
He ended the regular season with four straight wins, including the first no-hitter in Trash Pandas history on September 3 vs. Biloxi, when he took a perfect game into the seventh inning, striking out 10 before Luke Murphy and Eric Torres completed the 8-0 blanking.
David MacKinnon
MLB Debut - June 12, 2022
INF David MacKinnon
David MacKinnon's name is all over the Trash Pandas record books. The first baseman was the first batter to step to the plate in franchise history on May 5, 2021 at Chattanooga. He began the franchise history by hitting a single off Hunter Greene. MacKinnon later came around to score the first run in Trash Pandas history in that first inning.
The 32nd round draft pick quickly became a fan favorite in the Rocket City for his tremendous play on the diamond and his attitude off the field. MacKinnon was the Trash Pandas' most consistent player in their inaugural season, hitting .285 with 13 home runs and 65 RBI over 99 games, including the first walk-off in Trash Pandas history, a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the 13th inning on May 16 against Chattanooga. He continued the torrid pace in June with a .377 average in 21 games to be named the Double-A South Player of the Month, the first Trash Pandas player to win a monthly award. In July 2021, MacKinnon sat down to talk about his journey from the University of Hartford to the Rocket City.
However, that journey wasn't finished. After spending the entire 2021 season with Rocket City, MacKinnon began 2022 with Triple-A Salt Lake and crushed the ball for the Bees. On June 18, 2022, he was promoted to the Angels for the first time. Four days later on June 22, MacKinnon became the first former Trash Pandas player to record a Major League hit with his first career knock, an RBI single against Kansas City.
He appeared in 16 total games for the Angels before returning to Salt Lake. On August 5, he was claimed off waivers by the Oakland Athletics and split the rest of the season between the A's and Triple-A Las Vegas. Heading into the 2023 season, he signed with the Seibu Lions of Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan.
Michael Stefanic
MLB Debut - July 3, 2022
INF Michael Stefanic
Signed by the Angels as an undrafted free agent out of NAIA Westmont College in 2018, Michael Stefanic's journey to the big leagues is an incredible one. A strong first full professional season in 2019 led him to the Trash Pandas Opening Night roster in 2021.
In the Rocket City, Stefanic had some memorable moments during what proved to be a short stint at the Double-A level. In the second game in team history, Stefanic cracked the first double in franchise history on a deep fly ball to right at Chattanooga's AT&T Field on May 6. Less than a week later on May 12, Stefanic helped deliver the Trash Pandas' first win in their new home. Tied 4-4 with Tennessee in the bottom of the eighth, Stefanic crushed a two-run homer to left, his first and only homer with Rocket City, to put the home team ahead in an eventual 6-4 victory, sending the Toyota Field crowd into a frenzy. In 21 games with the Trash Pandas, Stefanic batted .345 with 30 hits in 87 at-bats to be named the team's player of the month while also producing a nine-game hitting streak.
That led to a promotion to Triple-A Salt Lake on May 29, 2021. Stefanic continued his torrid pace with the Bees for the rest of the season, batting .334 with 16 home runs and 104 RBI in 104 game to be named to the Triple-A West All-Star team.
He returned to Salt Lake in 2022 and kept hitting, batting .320 over his first 46 games to earn his call to the show on July 3. Two nights later in Miami, Stefanic collected his first MLB hit, a pinch-hit single to right. He appeared in 25 games for the 2022 Angels, producing 12 hits while also being named an MiLB.com Angels organizational All-Star at the conclusion of the season.
Ryan Aguilar
MLB Debut - August 26, 2022
OF Ryan Aguilar
California born and raised, Ryan Aguilar thought his career was over in 2021 after a disappointing season with Double-A Biloxi led to his release by the Milwaukee Brewers. Needing one more chance, Aguilar got one from the Angels with a minor league contract and an invitation to spring training in 2022.
Assigned to the Trash Pandas to start the season, Aguilar struggled, batting .175 in April. But in the middle of the season, he regained his form to change the course of his career. On July 2, he took a career-high five walks and scored three runs in a win at Tennessee. The patient approach at the plate proved to be key, For the month of July, he was third in the Southern League with a .344 batting average. In August, he was even better, hitting .360 with three home runs, 15 RBI, and 18 walks over 16 games. His best stretch came in late August, when he was named Southern League Player of the Week on August 21 following six-game series against Chattanooga where he hit .438 with two home runs, six RBI, six runs, and six walks.
That earned him the call to the show on August 26. At the time of his promotion, his .427 on-base percentage led the Southern League and was sixth in all of Double-A while 65 walks ranked third in the league at the time.
Making his MLB debut that night in Toronto, Aguilar took two walks and scored a pair of runs in an Angels win. The next night, he recorded his first MLB hit, a double off Blue Jays All-Star Alek Manoah. Overall, he appeared in seven games for the Angels, who went 5-2 when he played, before returning to finish the season in Rocket City.
Livan Soto
MLB Debut - September 17, 2022
INF Livan Soto
Originally a 16-year-old international free agent signing by the Atlanta Braves in 2016, Livan Soto later became the heart of the 2022 Rocket City Trash Pandas on his way to the big leagues.
After joining the Angels in 2018, Soto worked his way up to Rocket City for the first time late in the 2021 season, appearing in 12 games for the Trash Pandas to finish the season in his first taste of the Double-A level. Soto returned to the Trash Pandas to start the 2022 season and was one of the top performers in the Southern League, leading the Trash Pandas to the playoffs.
In 2022, Soto recorded three hitting streaks of 10 games or more, reached base in 10 straight plate appearances from July 8-10, and ranked among the Southern League leaders in hits (2nd, 128), batting average (3rd, .281), walks (7th, 71), and runs (T-9th, 69). His 128 hits marked a new career-high and a franchise record for Rocket City.
He was at his best in mid-July, earning Southern League Player of the Week honors on July 10, his first career weekly award. A fan favorite on and off the field, Soto often delivered when the Trash Pandas needed it most, both at the plate and in the field.
On September 17, Soto got the call directly to Los Angeles and joined the Angels for the final stretch of the season. The next day, Soto made his first start and was stellar, hitting his first Major League home run for his first MLB hit in an Angels win over Colorado. With the big fly, he became the first former Trash Pandas player to hit a Major League home run. Soto was sharp for the rest of the season, hitting .400 with one home run, nine RBI and nine runs scored over 18 games.
Logan O'Hoppe
MLB Debut - September 28, 2022
C Logan O'Hoppe
Acquired from the Phillies at the 2022 trade deadline, catcher Logan O'Hoppe instantly became the Angels' new top prospect. He was assigned to Rocket City and lived up to the hype, becoming one of the Southern League's best players to end the season.
Between joining the Trash Pandas on August 4 and the end of the regular season, O'Hoppe crushed the ball at the plate, hitting .306 with 11 home runs and 33 RBI in just 29 games. The 11 home runs led all of Double-A in that span and tied for sixth in Minor League Baseball. He led the Southern League in that time with a .473 on-base percentage, .673 slugging percentage, and the 33 RBI. In his first full series with Rocket City at Biloxi from August 9-14, he crushed four home runs in four games. His final home run of the season was a big one, as he mashed a towering solo home run on September 15, helping the Trash Pandas clinch the second half title.
For the season between Double-A Reading in the Phillies' system and Rocket City, O'Hoppe combined to hit 26 total home runs and drive in 78 over 104 games. He collected plenty of awards as well, being named Eastern League Player of the Week on May 22, playing for the National League squad at the All-Star Futures Game at Dodger Stadium in July, and ending the regular season with Southern League Player of the Month honors in September.
All of that led to his ultimate goal. At the conclusion of Rocket City's season in late September, O'Hoppe was called up to join the Angels for the final week of the season. He debuted on September 28, going 1-for-3 with a single as the Angels defeated Oakland. The Angels won three of his four starts behind the plate in his first career action at the big league level.
Brendon Davis
MLB Debut - October 1, 2022
INF Brendon Davis
Brendon Davis had a career season in 2021. It included a brief but exciting stint in the Rocket City, and helped put him on the path to the show.
Signed by the Angels heading into the 2021 season, Davis started off at a torrid pace for High-A Tri-City, hitting a Dust Devils record 14 home runs over 63 games to begin the season, winning High-A West Player of the Week honors twice over the first half of the season to earn a promotion to Rocket City on July 20.
Davis kept up the torrid pace for the Trash Pandas, hitting a home run in each of his first two games with the club and four over his first six games. In 30 games for the Trash Pandas, Davis batted .268 with eight home runs, 18 RBI, and 25 runs scored to earn his second promotion of the season, this time to Triple-A Salt Lake on August 25. He ended the year with another hot streak for the Bees, hitting eight more home runs and batting .333 over 21 games, giving him a career-high 30 home runs and 83 RBI in 124 games between the three levels in the Angels' system. Following the season, he was named an Angels' organizational All-Star by MiLB.com.
Davis returned to Salt Lake in 2022 and hit six home runs over his first 36 games. But on May 20, he was claimed off waivers by the Detroit Tigers and assigned to Triple-A Toledo. With the Mud Hens, Davis hit 14 more home runs for a second consecutive 20 home run season.
That led to a late promotion to Detroit on September 30. He made his MLB debut the next day in Minnesota, becoming the first former Rocket City player to debut for a team besides the Angels. In his second MLB start on October 4 at Seattle, Davis recorded his first MLB hit, a single to left. He appeared in three total games for the TIgers to end the season.
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