Garver is the 185th former Northwoods League player to debut in MLB
Rochester, Minn. – Former St. Cloud River Bat, Mitch Garver, made his Major League debut for the Minnesota Twins on Saturday, August 19, 2017. Garver is the 185th former Northwoods League player to reach the Major League level.
Garver, who played collegiately at the University of New Mexico, played for the St. Cloud River Bats in 2010 and 2011. He was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 9th round of the 2013 MLB Draft.
In 2010 with the River Bats, Garver hit .227 in 41 games. He also had five doubles and stole three bases. During the 2011 season he played in 30 games and hit .290 with six doubles, a triple, four home runs and 21 RBI.
Garver started his Minor League career in 2013 with the Elizabethton Twins of the Rookie Level Appalachian League. In 56 games, he hit .243 with 15 doubles, one triple and two home runs. He drove in 30 runs and scored 16 times.
Garver spent the 2014 season with the Cedar Rapids Kernels of the Lo-A Midwest League. Over 120 games he hit .298 with 16 home runs and 79 RBI. He also had 29 doubles, walked 61 times and stole seven bases.
The 2015 season saw Garver promoted again to the Hi-A Florida State League and the Fort Myers Miracle. He would play in 127 games and hit .245 with 24 doubles and four home runs. He drove in 58 runs and walked a career high 69 times.
Garver was promoted once again to start the 2016 season to the Chattanooga Lookouts of the AA Southern League. After 95 games with the Lookouts he moved up to the AAA International League with the Rochester Red Wings. Between the two clubs he hit a combined .270 with 30 doubles and 12 home runs. He also drove in 74 runs and scored 50 runs.
Prior to his call-up to Minnesota, Garver had played in 88 games with Rochester. He was hitting .291 with 29 doubles, 17 home runs and 45 RBI.
In his Major League debut against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Garver entered the game in the 7th inning as a pinch-hitter for Miguel Sano. Facing Arizona reliever Silvino Bracho he would strikeout for the first out of the inning.
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The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. The 24-year old summer collegiate league is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 20 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, more than 180 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including two-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champion Ben Zobrist (CHC) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET), Curtis Granderson (NYM) and Lucas Duda (NYM). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. For more information, visit www.northwoodsleague.com or download the Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play.