Stout is the 192nd former Northwoods League player to debut in MLB
Rochester, Minn. – Former Waterloo Buck Eric Stout, made his Major League debut for the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday, April 25, 2018. Stout is the 192nd former Northwoods League player to reach the Major League level.
Stout, who played collegiately at Butler University, played for the Waterloo Bucks in 2013. He was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 13th round of the 2014 MLB Draft.
Stout appeared in 10 games for the Bucks in 2013, starting nine. He went 2-1 with a 3.97 ERA and had 41 strikeouts.
Stout started his Minor League career in 2014 with the Idaho Falls Chukars of the Rookie level Pioneer League. Over 13 games Stout was 5-2 with a 3.58 ERA. He also struck out 27 batters in 32.2 innings while walking 10.
Stout played with four different teams during the 2015 season. He began the year with the Royals Rookie level team in the Arizona League. After two games he moved back up to Idaho Falls for one appearance. He then played in 16 games with the Lexington Legends of the Lo-A South Atlantic League before ending the year with one appearance in AA with the Northwest Arkansas Naturals. For the season he appeared in 20 games and was 0-1 with a 3.15 ERA and had 25 strikeouts while only walking seven.
Stout spent the entire 2016 season back in AA with the Naturals. He appeared in 42 games and was 6-4 with a 3.86 ERA. He also struck out a career high 69 batters in 72.1 innings pitched.
Stout was promoted to the Omaha Storm Chasers of the AAA Pacific Coast League for the 2017 season. He appeared in a career high 45 games and had a career low 2.99 ERA. Stout also had a 5-2 record to go along with 56 strikeouts in 69.1 innings.
Prior to being called up by the Royals, Stout had appeared in five games in Omaha and was 1-0 with a 4.70 ERA.
In his Major League debut against the Milwaukee Brewers, Stout entered the game with two outs in the top of the seventh inning in relief of Royals starter Jason Hammel. He would then strike out Christian Yelich on three pitches to end the inning.
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The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Entering its 25th anniversary season, the Northwoods 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 190 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET) and Curtis Granderson (TOR). 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.
