Joe is the 209th former Northwoods League player to debut in MLB
Rochester, Minn. – Former Duluth Huskie Connor Joe, made his Major League debut for the San Francisco Giants on Thursday, March 28, 2019. Joe is the 209th former Northwoods League player to reach the Major League level.
Joe, who played collegiately at the University of San Diego, played for the Duluth Huskies in 2012. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1st round of the 2014 MLB draft.
In 44 games with the Huskies during the 2012 season, Joe hit .295 with three home runs, seven doubles and 22 runs scored. He also drove in 24 runs and stole three bases.
Joe began his minor league career in 2015 with the West Virginia Power of the Lo-A South Atlantic League. He played in 80 games and hit .245 with 12 doubles, 38 runs scored and 20 RBI. He also walked 50 times.
Joe moved up for the 2016 season to the Bradenton Marauders of the Hi-A Florida State League. In 107 games he hit .277 with five home runs, 26 doubles and 49 runs scored. He drove in 52 runs, walked 45 times and stole two bases.
For the 2017 season, Joe started the year in West Virginia. After three games he moved up to the Altoona Curve of the AA Eastern League. On August 5, 2017, he was traded to the Atlanta Braves. He would play in 20 games with the Mississippi Braves of the AA Southern League. Between the three clubs he hit a combined .222 with five home runs, 13 doubles and 34 RBI.
His stay in the Braves’ system was brief, as he was sent to the Los Angeles Dodgers for future considerations on September 24th. He split the 2018 season between the AA Tulsa Drillers of the Texas League and the Oklahoma City Dodgers of the AAA Pacific Coast League. Over 106 games hit .299 and slugged 26 doubles and 17 home runs. However, there was no room for him on the Dodgers’ 40-man roster and on December 13th he was taken in the 2018 Rule V Draft by the Cincinnati Reds.
In spring training in 2019, new manager David Bell had him play catcher in order to increase his value to the team. However, the Reds were unable to find him a roster spot, but instead of returning him to the Dodgers, on March 21st he was traded to the San Francisco Giants for P Jordan Johnson.
In his Major League debut against the San Diego Padres, Joe started the game in left field and was 0 for 1 with a walk.
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The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. The 25-year old summer collegiate league is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 22 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, over 200 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 (MIA). 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.