Gushue is the 265th former Northwoods League player to debut in MLB
Rochester, Minn. – Former Madison Mallard Taylor Gushue, made his Major League debut for the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday, June 30, 2021. Gushue is the 265th former Northwoods League player to reach the Major League level.
Gushue, who played collegiately at the University of Florida, played for the Madison Mallards in 2012. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 4th round of the 2014 MLB draft.
In 2014 with the Mallards, Gushue played in 21 games and hit .250 with two home runs, two doubles and 12 runs scored. He drove in 14, walked 14 times and stole a base.
Gushue began his professional career in 2014 with the Jamestown Jammers of the Short-Season A New York-Penn League. In 54 games with the Jammers, Gushue hit .241 with five home runs, 13 doubles and two triples. He drove in 29 runs and walked 27 times.
Gushue spent the 2015 season with the West Virginia Power of the Lo-A South Atlantic League. Over 99 games he hit .231 with five home runs, 17 doubles and four triples. He drove in 47, stole a base and scored 35 times.
Gushue moved up again for the 2016 season to the Bradenton Marauders of the Hi-A Florida State League. He played in 90 games with Bradenton and hit .226 with a career-high eight home runs.
Following the 2016 season Gushue was traded to the Washington Nationals for Chris Bostick. In 2017, he started the year with the Potomac Nationals of the Hi-A Carolina League. After 91 games he was promoted to the Harrisburg Senators of the AA Eastern League. Between the two clubs he played in 95 games and hit .236 with a new career-high of 18 home runs. He also had nine doubles, drove in 67 and walked 42 times.
Gushue began the 2018 season with Harrisburg and played in 97 games before ending the season with one game with the Syracuse Chiefs of the AAA International League. For the season he hit .213 with 10 home runs, 20 doubles and a triple. He drove in 44, scored 43 times and had 37 walks.
In 2019, Gushue spent the entire season with the Fresno Grizzlies of the AAA Pacific Coast League. In 74 games he hit a career-high .312 with 11 home runs, 19 doubles and a triple. He also drove in 39 and scored 35 times.
Prior to the 2020 season Gushue signed as a free agent with the Cubs.
Gushue was called up by the Cubs on June 30 from the AAA-East Iowa Cubs. In 36 games with Iowa, he was hitting .272 with five home runs, six doubles and 27 RBI. In his Major League debut against the Milwaukee Brewers Gushue entered the game as a defensive replacement and went 0 for 3 at the plate.
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The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Now in its’ 28th season, the Northwoods 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 260 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time All-Star and 2016 Roberto Clemente Award winner Curtis Granderson, three-time Cy Young Award winner and World Series Champion Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (BOS). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and MLB Gold Glove finalist and 2019 Second Team All-MLB shortstop Marcus Semien (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.