Boyle is the 337th former Northwoods League player to debut in MLB
Rochester, Minn. – Former Kalamazoo Growler Joe Boyle made his Major League debut for the Oakland Athletics on Sunday, September 17, 2023. Boyle is the 337th former Northwoods League player to reach the Major League level.
Boyle, who played collegiately at the University of Notre Dame, played for the Growlers in 2018. He was drafted by the Reds in the 5th round of the 2020 MLB Draft.
In 2018 with the Growlers, Boyle appeared in seven games and was 0-0 with a 3.68 ERA. He struck out 14 batters in 7.1 innings while walking four.
Boyle started his professional career in 2021 with the Reds team in the Arizona Complex League. After four games he was promoted to the Daytona Tortugas of the Low-A Southeast League. Over eight games he was 0-0 with a 2.29 ERA. He pitched in 19.2 innings and struck out 41.
In 2022 Boyle began the year with the Dayton Dragons of the High-A Midwest League and then moved up, after 17 games, to the Chattanooga Lookouts of the AA Southern League. Between the two clubs he was 2-6 with a 2.86 ERA in 23 games. He struck out 153 batters in 100.2 innings and had a 1.291 WHIP.
Prior to his call-up to the Athletics, Boyle had started the season with Chattanooga before being traded to the Athletics for Sam Moll. He would be assigned to the Midland RockHounds of the AA Texas League after the trade. After three games with Midland, he then moved up to the Las Vegas Aces of the AAA Pacific Coast League. For the season he was 8-8 with a 3.84 ERA and 168 strikeouts in 117.1 innings. In his Major League debut against the Padres, Boyle started the game and went 3.0 innings allowing one hit while striking out four.
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The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Having completed its’ 30th season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 24 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 335 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 (TEX), 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 2019/2021 Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and 2021 All-Star, MLB Gold Glove winner and 2019 Second Team All-MLB shortstop Marcus Semien (TEX). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website at watchnwl.com and on ESPN+. For more information, visit www.northwoodsleague.com or download the Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play.
