Enns is the 184th former Northwoods League player to debut in MLB
Rochester, Minn. – Former Eau Claire Express pitcher, Dietrich Enns, made his Major League debut for the Minnesota Twins on Thursday, August 10, 2017. Enns is the 184th former Northwoods League player to reach the Major League level.
Enns, who played collegiately at Central Michigan, played for the Eau Claire Express in 2010. He was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 19th round of the 2012 MLB Draft.
In 2010 with the Express, Enns appeared in 15 games and was 3-1 with a 1.80 ERA. He also struck out 39 batters in 50 innings pitched while walking 22.
Enns started his Minor League career in 2012 with the Staten Island Yankees of the Short-Season A New York-Penn League. Over 22 appearances he was 2-0 with a 2.11 ERA. He had 33 strikeouts in 42.2 innings pitched and walked 15.
Enns began the 2013 season with the Charleston RiverDogs of the Lo-A South Atlantic League. After 19 games in Charleston he was promoted to the Tampa Yankees of the Florida State League to end the season. In 28 appearances between the two teams he went 4-6 with a 2.94 ERA in 82.2 innings pitched. Along with those numbers he struck out a career high 112 batters and walked only 35.
Enns would start the 2014 season back in Tampa. After appearing in only 13 games he would end his season with an injury which required Tommy John Surgery. Before the injury he was 3-2 with a 1.42 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 25.1 innings pitched.
The recovery from surgery cut into his 2015 season as well. Once able to play again he would start the year with the Yankees Rookie-Level Gulf Coast League team. After three games, he would go back to Tampa to finish the season. In 13 appearances, he was 2-1 with a 0.67 ERA and had strong strikeout numbers once again with 55 in 58.2 innings pitched.
A promotion again to start the 2016 season saw Enns in the AA Eastern League with the Trenton Thunder. After 12 games, he moved up the Yankees minor league ladder to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders of the AAA International League. For the season, he was a combined 14-4 with a 1.73 ERA. He also hit a new career high with 124 strikeouts, in 135 innings pitched.
Prior to his call-up to Minnesota, Enns had appeared in seven games with the RailRiders and then one game with the Yankees Gulf Coast level team before he was traded to the Twins as part of the deal that sent Jaime Garcia to the Yankees. After the trade Enns pitched in one game with the Rochester Red Wings of the AAA International League. Among the three teams he was a combined 2-2 with a 2.10 ERA in 51.1 innings pitched. He also had 51 strikeouts and only 12 walks.
In his Major League debut against the Milwaukee Brewers, Enns started the game on the mound and went 2.1 innings and allowed one earned run on five hits. He also recorded his first Major League hit on a single to shortstop in the top of the third inning.
###
The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. The 23-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.