For your MoonDogs Alumni of the Week, we have fielder Carter Vrabel, and pitcher Grant Garza.

Carter Vrabel is a in-fielder from Tennessee Tech who is making his way into the regular lineup. Vrabel helped lead the Golden Eagle squad to a series sweep against Little Rock. In the series against Little Rock, Vrabel went 5/11 with 5 RBIs and a homerun! This homerun would be Vrabel’s 3rd of the season. Beyond the plate, Vrabel has contributed on the field with having zero errors so far this season.

Vrabel was a 2024 MoonDog and ended his season with a batting average of .232. In his time with the MoonDogs, he played in 39 games, had 142 at-bats, 20 runs, 33 hits, 4 doubles, 15 RBIs, and 4 homeruns! For fielding, Vrabel played in 327 innings, 116 total chances, 55 putouts, 59 assists, and 2 errors. His overall fielding percentage was .983. Vrabel also appeared in the 2024 All-Star Home Run Challenge, where he hit 7 home runs.

Grant Garza is a relief arm for UT Tyler. Garza had 11 strikeouts between 2 appearances, where he threw a total of 5.2 innings. During his appearances he only let up 2 runs in their game against Cameron. His 9 strikeouts in his appearance versus Eastern N.M was his season high when he struck out 9/14 batters faced. So far this season, Garza has an ERA of 3.07.

Garza played for the MoonDogs in 2023 and 2024. In 2024, Garza was also recognized at the All-Star Game playing for the Great Plains. In his time with the MoonDogs, he played in 32 games, with 5 wins, 1 loss, and 7 saves. He pitched 51.1 innings, had 49 strikeouts, 216 batters faced, and an ERA between his seasons of 2.45. In his two seasons, Garza had zero errors out of his 10 total chances.

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The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Having completed its’ 31^st season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in history 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 370 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 two-time World Series Champion Max Scherzer (TEX), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford and World Series Champion and Cy Young Award winner Chris Sale (ATL). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and 2019/2021 Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and 2023 World Series Champion, MLB All-Star, MLB Gold Glove, two-time Silver Slugger winner and two-time All-MLB first team shortstop Marcus Semien (TEX). League games are viewable live on Northwoods League+ (at watch.northwoodsleague.com), ESPN+, and the Northwoods League Network.