Waterloo, Iowa – With Major League Baseball Opening Day occurring today, four former Waterloo Bucks players are on MLB Opening Day rosters. Clint Barmes, Ryan Goins, Dan Jennings, and Evan Reed are all starting the 2014 season on MLB rosters.
Former Waterloo infielder Clint Barmes
enters his third season with the Pittsburgh Pirates, and 12th season in the big leagues overall. Barmes begins the spring as Pittsburgh’s reserve middle infielder after hitting .211 in 108 games in 2013. For his major league career, the Vincennes, Indiana native is hitting .246 with 86 home runs, 392 RBI, and 42 stolen bases in 1,040 games.
The Indiana State University product played for the Bucks in 1999 and 2000. In a stellar ’99 season, Barmes finished with 48 runs, 16 doubles, nine home runs, 52 RBI, and 27 stolen bases. For a career with Waterloo, Barmes hit .263 with 11 home runs and 56 RBI.
Ryan Goins
breaks camp with the Toronto Blue Jays as the team’s starting second baseman. Last season, the Dallas Baptist University product made his MLB debut on August 23, finishing the year with a .252 average in 34 games. Goins hit two home runs with eight RBI and finished with a .345 slugging percentage for the Blue Jays.
A native of Round Rock, Texas, Goins was drafted in the fourth round of the 2009 MLB Draft by Toronto. Goins led Waterloo with a .318 batting average and a team high 12 doubles in 2008.
Former Bucks left-handed pitcher Dan Jennings begins his third season with the Miami Marlins and makes his first Opening Day roster since making his MLB debut on April 20, 2012. The West Des Moines, Iowa native finished last season with a 2-4 record and a 3.76 ERA. A reliever, Jennings struck out 38 batters in 40
.2 innings and held batters to a .255 average.
Jennings, who played with Waterloo in 2006 and 2007, was drafted by the Marlins in the ninth round of the 2008 MLB Amateur Entry Draft. A University of Nebraska product, Jennings appeared in 33 games for the Bucks in his two seasons with Waterloo, which is tied for the 10th most on the Bucks’ career list. With Waterloo, Jennings owns a career 6-7 record with a 2.59 ERA (seventh best for a career in the Bucks’ record books) and 99 strikeouts in 125.1 innings pitched. His 15 games started and three complete games both rank in the top 10 for a career with Waterloo. In his final season with the Bucks, Jennings finished the season with a 2.01 ERA, which is tied for the seventh best mark in a single season for Waterloo.
Right-handed pitcher Evan Reed
makes his first Opening Day roster, beginning the ’14 season with the Detroit Tigers. Reed is in his second season in the majors, after making his MLB debut on May 16, 2013. The righty finished last year with a 0-1 record and a 4.24 ERA with 17 strikeouts in 23.1 innings pitched for Detroit.
Reed was drafted in the third round of the 2007 MLB Amateur Entry Draft by the Texas Rangers. Originally from San Luis Obispo, California, Reed played for Waterloo in 2005. In 17 games, the Cal Poly-SLO product threw 26.2 innings with 24 strikeouts, a 0-1 record, and a 7.09 ERA.
The Bucks will open the 2014 season on the road versus the Rochester Honkers on May 27, but return to Waterloo for their home opener versus Rochester on May 28. Season tickets and group outings are currently on sale. For more information, call the Bucks’ Ticket Line at (319) 232-5633. Fans are encouraged to stay in touch with the Bucks in the off-season by utilizing their website at www.waterloobucks.com.
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The Waterloo Bucks are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Playing its 21st season of summer collegiate baseball, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 18 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 115 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (DET) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (WAS), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Allen Craig (STL) and Ben Zobrist (TB). All league games are viewable live and free of charge via the Northwoods League YouTube channel. For more information, visit www.waterloobucks.com.