Hi Rebel fans! Every year I try to do at least one check in on where our former players are at in their professional careers. It’s a nearly impossible endeavor to keep track of everyone, and I no doubt miss a few updates here and there, but I do my best to keep track of all alumni who have the privilege to continue their baseball dreams professionally. We’ll start with Major League players and work our way down to those plugging along in the Independent leagues.

Brendan Donovan was a member of the 2016 Rebels and is possibly our most successful alum currently. He is in his third season with the St. Louis Cardinals, and is having some success despite being sidelined by injury last year. He is batting .265, and is regularly a part of the Cardinals starting lineup. We fully expect Brendan to show continued success at baseball’s highest level!

Chad Kuhl pitched for the 2012 Rebels, and is currently throwing in relief for the Chicago White Sox. Chad has been jumping around the league since 2016 playing for the Pirates, the Rockies and the Nationals, spending time in both Triple-A and the big leagues. I am happy to see him continuing to have a successful career despite some real highs and lows, which included a hiatus to support his wife Amanda’s determined but successful battle with cancer. Chad has appeared in 14 games this season and currently holds a 3.53 ERA. We wish him and Amanda continued health and success in their endeavors!

Reed Garrett was a pitcher for the 2014 Rebels, and has also had a fairly long career in Minor and Major League Baseball. He is currently on rehab assignment in Triple-A with elbow issues, but is due to be back with the big league New York Mets very soon. Reed had his first MLB debut with the Tigers in 2019, and like Chad Kuhl spent some time with the Nationals, but he has found really great success with the Mets this season. This article from earlier this year goes into great detail about how Reed has figured things out and found a way to be a star reliever!

Jonathan Bowlan was another member of the 2016 Rebels. He was drafted in the second round back in 2018, and made his MLB debut last September with the KC Royals. This season Jonathan pitched in one rough game for the big league club, but has spent most of his season with Triple-A Omaha. He has had some success in Triple-A going 8-4 with a 4.73 ERA. We hope to see him again in the Majors soon!

Brandon Parker was a member of the 2018 Rebels. He was drafted in 2019 by the Atlanta Braves, and has been working his way through their farm system ever since. He is currently in Double-A Mississippi where he is playing Left Field and batting .196. We’re happy to see Brandon continuing the grind and wish him the best in his baseball journey.

Justin King was another member of the 2018 Rebels. He was an outfielder for our team, but since going pro he has been pitching. He as originally signed as a free agent by the Milwaukee Brewers. He then spent time in Australia and the Brewers farm system until this past July when he was released. That didn’t last long though, and the Miami Marlins signed him again and he is currently with their Double-A Blue Wahoos. There’s a recent interview with him here, where he talks about this experience thus far!

Jack Hartman played for the 2017 Rebels. He was an infielder for our team, but turned to pitching in his pro career. He was drafted in 2020 by the Pittsburgh Pirates and was later traded into the Tampa Bay Rays organization where he was recently promoted from High-A to their Double-A Montgomery Biscuits. We wish him luck at this next level and hope he continues to move forward!

Jackson Lancaster was New Market Rebel in 2021. He both pitched and played outfield for us, and despite being drafted in 2019 without signing, he still got his MLB opportunity as a free agent in 2022 by signing with Tampa Bay. He has been pitching for their organization since then and is currently in High-A Bowling Green. He has been pitching in relief with some success and we wish him continued luck this season and in his further career.

Seth Keener was another pitcher for the 2021 Rebels. He was a top prospect at Wake Forest and was drafted last year by the Chicago White Sox. He is currently in Single-A Kannapolis where is he starting and doing fairly well. His record is 4-3 and he holds an ERA of 3.36. We’re happy to see Seth off to a good start in his pro career and hope he continues to learn and improve!

Tyler Robertson was an outfielder for the 2021 Rebels. He was drafted in 2022 by the San Diego Padres. He is currently on the disabled list, but he has mostly spend time in High-A Fort Wayne where he has batted .265. We hope Tyler can get healthy soon and jump back in to his baseball adventure.

Jason Hinchman was a first basement who was with the 2018 squad for a partial season. He signed as a free agent with the Colorado Rockies in 2022. He is currently in Single-A Fresno where he is batting .239. Wishing him the best of luck!

Mason Moore pitched for the 2022 Rebels and was just drafted this year by the Chicago White Sox. Since the draft was just in July, he has not had any playing opportunities yet for this season. We look forward to seeing where he ends up next season!

Jimmy Kerrigan was a 2013 Rebel, and he’s had a fairly long professional career. He originally signed as a free agent with the Minnesota Twins back in 2017, and spent 5 seasons in their farm system, making it as far as Triple-A. He was then released and has had a great Independent career, playing for the Kane County Cougars in the American Association, as well as in Australia, and most recently for the Bravos de Leon in the Mexican League. There he batted .295 and racked up 16 home runs! The Mexican League season is over, but we hope to see Jimmy again next year!

Jake Washer was a catcher for the Rebels in 2017. He was drafted by the Cubs in 2019 and played in their farm system until last season when he was released at the Triple-A level. He has continued to pursue a baseball career though and is currently playing for the High Point Rockers in the Atlantic League. He has had a decent season there batting .263. We’re glad to see him continuing his career in this great sport!

Jacob Rhinesmith was also a member of the 2017 Rebels. He began his pro career with the 2018 draft where he was selected by the Washington Nationals. He played in their farm system until 2022 when he was released, but signed with the York Revolution of the Atlantic League. He has had a good season this year batting .317 with 31 extra base hits. We hope he continues to do so well for as long as he wants to play the game!

Oraj Anu was a member of the championship 2018 Rebels. He began his pro career in the Independant Leagues and is currently playing for the Sussex County Miners in the Frontier League. He’s having a good season batting .265 with 28 extra base hits. I found this interview with Oraj from the beginning of this season where he talks about his experiences with the Miners!

Reeves Martin was a 2018 Rebel pitcher, and he was originally drafted by the Seattle Mariners in 2019. He played in their system for three years, but then decided to retire. I was surprised to have him pop up on my baseball radar again this week because I found him pitching for the New England Knockouts in the Frontier League. He has been having a good season pitching in relief. He holds a 2.51 ERA with 5 wins and 7 saves. It’s awesome to see Reeves still throwing a baseball!

Emmett Bice was a pitcher on the 2021 Rebels. He just finished up his collegiate career this year and is playing in the MLB Draft League for the Williamsport Crosscutters. If you’re unfamiliar with this league, it’s a bit of a hybrid where the first half of the season is spent developing players for the upcoming draft, and then after the draft the teams transition into a pseudo-professional league where the players are paid to play. Emmett has been doing well here, and holds a 3.04 ERA from 6 games played. We hope he continues to do well and gets further opportunities from here!

Kyle Luigs and Kyle “KJ” Jackson aren’t playing traditional professional baseball, but these two are both still active in the sport in a way. Kyle Luigs has been a member of the Savannah Bananas since 2018 when it was still a summer collegiate team, and he has continued to be a part of this entertainment-baseball craze that has taken over the country! KJ has also been a part of the Savannah Bananas team this year playing for their developmental team “The Visitors” who sometimes play against the Bananas or the Party Animals in their games. We have to share some video clips of Kyle and KJ! So fun!

Update Edit: KJ is now officially a Banana!

If anyone knows of any other former Rebels in pro ball that I may have missed, please feel free to comment and let me know!

■ Anna Kipps