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Picture credit to Mitchell White’s Instagram account

 

A total of six players former Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League players earned spots on MLB rosters for 2024 opening day. Four of them are on active rosters while two others find themselves on the 40-man roster.

 

The two standout performers over the first weekend of the season where Brent Suter of the Cincinnati Reds and Mitch White of the Toronto Blue Jays.

 

Suter, who signed as a free agent in the offseason, was a big hit out of the bullpen for his hometown Reds. The lefty reliever threw two perfect innings out of the bullpen for Cincinnati against the Washington Nationals. He struck out four of the six batters that he faced closing out an 8-2 Reds victory.

 

The Cincinnati native played in the GLSCL during the 2010 season for the nearby Hamilton Joes. Suter went 5-0 for Hamilton in eight starts leading the staff in ERA (1.27) and strikeouts (47) over the course of 49.2 innings. He also helped lead the Joes to the 2010 GLSCL championship defeating the runner-up Licking County Settlers.

 

Mitch White was equally effective in his lone appearance over the opening weekend for the Toronto Blue Jays. White celebrated Easter Sunday throwing three shutout innings while earning the victory in a 9-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. He only allowed two base runners thanks to a fielding error and allowing a base on balls.

 

White worked out of the bullpen for the Lima Locos 2015 GLSCL Championship team. He was tied for a team high three saves as the Locos defeated the Joes in the championship series.

 

Tanner Rainey made the big league club for the Washington Nationals as he is recovering from Tommy John surgery. Rainey, who was injured midway through the 2022 season missed most of 2023 rehabbing his elbow. Rainey pitched one inning on opening day giving up one earned run on one hit against the Reds.

 

Rainey played in the GLSCL as a two-way player for the Licking County Settlers in 2014. Rainey hit for a .355 batting average in 76 at bats leading the team with three home runs and 14 doubles. On the mound, Rainey led the Settlers and was third in the GLSCL with seven saves.

 

Bailey Ober, who signed with the 2014 Cincinnati Steam but didn’t appear in a game after being selected to play for Team USA, opened the MLB season in the staring rotation for the Minnesota Twins. However, the College of Charleston alum’s first start was unfortunately nothing to write about as he only lasted 1.1 innings. 

 

Scott Effross, who missed the 2023 season after Tommy John surgery, begins the season on the New York Yankees 60-day injured list. Effross suffered a back injury in the off season that required surgery and is set to miss multiple months. He played for the Settlers in 2013 which was the middle season of the franchise's GLSCL championship three-peat. 

 

Peyton Burdick rounds out the list starting the season in the minor leagues but is on the 40-man roster for the Baltimore Orioles. Burdick played briefly for the Steam as his Wright State Raiders advanced to the NCAA Super Regional round in 2016.

 

 

ABOUT THE GREAT LAKES SUMMER COLLEGIATE LEAGUE 

The Great Lakes Summer Collegiate, founded in 1987, is a wood-bat league that is certified by the NCAA and is partially funded by Major League Baseball. The GLSCL is a non-profit 501(c)(3) entity that is one of 12 members of the National Alliance of Collegiate Summer Baseball (NACSB). The league currently consists of 7 active franchises in Ohio and Michigan boasting several players that have earned service time in major league baseball.