Top-10 Stories of 2019: No. 3 Three former Indiana Preps Make MLB Debuts

December 29, 2019
Phil Wade
Indiana Executive Director

Former Indiana high school players Josh VanMeter (Norwell HS), Zach Plesac (Crown Point HS) and Mike Brosseau (Andrean HS) each made it to the 'show' in 2019.

JOSH VANMETER DEBUTS WITH REDS
Fri May 10, 2019
Pete Cava
PBR Indiana Correspondent

Selected by the Reds earlier in the day from the Louisville Bats of the Class AAA International League, former Norwell High School standout Josh VanMeter made his major league debut on Sunday, May 5.

The versatile left-handed hitter batted for Cincinnati starter Luis Castillo in the seventh. VanMeter drew a walk off Giants reliever Reyes Moronta and then stole second.

Primarily a second baseman, Joshua Michael VanMeter has played in the minors since 2013. The San Diego Padres took him in the fifth round of that year’s MLB Draft. He came to the Reds in a December 2016 trade. He also saw action at third, short, first and the outfield in the minors.

A Fort Wayne native, VanMeter pitched Ossian’s Norwell Knights to the IHSAA Class 3A title in 2013 at Victory Field in Indianapolis. Batting leadoff in that contest, he drew a pair of walks and scored both runs in Norwell’s 2-1 victory over Jasper. CONTINUE READING...

ZACH PLESAC SHINES IN FIRST BIG-LEAGUE OUTING
Thu May 30, 2019
Pete Cava
PBR Indiana Correspondent

At daybreak on May 28, 2019, only ten families could claim they’d sent more than one Indiana-born player to the majors.

That figure bumped up to 11 Tuesday night, after Zach Plesac took the mound for the Cleveland Indians in Boston against the defending World Series champion Red Sox.

The 24-year-old Plesac, born in Crown Point, Ind., is the nephew of left-hander Dan Plesac, a Gary native who pitched for six big-league clubs. Uncle Dan, who currently serves as an analyst for the MLB Network, won 65 and lost 71 with 158 saves and a 3.64 earned run average while pitching for the Brewers, Cubs, Pirates, Blue Jays, Diamondbacks and Phillies from 1986 to 2003.

Joe Plesac, Dan’s brother and Zach’s dad, was a second-round draft pick by the San Diego Padres in 1982. Joe spent six seasons in the minors. CONTINUE READING...

AGAINST ALL ODDS, ANDREAN ALUM BROSSEAU BREAKS INTO BIG LEAGUES
Wed June 26, 2019
Pete Cava
PBR Indiana Correspondent

“A lot of hard work through the years paid off,” beamed Tampa Bay third baseman

Mike Brosseau after his major league debut during the Rays’ 8-2 victory over the Athletics in Oakland on Sunday, June 23. “It was a special moment,” the Munster, Indiana, native told Fox Sports Sun interviewer Tricia Whitaker. “I know my family and my friends in the stands were watching. It was great to hopefully make them proud.”

One day earlier, the 25-year-old Brosseau had joined Tampa Bay when the Rays selected his contract from Durham, North Carolina, of the Class AAA International League.

Brosseau followed an unlikely path to the majors. He spent three years playing shortstop for Hall of Fame coach Dave Pishkur at Andrean High School in Merrillville, Ind. One of his high school teammates was Sean Manaea, a left-handed pitcher for the Oakland A’s.

In 2010, Brosseau’s sophomore season, Andrean went 29-6 and won the IHSAA Class 3A crown. He knocked in a run in the 59ers’ 6-1 triumph over Jasper in the championship game at Victory Field in Indianapolis. CONTINUE READING...