On an unprecedented day this week, two former Illini were promoted to AAA within 24 hours. Tuesday June 14th, both Michael Massey and Garrett Acton jumped to Triple-A for their respective organizations.
To top it off, former Illini starter Ty Weber made an appearance in AAA for his organization last Saturday.
Michael Massey
| Year | Age | Tm | Lg | Lev | Aff | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 19 | Illinois | BTen | NCAA | 51 | 223 | 209 | 22 | 69 | 12 | 1 | 6 | 36 | 4 | 10 | 16 | .330 | .360 | .483 | |
| 2018 | 20 | Illinois | BTen | NCAA | 53 | 237 | 218 | 34 | 71 | 17 | 3 | 6 | 46 | 2 | 12 | 25 | .326 | .369 | .514 | |
| 2018 | 20 | Brewster | CCBL | Smr | 23 | 92 | 82 | 9 | 23 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 6 | .281 | .337 | .366 | |
| 2019 | 21 | Illinois | BTen | NCAA | 55 | 249 | 218 | 31 | 69 | 14 | 1 | 5 | 28 | 2 | 20 | 33 | .317 | .373 | .459 | |
| 2019 | 21 | Burlington | APPY | Rk | KCR | 42 | 192 | 173 | 32 | 47 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 25 | 4 | 13 | 28 | .272 | .339 | .399 |
| 2021 | 23 | Quad Cities | HAC | A+ | KCR | 99 | 439 | 388 | 76 | 112 | 27 | 2 | 21 | 87 | 12 | 33 | 68 | .289 | .351 | .531 |
| 2022 | 24 | 2 Teams | 2 Lgs | AA-AAA | KCR | 55 | 252 | 223 | 38 | 69 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 48 | 9 | 22 | 55 | .309 | .365 | .498 |
| 2022 | 24 | Omaha | IL | AAA | KCR | 1 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .667 | .750 | .667 |
| 2022 | 24 | Northwest Arkansas | TL | AA | KCR | 54 | 248 | 220 | 36 | 67 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 48 | 9 | 21 | 54 | .305 | .359 | .496 |
I’ve been following Massey’s progress closely this year. He had been promoted to Double-A this season and performed admirably for Northwest Arkansas Naturals. He took the Texas League Player of the Week honors twice in a matter of a month and a half. It didn’t take the Royals organization long to realize they needed to stretch his limits. Massey is now with the AAA Omaha Storm Chasers.
Here’s the thing about Massey; he adapts well. I understand that with almost all players, it takes some time when they move up a level. Michael Massey learns what is expected of him and gets it done. We have already seen this in his AA ball play.
And wouldn’t you know it? In his first game with Omaha, Massey went 2 for 3 with two runs scored. His first run scored actually broke the Iowa Cubs 10-0 shutout.
Garrett Acton
| Year | Age | Tm | Lg | Lev | Aff | W | L | W-L% | ERA | G | GS | GF | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 19 | St. Louis | A10 | NCAA | 2 | 1 | .667 | 6.12 | 15 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 32.1 | 36 | 23 | 22 | 3 | 23 | 31 | |||
| 2017 | 19 | Plymouth | NECL | Smr | 1 | 3 | .250 | 6.21 | 10 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33.1 | 33 | 26 | 23 | 7 | 20 | 45 | |
| 2019 | 21 | Illinois | BTen | NCAA | 2 | 3 | .400 | 2.18 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 33.0 | 13 | 11 | 8 | 2 | 18 | 34 | |||
| 2020 | 22 | Illinois | BTen | NCAA | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8 | ||||
| 2021 | 23 | 2 Teams | 2 Lgs | A-A+ | OAK | 3 | 0 | 1.000 | 3.69 | 34 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 53.2 | 41 | 22 | 22 | 9 | 18 | 87 |
| 2021 | 23 | Lansing | HAC | A+ | OAK | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 3.63 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 17.1 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 34 |
| 2021 | 23 | Stockton | LAW | A | OAK | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | 3.72 | 20 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36.1 | 31 | 15 | 15 | 6 | 14 | 53 |
| 2022 | 24 | Midland | TL | AA | OAK | 1 | 3 | .250 | 4.23 | 19 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 27.2 | 29 | 16 | 13 | 3 | 14 | 42 |
Acton has taken a slightly quicker route to AAA. After spending 2020 in A ball and 2021 in AA, he now gets his chance to make it at the highest level in the minors. Acton was a transfer at Illinois so we only saw a couple of years from him and boy, they were solid.
The A’s organization really likes what they see in Acton. He’ll now be playing for the AAA Las Vegas Aviators. He hasn’t seen action yet but it’s only been one day. He’ll get his chance.
Ty Weber
| Year | Age | Tm | Lg | Lev | Aff | W | L | W-L% | ERA | G | GS | GF | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 19 | Illinois | BTen | NCAA | 2 | 7 | .222 | 5.51 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 78.1 | 82 | 53 | 48 | 11 | 40 | 53 | |||
| 2018 | 20 | Illinois | BTen | NCAA | 4 | 3 | .571 | 3.84 | 15 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 82.0 | 75 | 44 | 35 | 9 | 32 | 53 | |||
| 2019 | 21 | Illinois | BTen | NCAA | 4 | 3 | .571 | 3.28 | 16 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 79.2 | 65 | 38 | 29 | 5 | 32 | 46 | |||
| 2020 | 22 | Illinois | BTen | NCAA | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | 1.31 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 20.2 | 17 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 15 | |||
| 2021 | 23 | 3 Teams | 3 Lgs | A-AAA-A+ | SFG | 4 | 4 | .500 | 4.50 | 32 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 64.0 | 71 | 38 | 32 | 10 | 12 | 63 |
| 2021 | 23 | Sacramento | AAAW | AAA | SFG | 0 | 0 | 5.63 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8.0 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 5 | |
| 2021 | 23 | Eugene | HAW | A+ | SFG | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 0.00 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| 2021 | 23 | San Jose | LAW | A | SFG | 3 | 4 | .429 | 4.50 | 27 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 54.0 | 63 | 33 | 27 | 7 | 8 | 56 |
| 2022 | 24 | 2 Teams | 2 Lgs | A+-AAA | SFG | 3 | 2 | .600 | 4.54 | 13 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33.2 | 35 | 20 | 17 | 5 | 7 | 28 |
| 2022 | 24 | Sacramento | PCL | AAA | SFG | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 0.00 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2022 | 24 | Eugene | NORW | A+ | SFG | 2 | 2 | .500 | 4.83 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31.2 | 34 | 18 | 17 | 5 | 7 | 26 |
I don’t believe Ty Weber has officially been promoted to AAA but he made a spot appearance for the Giants’ AAA team, the Sacramento River Cats on June 11th. Not only that, but he also got the win!
Near as I can tell, Weber still remains on the High-A Eugene Emeralds roster but a win at Triple-A puts him on the map and is something to celebrate!
Keep up the good work, Michael, Garrett and Ty!