For the fourth time in as many years, an Illini player has made it to the Majors! On Saturday, Illinois baseball’s all-time saves leader Garrett Acton was called up to the Oakland Athletics parent team from his Triple-A Las Vegas Aviators.
At the time, Acton was 5-1 with a save and a 4.01 ERA. More telling, he had 30 strikeouts in 24 2/3 innings.
It didn’t take long for Acton to see some action for the A’s.
On Sunday, Acton came in and pitched one and two-thirds perfect innings while striking out two opponents against the Texas Rangers. Nice to see an Illini get the job done at the big league level! And yes, Garrett’s mother attended the game. A perfect Mother’s Day gift!
Garrett Acton pitched for the Illini for two years (2019-2020) and that was enough to reach the Illinois all-time mark in saves with 25. He still holds the single season mark with 19. In 36 appearances with Illinois, he had a miniscule 1.82 ERA.
As a sophomore, Acton pitched for nearby Parkland College in 2018. That year, he went 2-3 with four saves and a 2.25 ERA. He struck out 44 in 32 innings. I can see why Illinois was interested in Mr. Acton.
Former Illini to make an MLB appearance since 2020
- Joey Gerber
- Michael Massey
- Cody Sedlock
- Garrett Acton
Congratulations, Garrett! We’ll be looking forward to your first showdown with Michael Massey!