The MLB Pipeline No One Talks About

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In today's edition...

I’m flipping the script on our typical format.

With the MLB season off to a scorching start, I want to highlight what I love most about baseball: anyone can play the game.

Talent can emerge from unexpected places.

And as you’ll see today, it isn't always confined to the powerhouse programs you see on TV.

Let’s dive in 👇

These Big Leaguers Started at Division 3 Schools

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Many kids dream of becoming a pro baseball player.

Donning the uniform of their favorite team.

Running out under the lights to thousands of roaring fans.

Hitting a walk-off home run in Game 7 of the World Series.

But you need to beat long odds to get there.

According to Casino.org, only 5.8% of high school seniors ever play for an NCAA baseball program. And just 0.5% of those college seniors get drafted by an MLB team.

Even then, per Baseball America, only 17.6% of players drafted make it all the way to the big leagues.

Every big leaguer beats the odds – but these players faced longer ones.

Here are the stories D3 guys who made it to Major League Baseball:

Lake Bachar – RHP, University of Wisconsin–Whitewater

Lake Bachar committed to Whitewater to play football as a kicker and punter in 2013. But whenever the spring rolled around, he started to miss baseball.

So, in 2015, he spoke to the coaches and walked on to the baseball team.

“I just got thrown in there," he said.

"It was a fun experience. It was everything I missed and more.”

What started as fun quickly turned into something bigger.

Lake struck out 46 hitters in just 10 games in his first year.

That summer, he played in the Northwoods League, where his low-90s fastball and nasty curveball caught the eye of scouts.

By 2016, he was ranked the 100th best prospect on Baseball America's MLB First-Year Player Draft list.

“I never thought I would be playing baseball again," he said then.

"Now I’m in a situation where I could possibly continue it past college. It’s pretty crazy.”

A short time later, the San Diego Padres drafted him in the 5th round and signed him for $350,000.

Bachar paid his dues, spending nine years in the minors before making his MLB debut in September of 2024, where he struck out the side against the Phillies.

Colin Selby – RHP, Randolph-Macon College

Holding out for a big SEC school, Colin Selby initially ignored the D3 coaches who contacted him.

That is, until he was coming to the end of his high school career.

“I was actually kind of a stubborn kid going into it,” he said.

“And then once the high school period started coming to an end and realizing I wasn’t really getting the calls that I wanted to, started reaching out to some of the D-III teams that reached out to me that I kind of just ignored in the past. And thankfully, they stuck with me.”

After Selby posted a 2.60 ERA and 11.7 K/9 in 2018, the Pirates drafted him in the 16th round.

He worked his way through the minor league ranks for 6 years before Pittsburgh called him up to the big leagues in August of 2023.

Josh Fleming – LHP, Webster University

"I grew up very undersized, very small," Fleming said.

"In high school – going into my senior year – I was 5'8", 130, 140 pounds."

Needless to say, the left-hander didn't receive much recruiting attention. The only program that believed in him was D3 Webster University in Missouri.

He made a big jump as a freshman for the Gorloks, hitting 90 mph on the radar gun for the first time in his life.

As he improved, scouts started showing up to every game he pitched.

Ultimately, the Rays took him in the 5th round of the 2017 draft, and the lefty made his MLB debut just four years later.

Mason Miller – RHP, Waynesburg University

Mason Miller played four seasons at Division III Waynesburg University – a private college south of Pittsburgh with less than 2,000 students.

The 6'5" right-hander was only throwing in the low-80s when he finished his sophomore season with a 7.16 ERA.

"To that point, it really wasn’t a dream to play past college,” Miller told The San Francisco Chronicle.

“It was more just something I enjoyed...During my junior year is when baseball became semi-realistic again.”

The catalyst to his meteoric rise was finding out he had Type 1 diabetes at 20 years old.

Not only did Miller adjust his life to manage the disease, but he started putting on weight and throwing harder.

By his junior season, Miller was pumping low 90s and posted a 1.86 ERA with 97 strikeouts.

Then, with an extra year of eligibility due to the pandemic, he postponed entering the workforce and transferred to Division I Gardner-Webb University.

The Oakland A's selected Mason in the third round of the 2021 MLB Draft, and he made his big league debut two years later.

You can read more about Miller's improbable journey in my full profile here.

Billy Wagner – LHP, Ferrum College

Billy Wagner's underdog story is second to none.

He was 5 years old when his parents divorced, and he spent his childhood living with various family members.

Money was tight, and his family relied on food stamps to keep everyone fed.

A natural-born righty, Wagner taught himself to throw left-handed after breaking his arm twice as a kid.

He was only 5'5" and 135 pounds as a senior in high school, causing many college programs to look past him.

After following his cousin to Division 3 Ferrum College in Virginia, Wagner set NCAA records before beginning a long major league career.

A 7-time All-Star, Billy Wagner is a Hall of Famer who will go down as one of the best closers in baseball history.

I cover Wagner’s full story in Chapter 13 of my book, The Underdog Mentality.

🐶 

Today’s article was written by yours truly. If you enjoyed it, you can check out my comprehensive list of MLB players from D3 programs.

Here are two more pieces you might enjoy:

• 5’6″ Jett Williams is The Shortest First-Round Pick in MLB History

• The Untold Story of Bryce Harper & The Most Stressful Year of His Life

Time for a quick post-game huddle with today’s sponsor, 1440

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Thanks for reading!

I thought I’d mix it up this week. Let me know your thoughts 👇

Next Sunday, I’ll be back with our typical format. Enjoy your Sunday, and have a tremendous week ahead!

Til next time,
Tyler

Extra Innings…

🌟 Trivia Answer: B) Albert Pujols. The other two are the only players to ever do it – Frank Robinson (1961 NL, 1966 AL) and Shohei Ohtani (2021 AL, 2023 AL, 2024 NL).

⚾️ I love it when MLB teams make special moments even more special.

🔥 Check out this switch-pitching Mariners’ prospect who throws gas from both sides.

🫵 Subscriber Spotlight: New subscriber Angelo G. published The Next Four Years: Compete, Win & Thrive in College Sports to help high school players transition to the next level. If you know an athlete who could benefit from it, share it with them.

✍️ Here’s a meme you can send to your friend who isn’t (yet) a subscriber 👇