Former Mississippi State baseball pitcher Chris Stratton was called up by the San Francisco Giants Saturday.
He was called up from Triple-A Sacramento after Matt Cain was placed on the disabled list.
The right-hander was drafted in the first round of the 2012 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. The Tupelo native was the 2012 Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Year after going 11-2 with a 2.38 ERA and 127 strikeouts as a junior. He played for the Bulldogs from 2010-12.
Stratton was 5-4 with a 6.02 ERA and 36 strikeouts with Sacramento this season.
In five seasons with the organization, he has yet to make his big league debut. It is unclear when he will join the team. San Francisco plays in Colorado today before a four-game series at Atlanta.
Stratton becomes the 54th MSU player to be called to the major-leagues.
Stratton is the second Bulldog this season to be called up, joining former MSU lefty Chad Girodo, who was called up to Toronto on April 22.
With the call up to the Big Leagues, Stratton joins Girodo (Toronto Blue Jays), Kendall Graveman (Oakland Athletics), Mitch Moreland (Texas Rangers) and Jonathan Papelbon (Washington Nationals) as MSU’s five representatives in the Majors. S
tratton becomes the sixth Bulldog to play for the Giants, joining the likes of former Bulldog All-Americans Jeff Brantley (1988-93) and Will Clark (1986-93).
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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