Three former OVC players open season on MLB Rosters

Shawn Kelley/Austin Peay/Seattle Mariners -

2007 OVC Pitcher of the Year Shawn Kelley graduated from Austin Peay in 2007 and was drafted in the 13th round of the MLB draft. Beginning in 2009 he was placed on the Mariners 25-man roster after spending the past two seasons in the Mariners' minor league system. He made only 61 appearances in the minors before being promoted. He made his major league debut on April 10, 2009, pitching the 7th inning against the Oakland Athletics, striking out two.


Jon Rauch/Morehead State/Minnesota Twins -

Jon Rauch was drafted in the third round of the 1999 amateur draft by the Chicago White Sox. At 6' 11" he is the tallest player in the history of the major leagues. In 2002, he made his MLB debut for the Sox. He moved in and out of the majors and minors for the next few years and was traded to the Montreal Expos in 2004. In 2006 had his best season posting a 4-5 record, a 3.35 ERA, and appearing in 85 games, second most in the NL. In 2007 Rauch led the Major Leagues in appearances with 88. He finished the year with a 8-4 record, four saves, and a 3.61 ERA.

In 2008 he was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks and on August 29, 2009 he was traded to the Minnesota Twins. After Twins closer Joe Nathan was injured to begin the current season, Rauch was named the team's closer. He earned his first save with the Twins on April 6 striking out two in the ninth.

George Sherrill/Austin Peay/Los Angeles Dodgers -

George Sherrill graduated Austin Peay in 2000 was not drafted out of college. He played in Independent leagues from 1999-2003 in Evansville, Winnepeg and Souix Falls among others. In 2003 he was finally given a chance by the Seattle Mariners who signed him to a minor league deal. Sherrill made his MLB debut on July 16, 2004, against the Cleveland Indians and joined the Mariners active roster in 2006. In 2008 he was traded to the Orioles to pitch in the closing role. That year he earned a spot on the American League All-Star team where he pitched an inning in the game and struck out two.

On July 30, 2009 he was traded to the Dodgers and named the team's closer. He appeared in 30 games for the Dodgers, finishing with an 0.65 ERA and 22 strikeouts.