Each week in the Alumni Notebook, we will take a look back at the previous weekend’s action from around the game of baseball. This week, we take a look across all baseball levels and bring you the latest on Baseball Factory alumni who are helping their teams with outstanding play. Steve Bernhardt, Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations for the Factory provides information on the Factory alumni.

Major League Baseball

Nick Castellanos

Nick Castellanos – Facing the New York Yankees in their home opener last Friday, the Detroit Tigers third baseman from Davie, FL reminded all of us here at the Factory of his perfect day at the 2009 Under Armour All-America Game where he went 4-for-4 in the game and racked up the hardware with Home Run Derby and MVP honors.

Castellanos’ 4-for-4 outing was his third-career four-hit game and helped lead the team to a 4-0 victory. So far through seven games on the young season, the right-hander, who also attended an Under Armour Baseball Factory National Tryout and a Dodgertown World Series event prior to his freshman year of high school, is hitting .269 with a double, a homer and three RBI.

Derek Holland – It’s been a long road to recovery and a long way back to the dominance Holland showed between 2011 and 2013 when he won 38 games.

A former Baseball Factory All-American in 2005, Holland attended College PREP events in OH as well as an Arizona Fall Classic in 2004 before playing collegiately at Wallace State Community College in Hanceville, AL and later being drafted in the 25th round of the ’06 Draft by the Texas Rangers.

Plagued by a shoulder injury last season, Holland is healthy and off to a fast start in 2016, winning in his second start of the season, a four-hit outing on Tuesday night against the Seattle Mariners where the lefty tossed 6 2/3 innings without allowing a run and striking out four in the 8-0 win. So far this season, Holland has pitched to a 2.31 ERA through two starts, 11th-best in the American League.

Scooter Gennett

Scooter Gennett – Gennett is off to a great start for the Milwaukee Brewers as the team’s starting second baseman in 2016. Now in his fourth season with the Brew Crew, the 2008 Under Armour All-American is settling into his starting role and showing pop with the bat.

Three of his nine hits so far this season have been solo home runs for the left-handed swinging Gennett, including his first of the year against top left-handed pitcher and three-time All-Star, Madison Bumgarner of the San Francisco Giants. The Cincinnati, OH native has batted mostly from the two-spot, collecting seven hits in his first 22 at-bats from that spot and is hitting .346 overall, second-best on the team.

College

Connor Jones

Connor Jones – The Chesapeake, VA native stayed local and joined the University of Virginia to play for the Cavaliers after graduating from Great Bridge High School in 2013. Now in his junior season and fresh off helping Virginia win its first National Championship in Baseball, Jones is dominating once again in 2016.

The 2011 Team One Futures East participant and 2012 Under Armour All-American was named ACC Co-Pitcher of the Week this past Monday, marking the first time in his career he’s been honored as such, throwing a complete-game shutout against Boston College on Friday April 8th, allowing just one hit and struck out four in the 3-0 victory.

Connor’s excellent three-pitch mix has certainly gotten scouts to notice heading into this year’s MLB Draft as he currently has a record of 6-1 and an ERA of 2.24 with 45 strikeouts in 56 1/3 innings pitched. Jones is also holding opponents to a .210 batting average, good for second on the staff.

Jake Burger

Jake Burger/Seth Beer/Heath Quinn – The three of these gifted players have never played with each other but all hold the distinction as Baseball Factory alumni and all three share the NCAA home run lead with 14 so far in 2016.

Burger, a sophomore infielder from Chesterfield, MO, leads Missouri State in all offensive categories with a .385 average, 14 homers and 46 RBI in 32 games. Burger attended an Under Armour Baseball Factory College PREP event in St. Louis, MO in October of 2011 and was a 2014 graduate from Christian Brothers in Chesterfield.

Heath Quinn

Beer is turning the world of college baseball on its head with his outstanding performance as a freshman at Clemson University so far this season. As we have mentioned previously, Beer graduated early from Lambert High School in Suwanee, GA, enrolling in January at Clemson and is performing at an incredible level, essentially as a senior in high school. A two-time Under Armour All-American in 2014 and 2015, Beer is hitting a team-best .425 with 14 homers and 39 RBI with 95 total bases and a slugging percentage of .896.

Rounding out this talented trio is Quinn, a junior outfielder at Samford University, leading the 19-14 Bulldogs with a .349 average, 14 homers and 47 RBI in 33 games. Quinn is a 2012 Team One South Showcase alum and showed during the event as an athletic outfielder with a strong and accurate arm and quick hands that allowed him to drive the baseball with authority to all fields.

Derek Jenkins

Derek Jenkins – Jenkins is a native of Annandale, NJ and a 2012 graduate from North Hunterdon High School in Annandale. Now a senior at Seton Hall University, the speedy outfielder leads the NCAA in stolen bases with 33 and is the team leader in batting average (.300) and runs scored with 22 for the Pirates, who are currently 23-11 and 13-1 at home this season.

Jenkins attended an Under Armour Baseball Factory National Tryout in Green Isle, MN in July of 2010 and a College PREP event in Trenton, NJ in August of 2010.

High School

Conner Uselton

Conner Uselton – Uselton, a 2017 OF from Southmoore High School in Oklahoma City, OK, will be an All-American this year, selected to play in the All-America Game at Wrigley this July and is putting up big-time numbers to back it up.

The junior is hitting .493 with five doubles, three triples, eight homers, 30 RBI and is also a perfect 2-0 with two saves on the mound for Southmoore. We saw Conner last November in Texas at the Under Armour Baseball Factory Futures Texas event, showing off immense talent and tools to use in a big-time game like the All-America Game. At the plate, he showed great rhythm with the ability to drive the ball to all fields. In the outfield, his defense was smooth instinctually with a great arm and the ability to play all three OF spots.

Colton Welker

Colton Welker – Welker will assuredly be one of the top hitters in this year’s Draft, as the Coral Springs, FL native has lead his Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School team to a 19-2 record down in south FL, led by Welker who’s hitting .516 with eight doubles, two triples, five homers and 29 RBI.

We’ve seen Colton numerous times at Baseball Factory events, the first one coming at the 2012 Under Armour Fall Classic and then later at National Tryouts in Delray Beach, FL and Tampa, FL while also being selected to play in the 2013 Under Armour Memorial Day Classic and then selected as a 2015 Under Armour All-American.

Kyle Jacobsen

Kyle Jacobsen – Jacobsen, a 2017 OF from Allatoona High School in Acworth, GA is a South Carolina commit and attended the 2015 Under Armour Baseball Factory Futures South event last October as a player to watch after posting a 6.66 60-yard time and making contact very well, featuring the hand-eye coordination and barrel accuracy to deliver hard line drives from gap-to-gap. At the event, he took those skills and translated them well to live games and did the same defensively as well, making him a true prospect to watch in the 2017 class.

He’s hit and pitched well this season, batting .435 with nine doubles, three triples, three home runs and 28 RBI. On the mound, the lefty is 3-0 with one save and has not allowed an earned run in 25.0 innings pitched.