Tag: Ryan Bliss

Former Auburn baseball player Ryan Bliss makes MLB debut

Bliss went 0-for-2 in his MLB debut Monday night for the Seattle Mariners.

Auburn athletics has formed a history of sending its players to the professional leagues across all sports. Many have made big impacts, but it all starts with a player’s first appearance as a rookie.

That dream of playing in the pros became true when former Tiger infielder [autotag]Ryan Bliss[/autotag] made his debut in the MLB for the Seattle Mariners on Monday night.

Bliss enters “The Show” after spending the last three seasons at the minor league level, most recently for the Tacoma Rainiers at triple-A.

The former Auburn star went 0-for-2 on the night and walked once. He was also stranded in scoring position later in the inning after he walked.

Bliss earned many honors in his final season on the Plains. He earned Second Team All-SEC and SEC All-Defensive Team in 2021 amongst many other honors that he accumulated. He posted a .328 batting average with 20 home runs and 99 RBIs while with the Tigers. He started every single game he appeared in, as well.

He was notably on the roster when Auburn made the College World Series in 2019, when the Tigers won the Atlanta Regional and Chapel Hill Super Regional.

The Seattle Mariners continue their series with the Houston Astros over the next three days, where Bliss will be expected to see some playing time.

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Ryan Bliss, who tweeted his dream to play for the Mariners at age 14, has reached the big leagues

As a 14-year-old, Ryan Bliss tweeted it was his dream to play for the Mariners. A decade later, he’s suiting up for his MLB debut — in Seattle.

“My dream,” tweeted Ryan Bliss three days before he turned 15 in response to the Seattle Mariners and MLB accounts. “One day.” The post included three emojis, one of which was an airplane and one a baseball.

That was tweeted on December 10, 2014, when Bliss was 14. On Monday night, he made his MLB debut with none other than the Mariners of Seattle, the next chapter of what now feels like destiny.

The Mariners posted onto social media platform X, “10 years later, ‘one day’ has come,” with an image of Bliss dressed in everyday clothing walking onto the field. He quote-tweeted, “Dreams come true.”

Bliss is ranked as the No. 11 prospect in the Mariners’ farm system. He’s listed at just 5-foot-7, but last year, he hit .304 with 23 home runs and 86 RBI between Double-A and Triple-A ball. This season, he leads Triple-A with 28 steals. He swiped 55 bags last year and 31 the season before.

The middle infielder’s path in the minor leagues didn’t start with a Mariners affiliate. Bliss was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the second round of the 2021 draft and traded to Seattle as part of the deal last season for Paul Sewald.

Now, Bliss debuts in the major leagues with Seattle, a decade after he sent his prophetic tweet.

Former Auburn infielder scheduled to make Major League debut on Monday

Ryan Bliss is scheduled to earn his first start at second base for the Seattle Mariners.

After spending just over three seasons in the minor leagues, former Auburn infielder [autotag]Ryan Bliss[/autotag] is set to make his Major League debut on Monday for the Seattle Mariners. Bliss will make his first big league start at second base for the Mariners game against the Houston Astros at 8:40 p.m. CT at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, Washington.

Bliss gets the call following the Mariners move of Jorge Polanco to the 10-day injured list after sustaining a strained hamstring. In 50 games at AAA Tacoma, Bliss recorded 45 hits in 182 at-bats with seven home runs, 35 RBI, and 28 stolen bases.

Despite being drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2021 MLB draft, Bliss will make his debut with the Mariners after being involved in a trade last July that sent relief pitcher Paul Sewald to Arizona in exchange for Bliss, Dominic Canzone, and Josh Rojas.

With the call up, Bliss becomes Auburn’s 59th player to reach the Major Leagues, and the first since [autotag]Edouard Julien[/autotag]’s debut with the Minnesota Twins on April 12, 2023. He started in all 134 games that he appeared in during his three-year Auburn career from 2019-21. He earned two All-America honors.

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Cooper Weiss named semifinalist for Brooks Wallace Award

Auburn graduate senior short stop Cooper Weiss was named a semifinalist for the Brooks Wallace Award on Thursday.

Auburn graduate senior shortstop [autotag]Cooper Weiss[/autotag] was named a semifinalist for the Brooks Wallace Award on Thursday. The award, which honors the nation’s top shortstop, has now been cut to just 29 players including Weiss.

The Fort Myers, Florida native is one of 4 SEC infield captains to be named on the list. He is also the third Tiger to reach the semifinal round in the last four years, joining [autotag]Ryan Bliss[/autotag] (2021) and [autotag]Cole Foster[/autotag] (2023) on a decorated list of recent Auburn short stops.

Despite playing in his first season on the Plains, Weiss quickly became a team leader on and off the field. The 24-year-old has started all but one of Auburn’s 51 games this season, collecting 50 hits in 50 games and 180 total at-bats. He is also near the top of almost every major offensive team category with 41 runs scored, 10 doubles. 8 home runs, and 35 runs batted in.

While the senior has been above average with his bat, the real difference-making comes from his legs. Weiss has stolen an SEC-high 27 bags this season. Auburn’s shortstop has stolen as many as 4 bases in a game twice, and stolen at least 2 bags on 8 occasions. Weiss has been caught 7 times, for a solid-but-not-great 79% success rate.

Weiss will look to cap off a great 2024 season by helping his Tigers win 2 more games to complete an end-of-season sweep over rival Alabama on Saturday and Sunday from Plainsman Park.

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Ryan Bliss involved in trade to Seattle Mariners

The former Tiger was involved in a trade that sent RHP Paul Seward to Arizona.

As the Major League Baseball trade deadline comes to a close, one former Tiger is on the move.

[autotag]Ryan Bliss[/autotag], who played shortstop for Auburn from 2019-21, is involved in a late trade between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Seattle Mariners. Bliss, along with Dominic Canzone and Josh Rojas, are heading to Seattle in exchange for RHP Paul Sewald. The move was made Monday.

Bliss recently advanced to Triple-A with the Diamondbacks organization following a stellar season with Double-A Amarillo. Rotowire breaks down what Bliss brings to the Mariners organization.

Bliss used good fortune (.408 BABIP) and a very favorable home park to slash .358/.414/.594 with 12 home runs and 30 steals for Double-A Amarillo, but he has struggled in 13 games since getting promoted to Triple-A. Given that Bliss is already 23 and was a below league average hitter at Single-A (99 wRC+) and High-A (82 wRC+), his run at Double-A looks like a clear outlier, but he has a chance to be a good defensive second baseman or a passable defensive shortstop, so he should at least have a big-league career as a bench infielder.

In his minor league career, Bliss has hit .267 with 29 home runs and 112 RBI.

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Moving on up: Ryan Bliss gets the call to join Triple-A Reno

The former Tiger shortstop hit .358 with 12 home runs in 68 games with the Double-A Amarillo Sod Poodles this season.

One of Auburn’s best infielders in recent history is continuing to climb up the minor league ranks.

Thursday, former Auburn shortstop [autotag]Ryan Bliss[/autotag] learned that he will be moving up in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization by advancing to Triple-A Reno after a successful campaign at Double-A Amarillo.

Bliss has been on a tear this season with the Amarillo Sod Poodles in the Texas League. In 68 games, Bliss hit .358 with 105 hits, 25 doubles, four triples, and 12 home runs. He sent home 47 runs and stole 30 bases.

With Bliss now being one step away from the show, Sports Illustrated sheds light on Bliss’ path to Arizona.

FanGraphs rates his total offensive output to be 62% better than the average Texas League hitter, with a 162 wRC+. The strong season has improved the likelihood his bat could play in the major leagues. Defensively he profiles best to play second due to a below-average arm, although he is blocked by Ketel Marte. Marte is signed through the 2026 season, so Bliss will need to be an above-average bat to take over at second long term.

Bliss spent three seasons on the Plains from 2019-21. He started all 134 games of his collegiate career, and posted a .328 average, with 176 hits, 20 home runs, 99 RBI, and 22 stolen bases. His junior season was his most productive, where he hit .365 with 14 doubles, 15 home runs, 45 RBI, and six stolen bases.

Bliss now joins a long list of former Tigers that currently compete in Triple-A, which includes [autotag]Keegan Thompson[/autotag], [autotag]Steven Williams[/autotag], [autotag]Ben Braymer[/autotag], and [autotag]Daniel Robert[/autotag].

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Former Auburn SS Ryan Bliss to play in MLB’s 2023 Futures Game

Ryan Bliss is getting a chance to show he is among the top prospects in baseball.

[autotag]Ryan Bliss[/autotag] has had a tremendous 2023 season and will be representing the Arizona Diamondbacks in MLB’s 2023 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game.

The former Auburn shortstop is hitting .350 with 11 home runs, 19 doubles and a .977 OPS in 60 games for the Diamondback’s Double-A affiliate the Amarillo Sod Poodles. He has also stolen 21 bases and driven in 43 runs.

Bliss has started to split time at both shortstop and second base, a position that he may wind up at due to his 5-foot-6 and 165 pound frame.

He started 134 games for Auburn from 2019-21, batting .328, with 20 home runs and 99 RBI. He is just the fourth two-time All-America in program history.

Bliss is the Diamondback’s No. 29 prospect according to MLB.com and is expected to make his MLB debut during the 2024 season.

The game will take place Saturday, July 8, at 7 p.m. ET at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park. It will be seven innings and can be seen exclusively on Peacock and SiriusXM.

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Former Auburn infielder Ryan Bliss earns Player of the Month honors in Texas League

He had a batting average of .410, hit eight doubles and stole eight bases throughout April.

Former Auburn Tigers infielder [autotag]Ryan Bliss[/autotag] was named Player of the Month for the month of April in the Texas League.

The 5-foot-6, 165-pounder had a batting average of .410, scored 17 runs, hit eight doubles and two home runs, drove in 14 runs and stole eight bases throughout April.

Bliss plays shortstop for the Amarillo Sod Poodles, the Double-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Diamondbacks selected Bliss in the second round of the 2021 MLB Draft with the 42nd overall pick.

The native of Burbank, California is the No. 30 ranked prospect and the No. 6 ranked middle infielder in the Diamondbacks organization and has an MLB eta of 2024 per MLB.com.

During his three seasons with the Tigers, Bliss had a batting average of .328, hit 56 extra-base hits including 20 home runs, drove in 45 runs, a slugging percentage of .514 and a fielding percentage of .972. Bliss started 134 games during his college career.

Aside from Bliss, Auburn had three players selected in the 2021 MLB Draft: [autotag]Richard Fitts[/autotag], [autotag]Tyler Miller[/autotag] and [autotag]Steven Williams[/autotag].

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Where every Auburn player went in the 2021 MLB draft

See where every Auburn player was drafted in the 2021 MLB Draft.

Auburn baseball did not have the season that many were hoping for, but several players still heard their names called during the 2021 MLB draft.

Here is a look at where every Auburn player and signee was drafted.

WATCH: Auburn shortstop Ryan Bliss makes incredible snag, throw for out

Auburn shortstop Ryan Bliss makes an incredible play to get Texas A&M hitter Jordan Thompson out at first.

This ball wasn’t getting by Ryan Bliss.

The Auburn shortstop snagged this grounder from a Texas A&M hitter Jordan Thompson rose up and unleashed a throw across the diamond to get the Aggie out in the top of the sixth inning.

Auburn currently leads A&M 7-4 in the 7th inning.