A look at Gamecock alums in MLB: May recap

While South Carolina’s season is over, the Major League Baseball season, featuring a few Gamecock alums, is only starting to heat up with two months of play in the books.

As the calendar flips to June, let’s take a look at how the five former Gamecocks in the MLB have been performing so far this season.

Jonah Bride — Minnesota Twins

After a three-hit performance on May 19, Bride is hitless in his last 13 at-bats. Since the Twins traded for him, the 29-year-old is hitting .250 with no homers and three RBIs in 20 games. He’s been mostly playing third base with some time at first and second base as well.

May stats — AB: 34, H: 8, AVG: .176, OBP: .237, SLG: .235, HR: 0, RBI: 1, K: 14, BB: 2

Jordan Montgomery — Arizona Diamondbacks

Just days before the season began, Montgomery received some bad news when he learned he would need Tommy John surgery. He’ll miss the entire season due to his sprained left ulnar collateral ligament injury.

This is Montgomery’s second time in his big league career undergoing elbow surgery. He suffered a similar injury in 2019 when he missed virtually the entire season with the Yankees.

The 32-year-old left-handed pitcher had the worst season of his career after going 8-7 with a 6.23 ERA in 21 starts with the D-Backs in 2024. He struck out 83 batters and walked 44 as opponents hit .312 against him. With Montgomery set to hit free agency in 2026, there’s no telling what will come next for the former Gamecock.

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Carmen Mlodzinski — Pittsburgh Pirates

Mlodzinski’s struggles have carried from April into May as he’s 1-4 with a 5.67 ERA through nine starts this season. Opponents are hitting well against the right-hander at a .311 clip.

After tossing a career-best 5.2 scoreless innings against the Braves on May 11, he got hit around in his next outing, giving up four runs in 3.1 innings of work against the Phillies. A few days later, the Pirates optioned him to Triple-A, where he’s made two starts since then and fared much better.

Mlodzinski has thrown 10.2 scoreless innings with the Indianapolis Indians, striking out 15 and walking five. He could eventually find his way back to Pittsburgh with the Pirates at the bottom of the NL Central standings. For now, he’ll remain in the minors and look to continue his run of solid outings.

May stats — GS: 3, W-L: 0-1, ERA: 3.95, IP: 13.2, SO: 6, BB: 2, ER: 6, HR: 3, OBA: .273

Clarke Schmidt — New York Yankees

Since returning from injury in mid-April, Schmidt is 2-2 on the year with a 3.95 ERA in eight starts. The former first-round pick has racked up 42 strikeouts with 20 walks in 43.1 innings.

In his first four starts of May, Schmidt gave up at least two runs in his outings, pitching six innings in three of them. His most recent start, however, was his best so far this year. The right-hander helped the Yankees cap off a sweep of the Angels with six shutout innings in a 1-0 win on May 28.

May stats — GS: 5, W-L: 2-1, ERA: 3.14, IP: 28.2, SO: 27, BB: 11, ER: 10, HR: 2, OBA: .230

Christian Walker — Houston Astros

Looking at the numbers, Walker is still settling in during the first year of a three-year deal with the Astros. He’s hitting .210 with seven homers and 25 RBIs in 56 games. Lately, though, he seems to be swinging the bat better with six hits in his last six games, including a pair of home runs.

Walker had his first signature moment with Houston after hitting a walk-off two-run homer in a 5-3 win over the Mariners on May 25. However, he left Wednesday’s game against the Athletics after being hit by a pitch on his right hand. Manager Joe Espada said that he was hit on the top of his hand near his knuckles and that X-rays were negative. Walker has been back in the lineup since then, though.

May stats — AB: 103, H: 23, AVG: .223, OBP: .268, SLG: .359, HR: 3, RBI: 16, K: 27, BB: 5

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