Wilson: Six WCBL grads played in MLB in 2025
*This article was originally published on the Western Canadian Baseball League website on November 13, 2025. You can read it here.
November 14, 2025
By Ian Wilson
Western Canadian Baseball League
From hanging in the West to competing with the very best, players from the Western Canadian Baseball League put their skills on display in the majors this year.
Several hitters and pitchers who were stars in the WCBL have taken their talent to the highest levels of Major League Baseball (MLB).
Here's a look at some familiar faces who took the mound or stepped into the batter's box in the big leagues in 2025:
KODY FUNDERBURK
The former two-way threat with the Okotoks Dawgs and Edmonton Prospects cut his teeth with the Minnesota Twins as a pitcher in 2023 and proceeded to make 38 MLB relief appearances over two seasons. After starting this year with the Triple-A St. Paul Saints, Kody Funderburk made his way back to Minnesota's bullpen, where he was an effective lefty option. The 6-foot-4 moundsman got into 39 games for the Twins in 2025 and went 4-1 with a 3.51 earned run average (ERA), one save and 40 strikeouts in 41 innings pitched.
ANDREW KITTREDGE
His suitcase has logged a lot of miles during his minor league and MLB travels, but Andrew Kittredge has been a veteran reliever in "The Show" for several years now, and a very good one. The Okotoks Dawgs alum - who worked in the Western Major Baseball League (WMBL), the predecessor of the WCBL, as both a starting pitcher and a reliever - has now taken the bump in 309 big-league games over nine seasons. The Spokane, Washington native broke through with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2017 and stuck with that team through 2023. An American League All-Star in 2021, the righthander pitched in a career-high 74 games with the St. Louis Cardinals last year, before putting in work with the Baltimore Orioles and Chicago Cubs this season. Kittredge spent some time on the injured list in 2025, but he still managed 54 appearances, 53 innings, 64 strikeouts, 17 holds and five saves for his two MLB teams. In August, he recorded an immaculate inning for Chicago. During the postseason with the Cubs, Kittredge got into five games and picked up a save and a loss in his five playoff innings. His career totals during the regular season in the major leagues now boast a 27-15 record, 3.43 ERA, and 337 strikeouts in 338-plus innings. The Orioles recently re-acquired Kittredge from the Cubs, so he'll return to Baltimore for the 2026 campaign.
JACOB MELTON
Top outfield prospect Jacob Melton broke through with the Houston Astros this season and made his way into 32 games at the major-league level. The 2022 second-round pick of the Astros - a member of the 2019 WCBL champion Okotoks Dawgs - recorded 11 hits, seven runs, seven runs batted in (RBIs), and seven stolen bases during his 70 at bats with the big club. The Medford, Oregon product also played 35 games with the Sugar Land Space Cowboys of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League.
TRISTAN PETERS
Another outfielder on the rise who made his MLB debut in 2025 was Tristan Peters, who played alongside Melton in Okotoks. The lefty batter - an imitator of Superman when diving for dropping fly balls and Spiderman when scaling walls to take away potential home runs - made his way into four games with the Tampa Bay Rays this summer. The 2019 WCBL Rookie of the Year and Playoff MVP with the Dawgs spent the bulk of his season with the Triple-A Durham Bulls. In 136 games in the International League, the Winkler, Manitoba native had 15 homers, 28 doubles, 11 stolen bases, 76 RBIs and 73 runs while playing stellar defense. Peters will look to make a return to the majors in 2026.
ERIK SABROWSKI
The 14th-round pick of the San Diego Padres in the 2018 MLB Draft provided a feel-good story to Alberta baseball fans when he overcame a pair of Tommy John surgeries and clawed his way to the majors with the Cleveland Guardians in 2024. A former two-way star with the Edmonton Prospects, where he competed with and against Funderburk, Erik Sabrowski continues to serve as a southpaw reliever with the Guardians. The 6-foot-4 hurler had to overcome injuries again this year. Left elbow inflammation landed Sabrowski on the 60-day injured list and he required a minor-league rehab assignment to get back up to speed. But the AHP Baseball Academy coach was a bullpen beast when he suited up for Cleveland. In 33 relief appearances in 2025, Sabrowski posted a 1.84 ERA and 42 Ks over 29 1/3 regular-season innings. He was summoned for postseason duty yet again this fall and has now logged seven playoff innings during his MLB career.
JACOB WEBB
Journeyman reliever Jacob Webb took the mound for his fourth MLB team in 2025. After pitching for the Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Angels and Baltimore Orioles, the righthander joined the arm barn of the Texas Rangers this season. The former Medicine Hat Maverick from California was summoned often. Webb pitched 66 innings in 55 games and went 5-4 with a 3.00 ERA, one save, and 58 strikeouts. Over his major-league career, Webb has now suited up in 247 games. In that time, he has a 17-14 record, seven saves, a 2.99 ERA and 244 strikeouts.
COACHING CONNECTIONS
There are also a couple of coaches who are making their mark in the big leagues.
Jim Henderson hasn't pitched in the majors for a while but he's still a big part of the Brew Crew. The veteran reliever - who played in 155 MLB games for the Brewers and Mets between 2012 and 2016, picking up 31 saves along the way - is now an assistant pitching and strategy coach for Milwaukee. Henderson was an original member of the Dawgs, playing for the team when they started in the WMBL in Calgary in the early 2000s. The Brewers had the best record in Major League Baseball in 2025 and their 97 wins were a franchise record.
Meanwhile, Louis Boyd worked on the coaching staff of the Seattle Mariners and helped push the team to an American League Championship Series (ALCS) appearance. The major league field coordinator was an infielder with the Moose Jaw Miller Express in 2016. A North Vancouver native and a 24th-round pick of the Mariners in 2017, Boyd was named the manager of the High-A Everett AquaSox at just 25 years of age.
BACK TO THE BIGS
Some WCBL alumni have already tasted MLB life and are hoping for a return to the bigs.
Two examples are Alejo Lopez and Jose Rojas.
Lopez, who played 74 games for the Cincinnati Reds between 2021 and 2023, was at Triple-A with the Las Vegas Aviators of the Pacific Coast League this season is hoping to make the majors with the parent Athletics in 2026. The infielder from Mexico, who played summer collegiate baseball with the Okotoks Dawgs in 2014, had 61 runs, 48 RBIs, 16 doubles, 17 stolen bases and a .268 batting average in 93 games with Las Vegas this year. The Aviators lost in the Triple-A national championship to the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp.
Rojas is an infielder and outfielder who suited up in 83 contests with the Los Angeles Angels in 2021 and 2022. The Californian, who represented the Swift Current 57's in 2015, was outstanding at Triple-A this season. With the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders - a top affiliate of the New York Yankees - Rojas batted .287 with 267 total bases, 32 home runs, 35 doubles, 105 RBIs, 77 runs and 15 stolen bases in 124 games.
KNOCKING ON THE DOOR
There are several other former WCBL players who are looking to break through in 2026.
Relief pitcher Justin King, outfielder/first baseman Matt Lloyd and catcher Gavin Logan are all former members of the Okotoks Dawgs who played in Triple-A, which is the last stop most players make before getting called up to the majors.
Other WCBL alumni who put in time at Triple-A in 2025 include Curtis Taylor and Edgar Barclay, who both pitched for the Edmonton Prospects in the WMBL.
Meanwhile, Damiano Palmegiani - a Venezuala-born graduate of Vauxhall Academy, who played for the Lethbridge Bulls in 2018 - appeared in 52 games this season as a corner infielder for the Buffalo Bisons, the top affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays.