Gamecocks in the MLB: How Christian Walker, others are doing at the All-Star break
The 2026 MLB All-Star Game will be played Tuesday night, signaling the halfway point of the professional baseball season.
While there will be no Gamecocks participating in the Midsummer Classic, there are still a few USC alums who have made their mark on the MLB season.
A total of five former South Carolina baseball players have logged a stat in 2026. Let’s take a look at how those players are doing, a couple more former Gamecocks to keep an eye on and a few potential future pros.
Gamecocks on the big stage
Here’s how the five former Gamecocks who have made an appearance in the big leagues are doing this year.
OF Carlos Cortes (Athletics): Cortes has played in 73 games this year for the Athletics. He boasts a .279 batting average and .431 slugging percentage. Cortes’ OPS sits at .788 at the halfway point of the season. Cortes has logged 57 hits (including 11 doubles), 23 RBIs and six home runs.
RHP Brett Kerry (Los Angeles Angels): Kerry made his MLB debut on June 17 with the Angels. He pitched four innings and allowed three hits and two runs in an 8-1 loss to the Diamondbacks. Kerry struck out two batters in his debut and has a 4.50 ERA. After his debut, Kerry was optioned back to Triple-A but he remains on the Angels’ 40-Man roster.
RHP Carmen Mlodzinski (Pittsburgh Pirates): Mlodzinski has continued to be a solid presence for the Pirates pitching staff. The Hilton head native has made nine starts in 20 appearances this season and has already pitched 80.2 innings. Mlodzinski’s 3.24 ERA is the second-best of his career thus far and he’s struck 64 batters. His 6-3 record is currently the best of his career.
RHP TJ Shook (Colorado Rockies): The Columbia native made his MLB debut on June 2. He pitched one inning and gave up one hit and no runs in his first appearance with the Rockies. Shook made two more appearances on June 3 and June 6, totaling 2.2 innings pitched and two earned runs between the two, before being optioned back to Triple-A. He was brought back to the MLB squad for an appearance on July 9 and gave up six hits and four runs in two innings against the Giants. Shook’s ERA is 9.53 in 5.2 innings of work across four games. He was optioned back to Triple-A on July 11 and remains on the 40-Man roster.
1B Christian Walker (Houston Astros): Walker is having another strong season in the pros. He’s hit 20 home runs already this season and should surpass his home run totals from the last two seasons (27 and 26, respectively). Walker has a .237 batting average and .462 slugging percentage. His OPS is .775. The 35-year-old has played in 96 games this season and has 85 total hits and 58 RBIs. Walker is currently the longest active tenured former Gamecock in the MLB. He’s two seasons away from tying Brian Roberts’ record of 14 seasons for the longest MLB career by a Gamecock.
Other Gamecocks to watch
A pair of former South Carolina pitchers haven’t made an appearance in the big leagues this year but remain on the 40-Man rosters.
Jordan Montgomery (Texas Rangers) and Clarke Schmidt (New York Yankees) are both on their respective organizations 60-day injured list.
Montgomery missed the entire 2025 season after Tommy John surgery. He’s made a few rehab appearances with the Rangers Triple-A and Double-A teams recently.
Schmidt missed the second half of the 2025 season, also after Tommy John Surgery. He is still recovering from injury and remains on the Yankees 40-Man while he does so.
Future pro Gamecocks
The 2026 MLB Draft was held last weekend and three players from last year’s Gamecock squad saw their names called.
Pitchers Amp Phillips, Alex Philpott and Jake McCoy were all drafted. Phillips and Philpott were selected by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 15th and 16th round, respectively. McCoy was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 18th round.
Should all three choose to remain in college only Phillips would be a Gamecock in 2027. Both Philpott (Florida State commit) and McCoy (Tennessee commit) announced their plans to transfer this summer.
A few players from South Carolina’s 2026 transfer portal class were selected as well. Minnesota pitcher Will Whelan (Texas Rangers, 13th round), Mercer pitcher Miguel Hugas (Baltimore Orioles, 14th round), USF pitcher Ethan Sutton (Los Angeles Dodgers, 16th round) and Texas Tech utility player Connor Shouse (Seattle Mariners, 20th round) were all drafted. Each of these players could decide not to sign a pro contract and play for South Carolina in 2027, though that remains to be seen.
Two former Gamecocks didn’t hear their names called in the draft but will still be getting a shot at the pros. Talmadge LeCroy signed a free-agent deal with the Colorado Rockies on Monday. Former Gamecock pitcher Tyler Pitzer — who played for Mississippi State last season and announced he’d committed to transfer back to USC this season last month — signed a free-agent deal with the San Diego Padres on Sunday.
