Former Wilmington Shark Ryan Jeffers, made his Major League debut August 20 for the Minnesota Twins. Jeffers earned the start at catcher and batted ninth, finishing the game 2-for-3 with one RBI and one run scored in the Twins 7-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.

Jeffers was drafted in the second round of the 2018 MLB Draft by the Twins out of the University of North Carolina at Wilimington. He was the team’s sixth ranked prospect and number one catching prospect coming into the season. Jeffers split time between Class A Advanced Fort Myers and Double-A Pensacola last season, hitting .264 with 14 homers and 16 doubles in 103 games across the two levels. His prowess behind the plate was widely regarded as the team told him upon his call-up to focus on his defensive abilities and “any offense was gravy.” He provided a lot of gravy in his debut, notching an RBI single in his first at-bat.

He went on to finish with two singles and a hit-by-pitch to become the first Twins prospect to reach base three times in their MLB debut since Brian Dinkelman was hit by a pitch, singled and drew an intentional walk on June 4, 2011.

Jeffers spent the 2016 summer with the Sharks, hitting .218 with seven doubles, one triple, two home runs and 16 RBIs while throwing out nine runners in his time behind the plate. His debut marks the 136th all-time former CPL player to make their major league debut and the sixth of the 2020 MLB season. Jeffers debut pushes the Shark’s major league alumni total to 13, their second of 2020 after Alec Bohm debuted on August 13.

About Coastal Plain League:

The Coastal Plain League is the nation’s premier summer collegiate baseball league. Celebrating its 24th season in 2020, the CPL features 15 franchises playing in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. To date, the CPL has had over 1,600 alumni drafted and 136 alums – including 2017 ALCS MVP, 2017 World Series champion, 2011 AL MVP and Cy Young award winner Justin Verlander, as well as 2017 NLCS MVP Chris Taylor – make their Major League debut. For more information on the Coastal Plain League, please visit the league website at www.coastalplain.com, and be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat @CPLBaseball.