The Coastal Plain League saw three former players make their Major League debuts in the past week with Randy Dobnak (Edenton ’16), Nick Dini (Petersburg ’13 / HP-Thomasville ’14) and Kyle Keller (HP-Thomasville ’12) all getting the call.

Keller debuted for the Miami Marlins on August 4, giving up one hit and one run while striking out one in 1 2/3 innings of work during the Marlins 7-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. Keller was drafted in the 18th round of the 2015 MLB Draft by the Marlins out of Southeastern Louisiana. He spent his 2012 summer with the HP-Thomasville HiToms, finishing with a 4.25 ERA and 3 strikeouts over 36 innings pitched.

On August 8 Dini made his debut for the Kansas City Royals at catcher, going 1-for-3 with a single and one walk in the team’s 10-8 loss to the Detroit Tigers. Dini was drafted in the 14th round of the 2015 MLB Draft out of Wagner College. He spent two seasons in the CPL, 2013 with the Petersburg Generals and 2014 with the HP-Thomasville HiToms, accumulating a .209 average over 194 at-bats across both summers.

Dobnak capped a unique journey to the big leagues going undrafted out of Alderson Broaddus University before signing with the Minnesota Twins in 2017. From there he quickly worked his way up through the Twins minor league system and ultimately made his Major League debut with the Twins on August 8. The right-hander tossed four scoreless innings of relief, allowing six hits and striking out three int he Twins 6-2 loss to the Cleveland Indians. Dobnak played for the Edentons Steamers in 2016, pitching 46 1/3 innings with a 5.83 ERA.

Their debuts push the mark to 128 all-time former CPL players to make their major league debut and noted 17th all-time for the Edenton franchise, 14th all-time for HP-Thomasville and the fifth all-time for Petersburg.

About Coastal Plain League: 

The Coastal Plain League is the nation’s premier summer collegiate baseball league. Heading into its 23rd season in 2019, the CPL features 16 franchises playing in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. To date, the CPL has had over 1,600 alumni drafted and 128 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.