Sean Bouchard, a former UCLA baseball player, had his contract chosen by the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday, putting him in line to be the following Bruin to play his first game in Major League Baseball.
Bouchard becomes the 24th player taught by current UCLA head coach John Savage and the 87th overall UCLA baseball player to make it to the Major Leagues.
He joins right-handed pitcher Jake Bird, who coincidentally made his Big League debut on Wednesday afternoon, as the second UCLA alum to receive his first-ever MLB call-up from the Rockies this week.
Additionally, every UCLA team from 1965 through 2018 had at least one player that participated in MLB, a run of 53 years.
At UCLA, Bouchard predominantly played first base. This season at Triple-A Albuquerque, he has played first base as well as both corner outfield spots.
In his five professional seasons with the Rockies, Bouchard has posted a .279/.352/.490 slash line. He was selected by Colorado in the ninth round of the 2017 MLB Draft.
In just 37 games, he had increased his output in Triple-A, posting career-highs in each of his slash categories (.338/.430/.683), along with 11 home runs and 34 RBIs.
Bouchard had a streak of 25 games in a row where he reached base safely when he was promoted.
Beginning on April 24, Bouchard went on a 10-game hitting streak during which he batted .398/.496/.828 with 10 home runs, 26 RBIs, and 7 stolen bases.
How Tall Is Sean Bouchard?
Sean Bouchard’s height is 1.91 m.