Former Stanford Baseball Star Plays in Front of Family For First Time, Has Big Moment

Dylan Grausz | Sep 3, 2024

Sep 1, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; Miami Marlins left fielder Kyle Stowers (28) hits a home run against the San Francisco Giants during the fifth inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports / Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

A native of El Cajon, Ca, former Cardinal Kyle Stowers is a California boy, finishing his high school career down in Southern California before committing to play college baseball at Stanford. Five years after leaving California after getting drafted to MLB, Stowers returned to the state he once called home for the first time in his professional career, where he delivered a big-time home run in a game against the San Francisco Giants, playing in front of his family and helping the team take home the win.

It was the top of the fifth inning with runners at second and third and the Marlins down 2-1 when Stowers came up to bat against Giants’ starting pitcher Logan Webb. On a 2-0 pitch, Stowers hit a moonshot home run to right-center field, where the ball landed over the wall right near triple’s alley to give the Marlins a 4-2 lead and change the momentum of the game. Despite the Giants scoring three more runs in the bottom of the inning to retake a 5-4 lead, the Marlins’ momentum had shifted, giving them what they needed to score three more runs and win 7-5.

Drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the second round of the 2019 Major League Baseball Draft, Stowers spent his first six years as a pro with the Orioles, and had never had the chance to come back and play a professional game on the West Coast. Eventually getting traded to the Miami Marlins near this year’s trade deadline back in July as part of the deal that sent relief pitcher Trevor Rogers to the Orioles, Stowers was able to come back for the first time as a professional and play in his home state once again, only 30 miles away from Stanford.

Starting off the season slow, Stowers has since begun to really find a rhythm in Miami, hitting .393 with a 1.183 OPS during a seven-game hitting streak that he has managed to have had since August 25. Hitting the home run with his family in the crowd watching, Stowers is happy to have gotten to experience such a big moment in front of his loved ones.

"Awesome that they were here for it," Stowers told Sonja Chen of MLB.com. "Really, really special for me and for them. I'm super grateful for their support and that they were able to make it."

At Stanford, Stowers evolved into an everyday fixture in the lineup, putting together his best campaign as a junior in 2019 where he hit .303 with nine home runs and 39 RBI over a span of 55 total games. For his Cardinal career, Stowers left Palo Alto with a .279 batting average, adding on 20 home runs and 85 RBI while walking 58 times and striking out 93 times.

Still early in his career, the promise that Stowers has shown early on has been positive. If his performances of late are indicative of what he is able to do, expect to see him become a major part of the Marlins’ future plans as they continue the rebuild.