UConn Alumni Could Attempt MLB Comeback After Dominant Season Overseas
The UConn Huskies have had decent representation in Major League Baseball over the last couple of decades but their presence has started to fade as of late.
George Springer remains the pride of Husky baseball as a core member of the Toronto Blue Jays but the pitching pipeline has started to decay.
Anthony Kay, a rare first-round pick out of UConn, fell out of the league last season and decided to join the Yokohama DeNa Baystars of the Nippon Professional Baseball League. After a strong showing, it could be a matter of months before the southpaw is back stateside pitching at the highest level.
Kay has a 2.88 ERA with a 106-to-44 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 125 innings for the DeNa Baystars this season. His control issues have persisted but he's shown more of a propensity to miss bats and avoid damage.
The 29-year-old appears to have reinvented himself after a lackluster stint in MLB -- something that often happens when Americans head overseas for a year or two.
Kay went 4-2 with a 5.59 ERA, 88-to-47 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .269 batting average against and a 1.50 WHIP in 85 1/3 big-league innings across seven starts and 37 relief outings from 2019-2023.
The proud alumni showed flashes in the minors (4.13 ERA in 102 games) and could take his new-found success right into spring training should he decide to take another crack at big-league prominence.
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Scott Neville runs "UConn Huskies On SI." The Merrimack College graduate is the publisher for a bevy of sites in the On SI landscapes after early success with "Boston Red Sox On SI" led to expansion. Before he was given the opportunity to join the On SI Media Group, he was developing his skillset at one of the top regional sports networks in the United States, NESN, where he covered all sports. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: scott@wtfsports.org