WEYMOUTH, Mass. (July 21, 2023) — Just days after his brother Jake’s professional journey began by being drafted, former Brockton Rox infielder Zack Gelof became the 16th Futures League alum to play Major League Baseball (MLB) when he debuted with the Oakland Athletics last week.
Zack Gelof, who spent the summer of 2018 with Brockton ahead of his freshman year at the University of Virginia, is the fourth former Futures Leaguer to reach the highest level this season. Since making his MLB debut on July 14 against the Minnesota Twins, he has started each of Oakland’s games at second base.
Gelof has already enjoyed some success through his first week in the majors, having recorded his first career MLB hit — a run-scoring double off Minnesota’s Kenta Maeda — during his aforementioned debut. He began his career with extra-base hits in three consecutive games, a feat that had been accomplished only three other times in A’s history. He also stole a pair of bases on July 15.
The current No. 3 prospect in the A’s system according to MLB.com and their second-round draft selection in 2021, Gelof was hitting .304 with 12 home runs, 44 RBI, 60 runs scored and 20 stolen bases in 69 games for the Triple-A Las Vegas Aviators this season. He ranked third in the Pacific Coast League with his 21 doubles and ranked eighth in runs scored prior to his recall.
Gelof’s success in 2023 boosted his career average to .292 across 201 minor league games, and he has 37 homers, 140 RBI and an .884 OPS in that time. He made his debut at the Double-A and Triple-A levels during 2022, which marked his first full professional season.
Gelof hit .292 with nine doubles, four triples, 13 RBI and 27 runs scored in 38 games for the Rox of 2018. A Futures League All-Star that summer, he played alongside the likes of Boston College’s Emmet Sheehan — who was previously the most recent league alum to make his MLB debut back on June 16 with the Los Angeles Dodgers — in the midsummer All-Star Game in Nashua, N.H.
After playing for Brockton, Gelof played third base for all 137 of Virginia’s games between 2019 and 2021 and hit .319 for his career. He capped his college career as an All-Atlantic Coast Conference second-team honoree and helped Virginia to the College World Series, going 7-for-12 in Omaha.
Incredibly, both Zack and Jake Gelof were drafted with the very same 60th overall pick in their respective MLB Drafts. Jake, who was a freshman when Zack was drafted, heard his name called by the Los Angeles Dodgers earlier this month.
Prior to Sheehan, another Boston College product and former Wachusett Dirt Dawgs infielder Jake Alu started the Futures League’s record of MLB alumni debuting in 2023 when he got the call to play for the Washington Nationals on May 9. Former Worcester Bravehearts and University of New Haven pitcher Josh Walker made his first mound appearance with the New York Mets a week later.
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