Knights in the Pros: Brian O’Grady called up to MLB’s Reds

On Monday, former Scarlet Knight first baseman and outfielder Brian O’Grady was called up to the Cincinnati Reds. O’Grady was tearing the cover off the ball for the Triple-A Louisville Bats with a .277 average, 27 home runs, 27 doubles, 66 runs scored, and 70 RBI. Battling through six minor league seasons, Brian had the perseverance to finally be called up to “The Show.”

O’Grady came to the banks after playing his high school ball at Archbishop Wood in Warminster Township, Pennsylvania. He was named to the Big East All-Tournament team as a junior and earned third team all-conference honors as a senior. An 8th-round pick by the Reds in the 2014 MLB Draft, Brian finally got the call at age 27 after putting up 75 homers in his minors career.

O’Grady joins Todd Frazier (who played the bulk of his career in Cincinnati) as the only former Rutgers players on active MLB rosters. Brian was not in Monday’s starting lineup against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and with the Reds nursing a lead, probably has to wait another day for his first at-bat. Hopefully he gets his first career start tomorrow!