University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Number of Major League Cajuns on the Rise
9/13/2011 10:01:00 PM | Baseball
Last Monday (Sept. 5), the Toronto Blue Jays called up former UL pitchers Chad Beck and Danny Farquhar allowing both to join former teammate and current Milwaukee Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy on baseball's biggest stage.
The call up marked the first time that Beck and Farquhar reached the MLB level.
Farquhar donned the Cajuns uniform from 2006-08. He led the Sun Belt Conference in ERA as a freshman in 2006 (2.17) and was a second team All-Sun Belt selection in 2007 after going 6-3 with a team-high six saves and a 3.08 ERA.
The Blue Jays drafted Farquhar in the 10th round of the 2008 MLB Draft and he worked his way to Double-A New Hampshire by 2010. He was 4-3 with 17 saves and a 3.52 ERA in 53 appearances for New Hampshire last season.
Traded to Oakland in the offseason, Farquhar returned to the Blue Jays organization in April via another trade. He made 50 appearances at Triple-A Las Vegas working 51 2/3 innings and notching 14 saves prior to joining Toronto.
Beck spent only one season with the Cajuns, recording five saves over 25 appearances in 2006. He was drafted in the 14th round of the 2006 MLB Draft by Arizona
Traded to Toronto in 2008, Beck has since worked his way through the Blue Jays' farm system. He began this season with Double-A New Hampshire and posted a 7-4 record with a 3.69 ERA in 22 appearances (14 starts). Beck was called up to Triple-A Vegas on July 24th where he made eight starts before joining Toronto.
The last Cajuns pitcher to appear in an MLB game was B.J. Ryan in 2009, as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays.
Beck and Farquhar are now on the verge of joining Ryan as Tony Robichaux pupils to pitch in an MLB game.
-- Ragin' Cajuns --
