Special debuts and rapid rises: Checking in on Indiana products making moves in pro baseball

Indianapolis Star

28-04-2025

The New York Mets drafted former Zionsville right-handed pitcher Nate Dohm with an eye toward unlocking his massive upside.
Dohm appeared in just nine games during his junior season at Mississippi State, but his impressive fastball and starter's build caught the eyes of talent evaluators.
The 6-4, 210-pound hurler didn't pitch in a game after getting selected 82nd overall in the 2024 MLB draft, but he spent the offseason refining his repertoire and focusing on the finer points of pitching. In January, Dohm was part of the Mets Top Guns pitching development camp in Port St. Lucie, Fla., where he joined 13 of the organization's top arm for more work with Mets coaches.
In addition to the hands-on instruction, Dohm used the time to pick the brains of other, more experienced prospects. Dohm's "wing man" during the camp was fellow top prospect Jonah Tong. Dohm said Tong gave him great advice about how to take care of his arm between starts.
"The pitching development staff they have here is incredible," Dohm said. "They've helped me a ton refining my pitches and my delivery.
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"I was extremely fortunate to be a part of that camp. I got to learn from some of the best prospects in the org, guys that are probably going to make their (MLB) debut this year. So, that was really cool."
Dohm joined Top 100 prospects Brandon Sproat (56th overall, per Baseball America) and Nolan McLean (95th), at the camp. The magnitude of being viewed in the same standing as those prospects isn't lost on Dohm. At the same time, he knows his performance is ultimately what will help him progress through the minors.
Last Tuesday, Dohm had the best start of his career playing for the Single-A St. Lucie Mets. Against Daytona, Dohm allowed just one earned run over four innings, striking out seven and walking zero. On the season, Dohm is 1-1, with a 3.52 ERA and 19 strikeouts over 15⅓ innings.
"It's just about getting out there and getting out there consistently," Dohm said of his strong start to the season. "We've done a lot of work in the offseason to make sure I have a complete arsenal. I think that's starting to show.
"I've been able to mix my pitches and throw off-speed in and out of the zone for strikes and swing-and-miss (pitches) late in counts. Also, little tweaks I've made in my delivery that have helped me with velocity and carry up in the zone with the fastball."
Here are other native Hoosiers excelling at all levels of pro baseball.
MLB
Matt Gorski, Pittsburgh Pirates
Former Hamilton Southeastern and IU outfielder Matt Gorski had a storybook MLB debut. Gorki, a Pirates second-round pick in 2019, received the call-up from Triple-A Indianapolis and made his debut Thursday against the Los Angeles Angels.
In the first at bat, the righty hit a home run off veteran pitcher Tyler Anderson.
Gorski finished the game 1-for-4. He has not appeared in a game since. Gorski spent six years — five seasons — in the minors before making his MLB debut.
Across five levels of the minors including his pro debut in the now defunct New York Penn League in 2019, Gorski is batting .246 with 90 home runs and 90 stolen bases.
Craig Yoho, Milwaukee Brewers
Former Fishers and IU pitcher Craig Yoho had a chance at making the majors out of spring training, but returned to the minors briefly before getting the call.
Yoho and his unhittable "airbender" made his debut last Tuesday against the San Francisco Giants. Yoho allowed one run on one hit with one strikeout over one inning in his first appearance.
He's made three relief appearances so far, pitching to a 2.45 ERA and three strikeouts over 3⅔ innings.
Jacob Hurtubise, Cincinnati Reds
The Zionsville native made his first Opening Day roster as a reserve outfielder. In nine games, Hurtubise hit .143 with one run scored. Hurtubise hasn't found his groove at the plate yet, but his sweetest wing came during a gender reveal at Great American Ballpark. With his teammates looking on, Hurtubise swung through an underhand toss from his wife, Grace, exploding the ball and revealing pink dust, signaling the former Eagle is having a girl.
Four days after the reveal, Hurtubise was sent down to the minors. He's batting .125 in eight games with the Triple-A Louisville Bats.
Single-A
Khal Stephen, Toronto Blue Jays
Stephen was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the second round of the 2024 MLB Draft. The Seeger grad began his career at Purdue before transferring to Mississippi State. Like his college teammate Nate Dohm, Stephen didn't pitch in a game after being drafted but hit the ground running during his pro debut.
Pitching for the Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays, Stephen is 1-0 with a 1.29 ERA and 25 strikeouts over 21 innings. His best start so far came April 10 against Jupiter. Stephen struck out nine over six innings, allowing just one earned run on one hit.
Gage Stanifer, Toronto Blue Jays
Former Westfield pitcher Gage Stanifer was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 19th round of the 2022 MLB draft. Stanifer chose to sign with the organization and forgo a commitment to Cincinnati. His path toward minor league success has been gradual.
He struggled during his pro debut, pitching to a 6.33 ERA over 11 games in the Florida Complex League. Stanifer got the bump to Single-A last season and pitched to a near identical 6.34 ERA over 19 games.
Progression in the minors — especially for pitching prospects — is not linear. It's impossible to know what a pitcher is working on or tinkering with during minor league starts. Whatever changes Stanifer is making seem to be working.
Repeating Single-A, through four games, Stanifer is 4-0, pitching to a minuscule 0.56 ERA and 21 strikeouts over 16 innings. He's allowed just one run in four appearances. In his last start Friday against the Tampa Tarpons, Stanifer did not allow a walk for the first time all season, throwing four scoreless innings of three-hit ball.