FULLERTON, Calif. – Six former Cal State Fullerton Titans are on opening day rosters of the their respective Major League Baseball clubs as the 2015 season got underway on Sunday night.
Kurt Suzuki enters his ninth season in MLB and second as the primary backstop for the Minnesota Twins. Suzuki was an American League All-Star in 2014 and finished off the season with a .288 batting average in 131 games. He had 34 doubles and three home runs with 61 RBIs.
A winner of the Brooks Wallace, Johnny Bench and Big West Conference Player of the Year awards in 2004, Suzuki was a second-round draft selection by the Oakland Athletics that same year. In 2004, Suzuki led the Titans in average (.413), home runs (16) and RBIs (87).
Infielder Justin Turner will begin his second season with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday afternoon and his seventh year overall as a professional. In 2014, Turner had the best season of his career as he batted a career-best .340 in 109 games played. He belted a career-high seven home runs and had 43 RBIs. He had 21 doubles and one triple and had a .404 on-base percentage, helping to lead the Dodgers to a National League West Division Title.
Turner, a seventh round draft pick of Cincinnati in 2007, was part of Fullerton's last NCAA national championship squad in 2004. Turner was a first team Big West all-conference selection in 2006, and completed his four-year career with the Titans batting .328 with 157 RBIs and 51 stolen bases.
Outfielder Khris Davis will begin his third MLB campaign as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers. He was the opening-day starter in left field for the Brewers in 2014 and finished the year with 22 home runs and 69 RBIs in 144 games, all new career highs. Davis also had 37 doubles and two triples and scored 70 runs.
Davis was the seventh-round pick of Milwaukee in 2009 after leading Fullerton with 16 home runs while also earning Big West Conference First Team honors batting .328 and driving in 58 runs.
Relief pitcher Vinnie Pestano enters his sixth season as a member of the Los Angeles Angels. Pestano was traded from the Cleveland Indians to the Angels last season and was very effective for the Angels out of the bullpen. In 12 games with Los Angeles, Pestano posted a miniscule 0.93 ERA in nine and 2/3 innings pitched. He allowed just five hits and one earned run on a home run. He walked four and struck out 13 and made it onto the Angels postseason roster.
The longest tenured former Titan in the MLB, Reed Johnson will begin his 13th professional season on Monday as a member of the Washington Nationals, his sixth different team. As a member of the Miami Marlins in 2014, Johnson played in 113 games and batted .235 with two home runs and 25 RBIs in 201 plate appearances. Johnson added 15 doubles and scored 24 runs.
Johnson was a 17th round draft pick of Toronto in 1999, and during his three-year career at Fullerton batted .345 while driving in 120 runs. During 1999, he became the first Titan to score over 100 runs and record at least 100 hits in the same season, earning Big West first team recognition.
Lastly, infielder Christian Colon will participate in his first opening day as a member of the Kansas City Royals, the defending A.L. champions. Colon was called up by the Royals in 2014 and became the 54th former Titan to play in MLB. Colon played in 21 games for the Royals and batted .333 with five doubles, one triple and six RBIs. He also stole two bases and had a .375 on-base percentage.
Colon also made it onto the Royals' postseason roster where he most notably drove in the game-winning run in the Royals A.L. Wild Card Playoff game to help the team advance to the A.L. Division Series.
In his three seasons with the Titans, Colon posted a career .349 batting average with 267 hits, 214 runs scored, 46 doubles, 6 triples, 29 home runs and 147 RBI. Colon ranks fourth in runs on the Titans all-time career record book. He also ranks sixth in hits, hit-by-pitches (44) and eighth in total bases (412).
Colon was named to the All-Big West First Team in 2010 when he batted a career-best .358, starting in 64 games for the Titans and blasting a career-high 17 home runs. He scored 82 runs in 2009, placing him eighth in the Titans record book for most runs scored in a single season.
