UNIVERSITY PARK — Former Penn State pitcher Justin Hagenman made his MLB debut for the New York Mets on Wednesday, April 16.
Hagenman has been playing for the Syracuse Mets since he signed a one year contract with the parent team in November. Through three games, two of which have been starts, he has a 6.97 ERA and 12 strikeouts.
In his start with the Mets, Hagenman pitched 3.1 innings, allowing just three hits, one error and striking out four batters. He was up against the Minnesota Twins.
Hagenman spent three years with the Nittany Lions before he was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 23rd round of the 2018 MLB Draft. While in Happy Valley, the right-handed pitcher made 42 starts with 190 strikeouts and 282 hits given.
He was named to the Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American and the Big Ten All-Freshman team in 2016.
Since then, he has bounced around a bit, spending time with the Boston Red Sox and now the Mets. Despite spending the past seven years playing professionally, Hagenman has never made his MLB debut.
In fact, the Nittany Lion is the first former Penn State player to make an MLB debut since Nate Bump on July 16, 2005. David Aardsma also spent time pitching for the Atlanta Braves from 2001 to 2015.
