With Australian Baseball League action kicking off last week, here’s a look at the six former and current MLB players that will be taking the field down under.
Adelaide Giants
LHP Jack O’Laughlin: Oakland Athletics, 2024
The only pitcher on this list to appear in the majors in 2024, O’Laughlin made four relief outings for the Athletics in the middle of the season, allowing five runs in 9 ⅔ innings. The 24-year-old left-hander is a native of Australia and has pitched in the ABL from 2016-2017 and 2023-2024. In total, O’Laughlin has pitched in 25 games in Australia, posting a 5-4 record with a 4.22 ERA. He will return to the U.S. for the 2025 season after signing a minor-league free-agent contract with the Colorado Rockies.
Brisbane Bandits
1B Donald Lutz: Cincinnati Reds, 2013-2014
After signing with the Reds as an undrafted free agent in 2007, Lutz steadily climbed his way through the minor league system on his way to becoming the first German-developed player to play in the majors. The first baseman appeared in 62 games over parts of two seasons, collecting 23 hits and homering once. Besides making an appearance for Team Germany in the 2019 European Championship, Lutz has spent eight seasons in Australia with the Bandits. His best season came in 2016-17 when he blasted 16 home runs in just 46 games.
Melbourne Aces
1B Greg Bird: New York Yankees, 2015, 2017-2019
Bird looked set to be a key figure of the Baby Bombers after a terrific rookie season in 2015 in which he blasted 11 home runs and posted a .871 OPS. A torn labrum, however, wiped out Bird’s entire 2016 season, and he could never repeat the same success in his final three seasons in the Bronx. Bird joined the Aces in 2023 and has already homered four times in his first four games in 2024.
Melbourne Aces on X: “Greg Bird gets things started! https://t.co/fjXxSVOoIq” / X
OF Aaron Whitfield: Minnesota Twins, 2020; Los Angeles Angels, 2022
Though he made brief appearances with both the Twins and Angels, Whitfield has been a staple of the ABL for eight seasons. The Australian native has hit .290 in stints with Brisbane, Adelaine, and now Melbourne. His best season came in 2019 with the Giants, posting a .376 average and stole 23 bases. In nine professional seasons, the speedster has now tallied over 300 stolen bases.
Perth Heat
RHP Warwick Saupold: Detroit Tigers, 2016-2018
Another Australian native, Saupold caught the Tigers’ eye with a 1.41 ERA in ten starts with the Heat in 2011. The right-hander posted a 3.76 in eight minor league seasons with the Tigers and appeared in 82 games over his three MLB seasons. Saupold is set for his 12th season in the ABL having already posted an ERA below four over 46 career starts.
Sydney Blue Sox
LHP Alex Wells: Baltimore Orioles, 2021-2022
A 2015 international free-agent signing by the Orioles, Wells quickly emerged as one of the organization’s top pitching prospects, even making a Futures Game appearance in 2018. He made 13 appearances for the big-league club before a UCL sprain cut his 2022 season short. Wells returned to his native Australia for the 2024 season and allowed just one run in three innings in his first-ever ABL start.
