He also becomes the first Hilltopper since Chris Turner to make it to a Major League roster. Turner was drafted by the Angels in 1992, and won a World Series championship with the New York Yankees in 2000.
Stemle spent three seasons on the Hill (1996-98) before being drafted in the fifth round by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1998 draft. He spent the past two seasons with the Cardinals’ Triple-A affiliate in Memphis before signing with the Royals in November.
The righthander won 18 games in 39 starts during his three seasons on the Hill — currently the seventh-highest win total in school history. He still ranks fifth on WKU’s career list with 252.1 innings pitches and fourth with 240 strikeouts.
The 28-year-old reliever was 1-1 with three saves and a 0.45 ERA in 14 appearances this season in Omaha. He allowed just one earned run in 20 innings of work, with an opponent batting average of just .191.
