2021 State College Spikes outfielder Nathan Church became the 75th player in franchise history, and first in the Spikes’ MLB Draft League era, to reach the ranks of Major League Baseball on Sunday when he made his debut for the St. Louis Cardinals on the Road to the Show presented by HRI, Inc.
Church started in center field in each of his first two appearances for the Cardinals, becoming the eighth MLB Draft Leaguer to make the major leagues, following Zach Dezenzo, Troy Taylor, Darren Baker, Luis Guerrero, Logan VanWey, Andrew Hoffmann and Jonathan Pintaro
The UC-Irvine product hit. 343 with a .410 on-base percentage, four home runs and 17 runs batted in over 19 games for the Spikes in the summer of 2021. After finishing his collegiate career, Church was an 11th-round pick of the Cardinals in the 2022 MLB Draft, and climbed the organizational ladder to be named the Best Defensive Outfielder and Best Outfield Arm in the Cards’ system by Baseball America before the 2025 season.
Fans can see more of the future of baseball in Happy Valley throughout the summer as the Spikes finish the 2025 regular season en route to the MLB Draft League Championship Game on Thursday, September 4. Get tickets for every game at StateCollegeSpikes.com/tickets!
