The 2020 MLB season has been historic in many ways, including for organizations not affiliated with professional baseball.

Milwaukee Brewers’ right-hander Drew Rasmussen made his major-league debut on August 19 to become the 17th AppleSox alum to make his major-league debut. Rasmussen is also the fourth former Sox player to make his debut this season, a new single-season AppleSox record.

Rasmussen tossed two scoreless innings and struck out three on Wednesday night in the Brewers’ 9-3 win over the Minnesota Twins. After undergoing a pair of Tommy John surgeries and being drafted thee different times, Rasmussen wasn’t fazed by the pressures and potential uncertainty that come with a major-league debut.

“Personally, I think rehab is the hardest thing you can go through in this game,” Rasmussen said to MLB.com. “I've gotten the pleasure to not only experience that once, but twice, for extended amounts of time. Every day is a blessing to be able to play this game, so I think I've already gone through the worst of it.”

The former Oregon State Beaver pitched for the AppleSox in 2014, going 3-2 with a 5.16 ERA in 10 games (nine starts). Rasmussen punched out 42 in 45.1 innings and surrendered three runs or fewer in eight of the 10 games he pitched in.

Rasmussen made the most of his three years pitching in Corvallis, including making history in 2015. As a freshman at Oregon State, Rasmussen hurled the first perfect game in school history against Washington State on March 21. All-in-all Rasmussen recorded a 2.65 ERA in his three seasons for the Beavers and first-team All-Pac-12 honors in 2015.

The Puyallup native was drafted prior to starting college when the Arizona Diamondbacks selected Rasmussen in the 39th round of the 2014 MLB Draft. After not signing, Rasmussen would be drafted once he became eligible again in 2017. This time the Tampa Bay Rays selected him 31st overall during his junior year. Rasmussen again did not sign and underwent the second Tommy John surgery of his career later that year to miss the entire 2018 season. Regardless, the Milwaukee Brewers drafted the right-hander in the sixth round that spring.

Although he did not pitch at all in 2018, that did not delay Rasmussen’s ascension to the major-leagues. He went a combined 1-3 with a 3.15 ERA across three levels (A-ADV, A-FULL, AA) in 2019. Rasmussen sizzled with success, punching out 96 hitters in 74.1 innings.

With Rasmussen’s debut, nine different former AppleSox players have now appeared in at least one major-league game this season. Seventeen players to don the AppleSox’ red, white and blue have now appeared in at least one major-league game