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The College World Series may be down to four teams, but Purdue was eliminated months ago. The program suffered its third straight losing season and reached only 20 victories, which was actually an improvement over the previous two years. It is hard to believe that just three years ago Purdue caught lightning in a bottle and won 45 games and had a host of firsts. That Big Ten title and hosted regional (in Gary, thanks Morgan). It seems like ages ago, but it paved the way for the Big Ten baseball renaissance. Indiana made it to Omaha the following season and was a National Seed in 2014. Illinois was a National seed this year and a record five Big Ten teams made the NCAA Tournament.
A big reason Purdue did so well only to fall so hard was a talent-laden roster that virtually departed en masse. So where are they all now?
Major Leagues
Kevin Plawecki - Of all the players on that roster that got drafted Plawecki is the only one to make it to the Show so far. He was the 35th overall selection by the Mets and made his Major league debut earlier this spring. With 113 at bats he is batting .212 with a pair of home runs and 13 RBI for the first place Mets. When you consider he is the first Purdue position player in the Majors in 24 years that is pretty good.
Triple-A
Nick Wittgren - Wittgren might be the next player to get The Call. He is currently in Triple-A for the New Orleans Zephyrs, the affiliate of the Miami Marlins. This season he is 1-1 with a 2.00 ERA in 22 appearances. He also has seven saves, picking up where he left off as Purdue's excellent closer in 2012. I would not be surprised if the Marlins gave him a call by the end of the season.
Double-A
Cameron Perkins - The hard-hitting third baseman is hanging out at Double-A Redding in the Phillies organization. He is having a decent season batting .257 with 8 home runs and 32 RBIs, which is impressive since most up and coming prospects hang out in Double-A. He spent half of last season in Triple-A and batted only .216, but he is improving. He is probably next in line to get a call after Wittgren.
Class A Advanced
Brad Schreiber - Schreiber battled arm trouble during his time at Purdue, but he is an effective reliever at High-A ball for the Charlotte Stone Crabs in the Tampa Bay organization. He has an 0-1 record with a solid 1.29 ERA in 24 games and a very impressive 17 saves. He was expected to be Purdue's top starter in 2012 but missed the year due to an elbow injury after going 4-0 in eight starts in 2011.
Class A
Robert Ramer - Purdue's excellent midweek starter who was an excellent 16-6 (and was 13-1 going into the 2013 season) bounced around the independent leagues before getting picked up by the Giants organization. He started 8 games for the Augusta GreenJackets of the South Atlantic League last season and is still listed as active, but has not played this year.
Out of Baseball
Joe Haase - Purdue's No. 1 Friday starter who was 11-1 in 2012 and is the only Purdue pitcher to win an NCAA Tournament game was never drafted and, as far as I can tell, hasn't pitched since the win over Valparaiso. In fact, he has been working as a farmer since then.
Lance Breedlove - Purdue's No. 2 starter, who was also solid in 2012, played for two years in the Pirates organization at State College, Jamestown, and West Virginia, before finishing up in 2013 in A League ball. He had a 4.09 ERA and 5-2 record in two seasons.
Blake Mascarello - Mascarello was the top bullpen arm and setup guy. He also got as high as A ball in 2012 in the South Atlantic League for the Phillies, but hasn't pitched since then.
Eric Charles - the second baseman that often set the table for Perkins and Plawecki played two years of minor league ball in the Padres organization. He last played for the Ft. Wayne TinCaps in the Class A Midwest League in 2013, where he only batted .133.
Barrett Serrato - The first baseman was drafted by the Rangers in the 30th round and played for two years in the Minors. He did make it to Double-A Frisco in 2013 for one game, notching a hit in four at bats.
Sean McHugh - The backup catcher and part-time DH was drafted last season and played in 16 games for the Williamsport Crosscutters in short-season A ball. He has since retired.