Houston Astros call up former Ole Miss shortstop Grae Kessinger
OXFORD, Miss. — The Houston Astros plan to promote former Ole Miss shortstop Grae Kessinger from the Triple-A Sugar Land Space Cowboys on Monday, as first reported Sunday by sports director Mark Berman of Fox 26 in Houston.
The first clue something was up came earlier Sunday from a tweet made by Keith Kessinger, Grae’s uncle, as Houston is set for a four-game series against the Blue Jays in Toronto starting Monday.
I hear Toronto is beautiful this time of year 👀
— Keith Kessinger (@KeithKessinger) June 5, 2023
Then came Berman’s tweet.
MLB source: Astros expected to call up infielder Grae Kessinger from Triple-A Sugar Land and option catcher César Salazar to the @SLSpaceCowboys
— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) June 5, 2023
Grae, a second-round pick by the Astros in 2019, is now in line to make his major-league debut in the coming days. He spent his first two seasons with the Corpus Christi Hooks, the Astros’ Double-A affiliate, before being moved up to the Space Cowboys.
The 25-year-old Kessinger began the 2023 campaign with Sugar Land and slashed .284/.400/.443 with six homers, 37 runs, 32 RBI and two stolen bases.
Grae Kessinger 3 run HR for Sugar Land! His first HR of the season! #Astros pic.twitter.com/xs9I7VCng2
— Astros Future (@AstrosFuture) April 16, 2023
And finally (for now), Grae Kessinger makes it THREE in-a-row for Sugar Land with this 433 foot homer! pic.twitter.com/FCwi4O02qT
— Sugar Land Space Cowboys (@SLSpaceCowboys) May 7, 2023
A family affair
The Kessinger name is likely very familiar to baseball fans, and not just to Rebels, as Grae will be the third generation of MLB-playing Kessingers.
He is the grandson of Don Kessinger, who was a six-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove winner for the Chicago Cubs as well as an All-American shortstop (1964) and head coach (1991-96) at Ole Miss.
Don Kessinger’s number was retired at Swayze Field in 2021.
Don Kessinger becomes one of just two Rebels to have their number retired at Swayze Field. pic.twitter.com/fC2IQ5OTLm
— SuperTalk Mississippi (@supertalk) April 23, 2021
His dad, Kevin, and his uncle, Keith, played baseball at Ole Miss. Kevin, was drafted by the Cubs and played in the organization before his career ended due to injury, and Keith played in the Majors for the Cincinnati Reds and now serves as the radio analyst for Rebel baseball games.
More to come….
The Astros have not officially confirmed Kessinger’s call up, and his playing time will likely depend on whether Jose Altuve (oblique) is available for the start of the upcoming series in Toronto.
But when the call does become official, Kessinger will mark the 50th Ole Miss player in school history to make it all the way to the major league. The most recent Rebel to do so is Nick Fortes, the current catcher for the Marlins. He made his MLB debut during the 2021 season.
Hotty Toddy and congrats to Grae!
Evelyn Van Pelt
Evelyn has covered sports for over two decades, beginning her journalism career as a sports writer for a newspaper in Austin, Texas. She attended Texas A&M and majored in English. Evelyn’s love for Ole Miss began when her daughter Katie attended the university on a volleyball scholarship. Evelyn created the Rebel Walk in 2013 and has served as publisher and managing editor since its inception.
