Alex Lange


Alex Craig Lange is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Detroit Tigers organization. He played college baseball at Louisiana State University. He was drafted by the Chicago Cubs with the 30th pick in the first round of 2017 Major League Baseball draft.

Career

Lange was adopted when he was a baby. He attended Lee's Summit West High School in Lee's Summit, Missouri and maintained a 4.0 weighted GPA. As a senior, Lange was named the Missouri Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year. He was scouted by many NCAA Division I colleges, but chose to attend Louisiana State University.
As a college freshman in 2015, Lange was a consensus All-American. He was also named the National Freshman Pitcher of the Year by Louisville Slugger and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and helped lead LSU to the College World Series. LSU returned to the College World Series in 2017, and facing top-ranked Oregon State in his first College World Series start, Lange pitched seven innings and allowed only two hits to lead LSU to victory.

Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs selected Lange with the 30th pick in the first round of the 2017 MLB Draft. He signed with the Cubs and was assigned to the Eugene Emeralds of the Class A-Short Season Northwest League, where he posted an 0–1 win–loss record with a 4.82 earned run average in innings pitched. MLB.com ranked Lange as Chicago's fifth best prospect going into the 2018 season. He spent the 2018 season with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans of the Class-A Advanced Carolina League, going 6-8 with a 3.74 ERA in 23 starts. Lange began 2019 back with Myrtle Beach.

Detroit Tigers

On July 31, 2019, the Cubs traded Lange and Paul Richan to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for Nicholas Castellanos. He was assigned to the Erie SeaWolves. Over 27 games between Myrtle Beach and Erie, he went 5-13 with a 5.45 ERA, striking out 94 batters over innings. He was selected to play in the Arizona Fall League for the Mesa Solar Sox following the season.