Headed to Major League Baseball: Reds call up former Gamecock TJ Hopkins

Another Gamecock is getting a call up to the the major leagues.

The Cincinnati Reds called up former South Carolina standout TJ Hopkins on Saturday. Hopkins will wear No. 26 for the Reds and is the ninth former Gamecock on a Major League baseball roster.

To make room on the roster for Hopkins, the Reds placed TJ Friedl on the injured list.

Hopkins was having a big year at Triple-A Louisville and was hitting .341 with seven homers, 27 RBI and 14 doubles. One of his homers was a 468-foot blast on April 26.

The Reds picked Hopkins in the ninth round of the 2019 MLB Draft. As a senior at USC, he started all 56 games, hitting .285 with 11 home runs, 42 RBI and 11 doubles.

Before USC, Hopkins was a standout at Summerville High School and was ranked the state’s seventh best prospect by Diamond Prospect and Perfect Game.

Gamecocks in the Majors

Jackie Bradley Jr. – OF – Kansas City Royals

Jonah Bride – INF – Oakland Athletics

Wil Crowe* – RHP – Pittsburgh Pirates

TJ Hopkins – OF – Cincinnati Reds

Whit Merrifield – IF – Toronto Blue Jays

Jordan Montgomery – LHP – St. Louis Cardinals

Cody Morris* – RHP – Cleveland Guardians

Clarke Schmidt – RHP – New York Yankees

Christian Walker – INF – Arizona Diamondbacks