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For just the third year, Tennessee baseball is represented at the MLB All-Star Futures Game.
But this time, theyre represented twofold.
Gavin Kilen and Liam Doyle are set to become just the third and fourth Vols to receive the invite and will once again play for the same team the National League.
While Kilen dons orange and black for the San Francisco Giants, Doyle will sport red and white for the St.
Louis Cardinals, both representing the top 0.5% of all MLB prospects.
Doyles Midwest dominance The 2025 SEC Pitcher of the Year and Golden Spikes Award finalist, Doyle has made his mark in Missouri after the St.
Louis Cardinals drafted him fifth overall in 2025.
Known for being a strikeout machine with his invisible fastball, Doyle has moved quickly through the minors thus far, earning his bid as one of 50 heading to the All-Star Futures Game.
The selection comes as no surprise, as MLB Pipeline currently rates him as the No.
2 prospect in the Cardinals system and the No.
22 overall prospect in Major League Baseball.
Doyle started with the FCL Cardinals in early August 2025, the rookie affiliate of St.
Louis, before being elevated to Single-A Palm Beach just a month later on Sept.
4.
Doyles time in Palm Beach proved to be short-lived, as he only pitched 1.2 innings to save a single game before being called up to Double-A Springfield as a late-season cup of coffee as the Cardinals made their postseason push.
He quickly became a focal point of the minor league system, pushing to return to the mound and ultimately helping Springfield capture the 2025 Texas League Championship.
Doyle has remained in Springfield to start the 2026 season, where early struggles with home runs scarred him with a gargantuan 17.18 ERA in the depths of his rut.
However, Doyle found a way to dig himself out of the plunging sinkhole to bring his ERA down to 5.82 as of July 1.
The scale was tipped in part by Doyles flamethrowing 97 mph fastball along with his evolving slider, splitter and changeup mix, which allowed him to weaponize an elite 12.53 K/9 rate.
Through 51.0 innings pitched, he has tallied 71 strikeouts against just 29 walks, solidifying his status as the crown jewel of the Cardinals future rotation.
Kilens West Coast rise Former First Team All-SEC and All-American for the Vols, Gavin Kilen found his way to the Bay when San Francisco drafted him No.
13 overall in 2025.
The shortstop began his minor league career with the San Jose Giants, the Single-A affiliate of San Francisco, where he finished out the 2025 season.
With San Jose, Kilen played 10 games before his season prematurely ended due to hip bruising.
During this time, he posted a .205 average with one double and one triple in just 39 at-bats.
However, with a new year came a new season, a new team and a fresh start for Kilen, as San Francisco promoted him to their high-A affiliate, the Eugene Emeralds, in April 2026.
Since the start of the 2026 season, Kilen has bested his batting average from 2025, increasing it 83 points to .288, while tallying a whopping 24 doubles, a triple and eight home runs.
He has also proved to be a pitchers poison with just a 13.9% strikeout rate, which ranks well below the High-A average of 24%.
Kilens elite defensive instincts and baseball IQ have caught the eyes of external scouts, earning him the No.
4 spot on MLB Pipelines Giants prospect rankings.
His ability to put barrel to ball and crank extra-base hits has produced for him a Northwest League-leading 60 RBIs while producing some extraordinary highlights.
In the conclusion of a rain-suspended game that was moved to June 26 against the Everett AquaSox, Kilen blasted two home runs, providing crucial runs in Eugenes 9-8 victory.
Kilen continued to pour it on in the second game, scorching a walk-off double as part of a three-hit game to send Everett packing with a final score of 4-3.
Kilens and Doyles professional paths are scheduled to converge in Philadelphia on July 12, showcasing the next generation of Vol baseball talent on a national stage.