Pirates draft pick Ager traces roots to baseball family in Westmoreland County

When Matt Ager came to Pittsburgh in 2015, he went to a game at PNC Park and watched the Pirates’ Gerrit Cole pitch against Clayton Kershaw and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Ager, a 21-year-old pitcher the Pirates drafted in the sixth round earlier this month out of UC Santa Barbara, was visiting family the last time he came to Westmoreland County.

The big right-hander was born in California and never lived here, but a number of his relatives with local ties will be watching his career with great interest.

Ager’s father, Jeff, and uncle, Greg, are Penn-Trafford graduates. Greg graduated in 1985, Jeff in ’84.

Both men, who live out of state, played football, but only Greg was a baseball player. He went on to pitch at Yale, and his son Justin later followed suit as a pitcher with the same Ivy League program.

“Yeah, he taught Matt everything he knows,” Jeff said with a laugh about his brother. “It’s an exciting time for all of us. We’re so proud of Matt. It was great for him to be part of the (draft) process. We had so many friends and family hit us up saying, we hope it’s the Pirates. We didn’t care which team, but when it hit us it was the Pirates … that made it very exciting.”

Matt Ager, who already has reported to Bradenton, Fla., and is awaiting his assignment, signed a slot-value contract with the Pirates worth just less than $360,000.

“It’s a dream come true, and I am grateful for this opportunity,” Ager said.

The family came to PNC Park last week for the signing.

“Matt is a big Steelers fan,” Jeff Ager said. “We made sure to brainwash him. And he loves Penn State. The Pirates were very welcoming to us.”

Jeff Ager met his wife Lisa (Szyper) at Penn State. Lisa is from West Mifflin and graduated from Bethel Park.

A general manager for a manufacturing business in Newark, Calif., Jeff and family live in Pleasanton, Calif. Greg Ager works as an investment banker with Macquarie Capital in Washington, D.C. It was his generous donation that allowed Penn-Trafford to install dugouts at the high school field.

“We have been blessed,” Greg Ager said. “It was surreal when Matt got drafted.”

Louise Ager, 82, who is Jeff and Greg’s mother, lives near Harrison City. The proud grandmother had watch parties for some of Matt’s college games at her apartment.

“She watches all the Pirates games,” Jeff Ager said. “When he was drafted, she said it was the happiest moment of her life.”

The same could be said for Greg Ager, who told Matt Ager he “cried his eyes out” when he learned of the draft news while playing golf.

“We’re a big baseball family,” Greg Ager said. “When I heard Matt mention my son and myself in an interview (while playing for the USA Baseball Collegiate team), it brought me to tears. We kind of joke that a right-handed pitcher from our family finally made it.”

Jeff Ager said, “We’ve said each generation keeps getting better.”

Greg Ager went from Penn-Trafford to Yale and pitched in the Ivy League until he graduated in 1989. He had interest from a few MLB teams, including the Pirates, Phillies and Mets, but nothing panned out as he pursued his career in finance.

“We told Matt we hope he wears No. 35,” Greg Ager said. “That’s the number Justin and I wore.”

Greg’s son Justin was a standout at Loudoun Valley High School in Hamilton, Va., and also went on to pitch at Yale (Class of 2020).

Justin Ager (6-4, 220) had Tommy John surgery while in college.

“My nephew has been like a role model to Matt,” Jeff Ager said. “Matt wanted to follow the same path.”

Matt Ager, with his Paul Skenes-like stature — 6-foot-6, 225 pounds — was an All-Big West Conference second-team pick this season after ringing up 11 saves and a 4.02 ERA in 24 appearances, including nine starts.

He went 5-4 with a 3.12 ERA over 92¹⁄₃ innings and 115 strikeouts in 2023 when made the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team.

The influence of his uncle and cousin is palpable.

“I didn’t get to see (Justin) much because we’re on two different coasts,” Matt Ager said. “I always wanted to play baseball at the next level. I wanted to be like them.”

Speaking of Skenes, Ager is thrilled to be joining the Pirates at a time when their fast-throwing ace is bringing people back to the ballpark and contributing to a potential run at the postseason.

“I have been following Skenes since he was at Air Force,” Ager said. “It’s awesome to be here now. The Pirates have a great track record of developing pitchers in the minors and getting them to the big leagues.”

A graduate of Foothill High School, the alma mater of St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Brandon Crawford and in the neck of the woods where John Madden lived, Ager could have been drafted out of high school but chose to go to college to continue his development.

“We’re excited to see where this takes him,” Jeff Ager said. “I mean, the reality sets in that the minors are a grind. I just tell him to keep his head down and work.”