Matt Mullenbach is coming off the heels of one of the best seasons of his career. In 2024 with the DockHounds, Mullenbach filled every role in relief before starting in his final four appearances to a 3.20 ERA across 64.2 innings, which was fourth on Lake Country and only trailed three starters who all made at least 16 starts.  

Growing up in Iowa, “Mully” got to play in what some may say is “baseball heaven.” For his college ball, Mullenbach left the Midwest for Tennessee and Lincoln Memorial University, a division two school in the South Atlantic Conference. After pitching there for four seasons, Mullenbach obtained his degree before signing with the New York Mets in 2019, going undrafted. 

Mullenbach only got to play one season with the Mets at low-A Brooklyn but pitched well to a 2.84 ERA. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the 2020 minor league season, and Mullenbach was released prior to the 2021 campaign. 

Out of affiliate ball, Mullenbach found his first home in an MLB partner league, but instead of the American Association, Matt joined the Lake Erie Crushers in the Frontier League. There, Mullenbach pitched twice, with his final outing being two scoreless innings with three strikeouts.  

Fortunately, the Minnesota Twins liked what they saw and signed Mullenbach a little over a month later. He debuted at AAA St. Paul and pitched two scoreless innings, but didn’t see the mound for another month, spending the rest of the ‘21 season in Florida at the Twins minor league complex for rookie ball and low-A.  

2022 also saw Mullenbach bounce between levels, beginning the season at high-A Cedar Rapids in his home state, getting sent back to low-A, before a promotion again to Cedar Rapids and a two-appearance stint at triple-A St. Paul to conclude the season. In 45 innings between low and high-A in 2022, Mullenbach pitched to a 1.60 ERA.  

Once again starting at high-A for 2023, Mullenbach did not get off to the start he wanted and was released by the Twins and made his DockHounds debut 10 days later. When he makes his 2025 debut, Mullenbach will become just the second DockHound to pitch in three seasons for the franchise by joining his good friend, Brady Kais. Mullenbach’s 112.2 innings and 75 appearances are the most in DockHounds history. 

The word in the clubhouse is that Mullenbach is the best golfer on the team and loves to hit the links with his teammates on days off.