By Adam Oppenheim
Palm Springs, Calif. – Summer baseball has all different twists and turns for players. Palm Springs Power pitcher and Pittsburgh Panther alum Kyle Mosley took a huge step in his baseball career, signing with the Billings Mustangs of the professional Pioneer League on July 7. Mosley can trace much of his success to his time with the Power.
“I felt like when I was [in Palm Springs] the coaches always having my back, the players always scoring runs, always having my back lit a fire under me to perform the way I did,” Mosley said.
Mosley has been one the most consistent Power pitchers over his last two summers in the desert. In 2024 Mosley totaled a 3-0 record with a 2.55 ERA across 24.2 innings. He also finished with an eye-popping 37 strikeouts to just seven walks all while recording three saves.
His first season in Palm Springs in 2023 was just as excellent. Mosely totaled a team best 1.17 ERA including 45 strikeouts in 30.2 innings pitched.
“The [Power coaches] are always there to help. They are great guys and the knowledge they have for the game made it great to learn from them,” Mosley said. “I looked forward to being there every single day so I could learn more from them and help me get to where I wanted to be because I’m trying to get to the highest level possible.”
For Mosley, he wasn’t even in the country when he got the message about moving onto the Pioneer League. In fact, he was in Mexico on a day-off when he found out about his call-up.
“Honestly, it was a bit of a surprise- something that I wasn’t expecting,” Mosley said. “I was planning on playing my sixth year at college at Division II [Lubbock Christian] in Texas.”
Long before he became a Division I pitcher at Pitt, Mosley’s baseball journey was not straightforward. He was just 5’4” after his junior year at Lake Ridge High School outside of Dallas but he grew eight inches over the next year.
“I wasn’t even gonna be a pitcher when I first started. I didn’t start pitching until my senior year of high school,” Mosley said. “Then my [community college coach Chris Rateike] got me to get faster, stronger and move better. Him putting his trust in me just made me into the guy I am today.”
Mosley’s collegiate career started with three years at Hill College, a junior college in Cleburne, Texas. Mosley pitched in 83.1 innings across three years for the Rebels with a 9-5 record in 21 games and a 5.62 ERA.
“I’m going to give all the credit to my junior college, it was an absolute grind,” Mosley said. “Something that I wasn’t expecting but it was all to make us better. [Coach Rateike] having the trust in me to be his guy has something that has led me to be successful.”
Mosely’s professional career is off to a busy start in Billings with four appearances as of Wednesday including two starts.
He holds a 3.72 ERA in 9.2 innings with eight strikeouts and just four earned runs allowed. He excelled in his first start with the Mustangs tossing 4.2 innings with just an earned run allowed in Billings’ win over the Northern Colorado Owlz.
The Pioneer League is an independent professional league and one of four MLB Partner Leagues. Now Mosley is dreaming of taking the next step in his baseball career.
“I definitely can see it [making it to the MLB.] The pictures are starting to line up and I think I am moving in the right direction to get there,” Mosley said. “As long as I can keep improving, be consistent with what I do, the skies the limit. I am looking forward to grinding and getting there.”
Fans can follow Mosley the rest of the Pioneer League season by visiting the Mustangs’ website.
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The Palm Springs Power are a summer collegiate baseball team playing all home games at Palm Springs Stadium. The Power are a member of the California Premier Collegiate League and the league’s two time reigning champions. Palm Springs has won ten league championships in 20 seasons of playing baseball in the desert dating to 2004.
Stay up-to-date with the Palm Springs Power at palmspringspowerbaseball.com and by following the Power on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Tik Tok.
Fans can buy tickets every gameday at the stadium box office. Palm Springs Stadium is located at 1901 E Baristo Road in Palm Springs. Fans can also tune in on the Palm Springs Power Broadcast Network to watch every home game live.
For more information, visit palmspringspowerbaseball.com or call (760) 778-4487.
