After the Mariners selected him in the fifth round of the 2014 MLB Draft, Dan Altavilla set a goal to pitch in the big leagues by the time he was 24. By August 27th, 2016, he made his debut as a 23-year-old against the Chicago White Sox, setting the side down in order.
The MLB dream was a relatively new one for Dan. He played college ball for Mercyhurst University, a D-II school about two hours away from where he grew up. Mercyhurst is one of the top D-II baseball programs in the country; however, D-II schools lack the exposure of elite D-1 programs.