The Major League regular season is officially complete after an exciting day of two games 163’s and now it is time to start the playoffs. This year there are Cardinal 9 Alums on 3 of the teams, Chad Green on the Yankees, Adam Duvall on the Braves, and Dean Kiehkefer on the Oakland Athletics.
Major Leagues
-Adam Duvall had a tough year and once he was traded to the Braves he never really got a chance to get going again as his role with Atlanta was primarily off the bench as a pinch-hitter. Between the Reds and the Braves, Duvall hit .195/.274/.365 with 20 doubles, 15 home runs, 61 RBI’s and 2 stolen bases. We shall see if the Braves decide to include him on the playoff roster.
-Adam Engel was named as one of a handful of White Sox players who came to the ballpark every day and worked extremely hard according to Chicago Manager, Rick Renteria. Engel finished his second season in the Bigs with 16 stolen bases, 17 doubles, 4 triples, 6 home runs, and 29 RBI’s while slashing .235/.279/.336. The second half of his season was exceptionally better than the beginning, especially the last month and a half or so. As the White Sox continue to build towards a winning future I am curious to see their plans for Engel.
-Chad Green will be on the Yankees Wild Card Roster and if they beat the A’s he will be leaned on in the Divisional Round. In his 3rd season with the big club, Green finished 8-3 with a 2.50 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, and 94 strikeouts in 75.2 innings. Strong bullpen pieces are coveted in Major League Baseball and the Yankees seem to have a stockpile. I wonder what the decision will be with Green going into next season. Will he be a Yankee or will they move him in a trade that adds to their starting rotation?
-Josh Rogers started the year off in the Yankees organization at AAA, then was traded to Baltimore where he was called up at the end of the season. In the Big Leagues, Rogers went 1-2 with an 8.49 ERA, 1.89 WHIP, and 6 strikeouts in 11.6 innings. His offseason will be one to watch.
-Dean Kiekhefer’s Oakland Athletics will square off the Yankees in the AL Wild Card but I think the jury is still out on whether or not Kiekhefer makes the postseason roster. Regardless, Kiekhefer posted a 0-0 record to go along with an ERA of 18.00, a WHIP of 4.00 and 1 strikeout in 2 innings.
-Matt Koch bounced back and forth between the Diamondbacks and their AAA team the Reno Aces. In 19 total games, 14 of those starts, for Arizona, Koch finished 5-5 with a 4.15 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, and 50 strikeouts in 86.2 innings. His offseason will be another to watch closely.
-Nick Burdi pitched sparingly for the Pittsburgh Pirates this season as he was rehabbing his right arm after Tommy John surgery from the summer before. In 2 games of work this year, Burdi went 1.1 innings, struck out 2 and gave up 3 earned runs on 3 hits. I expect to see him spend a lot of his summer in a Big League Uniform next year.
AAA
-Nick Solak was called up to the Durham Bulls for their playoff run and batted 1.00 in one game for the Bulls. Solak played the entire regular season at AA Montgomery where he totaled 135 hits, 17 doubles, 3 triples, 19 home runs, 76 RBI’s, 21 stolen bases and had a slash line of .282/.384/.450.
-Kyle McGrath’s season has come to a close in the Padres organization. He did pitch a bit in the big leagues at the beginning of the spring but finished the season with the Chihuahuas with a 7-3 record, 2.75 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, .219 BAA, and 42 strikeouts in 52 innings of work.
-Will Smith capped off a great year in the Dodgers organization that saw him ascent all the way to AAA. Between AA and AAA, Smith hit .233/.322/.455 with 82 hits, 18 doubles, 20 home runs, 59 RBI’s, and 5 stolen bases.
-Chris Dominguez’s season wrapped up with the Syracuse SkyChiefs this week without a call-up to the big club despite the sell-off that the Nationals had over the last few weeks. Dominguez finished the season with 67 total hits, 16 doubles, 1 triple, 9 home runs, 45 RBI’s, 7 stolen bases, 31 runs scored, an OPS of .699 and a slash line of .243/.293/.406.
-Cole Sturgeon completed his first major stint in AAA this season. Between AA and AAA, Sturgeon slashed .266/.328/.387 with an OPS of .715, 97 total hits, 15 doubles, 1 triple, 9 home runs, 38 RBI’s, and 13 stolen bases.
-Zack Burdi has finished his rehab assignment this season with the AZL Sox with a 0-1 record, 7 strikeouts in 6.1 innings, an ERA of 2.84, WHIP of 1.42, and a BAA of .217.
-Kyle Funkhouser went down with a fractured foot after stumbling over a broken piece of sidewalk and unfortunately, his strong season has come to an end prematurely. Between AA and AAA this year, Funk was 4-7 with a 3.96 ERA, 1.48 WHIP and had 96 strikeouts in 97.2 innings.
AA
-Corey Ray was named the Milwaukee Brewers position player of the year for the entire minor system, another accolade to his tremendous season that also saw him win Southern League MVP, Southern League All-Star and MLB Pipeline Team of the Year. In 135 games, Ray hit .239/.323/.477 with 127 hits, 32 doubles, 7 triples, 27 home runs, 74 RBI’s and 37 stolen bases.
-Derek Self finished his season with the Harrisburg Senators by going 6-2 with a 2.88 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, .251 BAA, and 43 strikeouts in 53.1 innings out of the bullpen.
-Jeff Arnold’s 9th season in professional baseball has concluded and across 3 different levels, the pride of Male High School hit .173/.266/.257 with an OPS of .524, 35 total hits, 8 doubles, 3 home runs, 21 RBI’s, and 19 runs scored.
-Grant Kay was placed on the 7 day DL at the start of the season and did not play in any games this season for the Montgomery Biscuits.
-Jared Ruxer was released on 5/23 by the Kansas City Royals
-Joe Filomeno was released on 4/23 by the Texas Rangers.
A Advanced
-Drew Ellis completed his first full season with the Visalia Rawhide playing 120 games, totaling 109 hits, 34 doubles, 1 triple, 15 home runs, 71 RBI’s, and 2 stolen bases while hitting .246/.331.429.
-Lincoln Henzman enjoyed a great season across two levels of the White Sox organization. He finished the year in Winston Salem and looks poised to start the 2019 season strong. Officially, Henzman was 6-4 with a 2.35 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, .246 BAA, and 80 strikeouts in 107.1 innings.
-Devin Hairston’s season with the Carolina Mudcats is completed and the middle infielder totaled 69 hits, 10 doubles, 3 triples, 1 home run, 2 stolen bases, 39 runs scored, an OPS of .551, and a slash line of .204/.291/.260.
-Brendan McKay was placed on the 7-day disabled list on August 30th which will end his season this year. At the plate, across a couple of levels, McKay averaged .214/.368/.359 with an OPS of .727, 41 total hits, 8 doubles, 1 triple, 6 home runs, 39 RBI’s, and 32 runs scored. On the mound, McKay finished 5-2 with a 2.41 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, .196 BAA, and 103 strikeouts in 78.1 innings.
-Blake Tiberi has finished the season with the St. Lucie Mets and across multiple levels, Tiberi slashed .242 /.342/.336 with an OPS of .678, 95 total hits, 18 doubles, 2 triples, 5 home runs, 38 RBI’s, 65 runs scored, and 6 stolen bases.
-Jeff Thompson was released by the Detroit Tigers on July 21st.
A
-Colby Fitch played the entire season with the Lakewood BlueClaws and in 77 games, Fitch hit .236/.351/.374 with an OPS of .725, 60 total hits, 14 doubles, 3 triples, 5 home runs, and 28 RBI’s.
-Drew Harrington’s very up and down season that saw him pitch for 4 teams across 4 levels for 2 different organizations. On the whole this summer, Harrington was 9-8 with a 5.03 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, .304 BAA, and 73 strikeouts in 107.1 innings.
-Devin Mann played 65 games in his first season as a professional between Rookie Level and Short Season. In those 65 games, Mann totaled 55 hits, 13 doubles, 1 triple, 2 home runs, 30 RBI’s and 7 stolen bases while slashing .240/.348/.332.
-Kade McClure was placed on the 7 day DL on May 14th which prematurely ended his season. Overall, McClure finished 3-1 with a 3.02 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, .265 BAA, and 42 strikeouts in 41.2 innings for Kannapolis.
-Dace Kime retired from professional baseball on June 16th.
A Short Season
-Josh Stowers ended his first professional season after earning All-Star recognition for the Everett AquaSox. In 58 games, Stowers hit .260/.380/.410 with 32 total hits, 15 doubles, 5 home runs, 20 stolen bases, and 28 RBI’s.
-Riley Thompson ends the season as a champion as the Eugene Emeralds won the Northwest League championship. Thompson finished his first season as a professional with at 0-2 with a 2.84 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, .253 BAA, and 25 strikeouts in 25.1 innings.
-Adam Wolf’s summer has come to an end with the Connecticut Tigers. Across a couple of different levels, Wolf finished 1-1 with a 2.19 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, .224 BAA, and 32 strikeouts in 37 innings.
Rookie Level
– Austin Conway played for two different rookie level teams this year in his first summer in the professional ranks. Between those two teams in the White Sox organization, Conway went 4-3 with a 3.00 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, .246 BAA, and 32 strikeouts in 36 innings pitched.
-Liam Jenkins first summer in professional baseball has come to a conclusion with the AZL Indians. Jenkins finished the season 4-0 with a 4.91 ERA, 1.55 WHIP, .228 BAA, and 37 strikeouts in 22 innings.
2018 Draft Picks
*Josh Stowers was selected in the 2nd round, 54th overall, to the Seattle Mariners.
*Adam Wolf was drafted by the Detroit Tigers at 135 overall, in the 5th round.
*Devin Mann was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers, 164th overall, in the 5th round.
*Riley Thompson was taken in the 11th round by the Chicago Cubs with pick number 338.
*Sam Bordner was drafted by the Miami Marlins, 477 overall in the 16th round.
*Liam Jenkins was drafted in the 17th round, 523 overall, by the Cleveland Indians.
*Austin Conway was taken 918 overall in the 31st round by the Chicago White Sox.
Bryan Hoeing was selected by the San Francisco Giants in the 36th round, 1066 overall.
* players who have signed professional contracts
