Bruins in Pro Ball – All-Star Break Update
July 17, 2018 | Baseball
LOS ANGELES – The Major League Baseball All-Star Game will take place tonight in Washington D.C., marking the halfway point of the MLB season, as nine UCLA alums have made impacts on MLB clubs this season with three Bruins making All-Star Game rosters, the most of any program in the country.
Gerrit Cole (Houston Astros) and Trevor Bauer (Cleveland Indians) were both named American League All-Stars and have been two of the best pitchers in baseball during the first half of the season. Cole has a 10-2 record with a 2.52 ERA in 128.1 innings. He has totaled 177 strikeouts compared to just 45 walks and has held opponents to a .180 batting average. Bauer is second in the A.L with a 2.24 ERA and holds an 8-6 record in 20 starts and 136.1 innings. He trails Cole by just two strikeouts with 175 and has the lowest home run rate per nine innings in the league.
Brandon Crawford (San Francisco Giants) will be making his first All-Star Game start at shortstop tonight as he is on pace to set career-bests in a number of offensive categories. He is hitting .292 in 93 games this season with 42 runs scored and 39 RBIs. Crawford is top-3 among N.L. shortstops in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging, RBIs, and home runs. Chase Utley (Los Angeles Dodgers) announced last week that he will retire at the end of the season after an incredible 16-year career. This season, Utley has played in 60 games and is hitting .239 with 16 runs scored and 14 RBIs.
Matt Grace (Washington Nationals) has made 28 appearances out of the bullpen and was a 2.80 ERA in 35.1 innings with 32 strikeouts compared to just seven walks. Erik Goeddel (Los Angeles Dodgers) started the year in Seattle, but made his way to Southern California in May and overall in 2018 has thrown 22.0 innings in 26 relief appearances and has a 2.76 ERA. He has totaled 36 strikeouts and has held opponents to a .206 batting average.
Adam Plutko (Cleveland Indians) was called up in May and has a 4-2 record in eight games, including six starts and has also recorded a save. In just his second start Plutko took a no-hitter into the sixth inning against the Cubs on the road and ended the game with six scoreless innings surrendering just two hits. Pat Valaika (Colorado Rockies) has played in 46 games this season and 92 at-bats with six runs scored and two RBIs. He has totaled five extra-base hits this season with four doubles and one home run. In addition Zack Weiss (2011-13) made his Major League debut with the Cincinnati Reds this season.
In addition, Dave Roberts is managing the N.L. West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers with a record of 53-43 through the first half of the season, however Torey Lovullo, the reigning N.L. Manager of the Year, and the Arizona Diamondbacks are just one half game behind in the standings.
Minor League Update
A number of Bruins have made an impact across Minor League Baseball as well. Griffin Canning (2015-17) moved from single-A all the way to triple-A Salt Lake in a matter of months and overall in the minors this season is 1-2 with a 3.57 ERA in 17 starts. Canning made 10 starts in double-A Mobile before being promoted and was 1-0 with a 1.97 ERA with 49 strikeouts and was a part of two no-hitters. Scott Griggs (2010-12) is 3-0 with a 2.93 ERA in 37 games in relief and has 44 strikeouts for double-A Hartford.
Cody Decker (2006-09) has spent most of the season at triple-A Reno and is slugging .482 with eight home runs and five doubles and has driven in 24 runs. Kevin Kramer (2012-15) is playing for triple-A Indianapolis and is batting .283 with 50 runs scored and 42 RBIs to go along with 22 doubles and 11 home runs. Eric Filia (2012-16) is hitting .307 with 21 runs scored and 23 RBIs in 140 at-bats at double-A Arkansas.
Sean Bouchard (2015-17) is playing for single-A Asheville and has totaled 33 extra-base hits with eight home runs and 23 doubles in 83 games. Luke Persico (2014-16) is batting just under .300 for single-A Stockton with 35 RBIs and 35 runs scored and has 22 doubles. Kort Peterson (2014-16) was called up to double-A Northwest Arkansas last month and overall in 2018 he is hitting .270 with 43 runs scored, 39 RBIs, 20 doubles and nine home runs. Jake Bird (2015-18) was drafted in June's MLB draft is already impressing as he is 1-0 with a 1.59 ERA in four appearances.
