#STATEtoTheShow Update – Season Recap
November 28, 2018 | Baseball
Holder, Moreland and Woodruff all help teams to postseason berths
by Austin Coats, Student Assistant/Communications
STARKVILLE – In his ninth season as a professional and third World Series appearance, Mitch Moreland finally got his ring.
The fifth former Diamond Dawg to claim the Commissioner's Trophy, Moreland and the Boston Red Sox capped off a record-setting season in which Moreland earned his first-career Major League Baseball All-Star Game appearance and helped Boston to a franchise-record 108-win regular season.
Leading the World Series 2-1, but with his team trailing 4-0 to the Dodgers in Game 4 of the Fall Classic, Moreland's first-pitch, pinch-hit three-run home run sparked a Red Sox comeback as Boston won Game 3, 9-6, and would clinch their ninth World Series title the next day.
But maybe the biggest home run of the postseason belonged to Milwaukee Brewers relieve and MSU alum Brandon Woodruff. In Game 1 of the National League Championship Series, Woodruff stepped up to the plate in the nine hole to lead off the bottom of the third inning, down 1-0 to Los Angeles.
His Dodger counterpart was Clayton Kershaw, fresh off his 10th straight sub-3.00 earned run average season.
Woodruff looked at four-straight pitches; two balls, two strikes. Then, Kershaw challenged him with a 92-mile-per-hour fastball.
Good swing, but foul ball.
"He knows what he's doing," FOX's color analyst and Hall of Famer John Smoltz said of Woodruff on the broadcast.
Then Kershaw threw the same pitch, but elevated it.
Better swing. Home run to right-center field. Tie ballgame.
Woodruff erupted with emotion going around the bases. Miller Park erupted. The next half inning, Woodruff completed his second-of-two perfect innings, after coming on in relief early in the game.
Woodruff was superb in the postseason for a Brewers club that relied heavily on its bullpen, pitching 12.1 innings and striking out 20 batters, while maintaining a 2.19 ERA. His success in October continued a run of success that started at the beginning of September. Between the two months, Woodruff pitched 24.2 innings, struck out 36 and allowed just four runs on 17 hits for a 1.46 ERA.
Woodruff's success out of the pen continued a theme for former Diamond Dawgs throughout professional baseball.
In the company of Aroldis Chapman, Dellin Betances and David Robertson, Jonathan Holder held his own in a deep New York Yankees bullpen in 2018.
Through the grind of the summer, the former Bulldog closer proved that he belonged amongst the best relievers in baseball. Between April 21, his recall to MLB, and July 21, no pitcher had a better earned run average (0.47) than Holder (minimum 20 innings pitched).
Within that span, Holder also managed the Yankee's second-longest streak ever without allowing a run (minimum three batters faced per outing) -at23 games; trailing only Betances and besting the great Mariano Rivera.
He cranked out a 3.14 ERA over 60 appearances in the 2018 regular season despite having a 20.25 ERA through his first three games. His services helped the Yankees win 100 games and make an ALCS appearance against Moreland and the Red Sox.
As Holder, Woodruff and Moreland all made playoff appearances, Mississippi State was one of three SEC programs to have three or more former student-athletes on MLB Postseason rosters. All three made it to their league's championship series.
Dakota Hudson's team, the St. Louis Cardinals, fell just short. However, Hudson was a significant part of a late-season push during interim manager Mike Shildt's rise to becoming skipper.
On July 25, Hudson trotted out to the mound at Busch Stadium to a standing ovation. When he got there, he took the baseball from Shildt and tossed a perfect frame, striking out the first two batters he faced, then induced a groundout.
It was an MLB debut that set the tone for the next few months for the former first-round pick.
A 2018 All-Pacific Coast League honoree, Hudson had little trouble with the transition from Triple-A to the majors. The Cardinals called upon him in 26 contests, in which he compiled a 4-1 record and 2.63 ERA. In his first six appearances, he did not allow a run.
Hudson was the 59th former Bulldog to make it from State to The Show.
Chris Stratton won 10 games for the San Francisco Giants, appearing in 28 games with 26 starts. In 145.0 innings pitched, Stratton struck out 112 batter and issued just 54 walks. The right hander retired the final 12 batter he faced on Sept. 14 in his first-career complete game, a 2-0 victory over Colorado.
Former Diamond Dawg Jacob Lindgren spend the 2018 season with the Atlanta Braves, spending most of the season on the disabled list recovering from Tommy John surgery.
But none of these pitchers would have wanted to face Hunter Renfroe or Adam Frazier when they were hot.
Renfroe continued his theme of making wild catches and immaculate throws and, most notably, hitting towering home runs as a San Diego Padre. In 2018, he hit 26 of them, tying the career high he set the season before. He also collected 68 RBIs, a new career high.
In Pittsburgh, Frazier rejoined the team from Triple-A in late July and neither he nor the Pirates ever looked back. The infielder was hot all the way until the end of the season, batting .306 with 55 hits in as many games following his recall.
Of the eight former Diamond Dawgs that ended the MLB season on MLB 40-man rosters, only one is over 30 years old (Moreland); the rest are 28 or younger. They have plenty of time to develop and do what Moreland did this season: become an all-star, help their team amass triple-digit victories and win a World Series.
And more are on their way. Six different Bulldogs are on top prospect lists published by MLB Pipeline.
One of the six, Nathaniel Lowe made the jump from Single-A to Triple-A in 2018. In 130 games between the three levels, the Tampa Bay Rays Minor League Player of the Year batted .330 with 32 doubles, 27 homers and 102 RBIs. Lowe received the second-most votes for Minor League Baseball's "Top Offensive Player" award following his productive season.
In July, Lowe lined a pitch to center field in Nationals Park, driving in the first run of the MLB All-Star Futures Game, where he played alongside Hudson for the U.S.A. team amongst minor league baseball's best prospects. State was the only school with a former player in each of the 2018 All-Star games.
Lowe ended 2018 with the Triple-A Durham Bulls, helping them clinch a league title.
Just one full season removed from his SEC Triple Crown performance in 2017, Brent Rooker put up similar numbers in the Double-A Southern League for the Chattanooga Lookouts, outputting a league-leading 79 RBIs. MLB Pipeline's fifth-ranked first baseman also received an invite to the Arizona Fall League, along with another former Diamond Dawg, Daniel Brown.
Zac Houston and Jacob Robson made their cases for being the 60th Bulldog to reach the MLB while playing as teammates for the Detroit Tiger's Triple-A affiliate, the Toledo Mud Hens. Robson batted .305, mostly from the leadoff spot, after his June promotion, while Houston posted a 1.18 ERA in Triple-A. Over his last 20 appearances, Houston allowed only one earned run.
And in early July, a new crop of Bulldog minor leaguers joined the fray. Of the seven players drafted in MSU's 2018 draft class, five signed professional contracts.
Weeks removed from earning a spot on the College World Series All-Tournament team, Hunter Stovall made a name for himself in professional baseball. In his first two at-bats, Stovall blasted a pair of home runs. Stovall hit that many while wearing the maroon and white in 2018 and only four throughout his collegiate career.
The Diamond Dawgs reaching the College World Series bodes well for those who end up playing professional baseball, as seven members of the 2013 CWS team have reached MLB, with the possibility of more to come.
Major league success, minor league success and program success were themes of 2018, and now the road from State to the Show is as busy as ever.
STARKVILLE – In his ninth season as a professional and third World Series appearance, Mitch Moreland finally got his ring.
The fifth former Diamond Dawg to claim the Commissioner's Trophy, Moreland and the Boston Red Sox capped off a record-setting season in which Moreland earned his first-career Major League Baseball All-Star Game appearance and helped Boston to a franchise-record 108-win regular season.
Leading the World Series 2-1, but with his team trailing 4-0 to the Dodgers in Game 4 of the Fall Classic, Moreland's first-pitch, pinch-hit three-run home run sparked a Red Sox comeback as Boston won Game 3, 9-6, and would clinch their ninth World Series title the next day.
But maybe the biggest home run of the postseason belonged to Milwaukee Brewers relieve and MSU alum Brandon Woodruff. In Game 1 of the National League Championship Series, Woodruff stepped up to the plate in the nine hole to lead off the bottom of the third inning, down 1-0 to Los Angeles.
His Dodger counterpart was Clayton Kershaw, fresh off his 10th straight sub-3.00 earned run average season.
Woodruff looked at four-straight pitches; two balls, two strikes. Then, Kershaw challenged him with a 92-mile-per-hour fastball.
Good swing, but foul ball.
"He knows what he's doing," FOX's color analyst and Hall of Famer John Smoltz said of Woodruff on the broadcast.
Then Kershaw threw the same pitch, but elevated it.
Better swing. Home run to right-center field. Tie ballgame.
Woodruff erupted with emotion going around the bases. Miller Park erupted. The next half inning, Woodruff completed his second-of-two perfect innings, after coming on in relief early in the game.
Woodruff was superb in the postseason for a Brewers club that relied heavily on its bullpen, pitching 12.1 innings and striking out 20 batters, while maintaining a 2.19 ERA. His success in October continued a run of success that started at the beginning of September. Between the two months, Woodruff pitched 24.2 innings, struck out 36 and allowed just four runs on 17 hits for a 1.46 ERA.
Woodruff's success out of the pen continued a theme for former Diamond Dawgs throughout professional baseball.
In the company of Aroldis Chapman, Dellin Betances and David Robertson, Jonathan Holder held his own in a deep New York Yankees bullpen in 2018.
Through the grind of the summer, the former Bulldog closer proved that he belonged amongst the best relievers in baseball. Between April 21, his recall to MLB, and July 21, no pitcher had a better earned run average (0.47) than Holder (minimum 20 innings pitched).
Within that span, Holder also managed the Yankee's second-longest streak ever without allowing a run (minimum three batters faced per outing) -at23 games; trailing only Betances and besting the great Mariano Rivera.
He cranked out a 3.14 ERA over 60 appearances in the 2018 regular season despite having a 20.25 ERA through his first three games. His services helped the Yankees win 100 games and make an ALCS appearance against Moreland and the Red Sox.
As Holder, Woodruff and Moreland all made playoff appearances, Mississippi State was one of three SEC programs to have three or more former student-athletes on MLB Postseason rosters. All three made it to their league's championship series.
Dakota Hudson's team, the St. Louis Cardinals, fell just short. However, Hudson was a significant part of a late-season push during interim manager Mike Shildt's rise to becoming skipper.
On July 25, Hudson trotted out to the mound at Busch Stadium to a standing ovation. When he got there, he took the baseball from Shildt and tossed a perfect frame, striking out the first two batters he faced, then induced a groundout.
It was an MLB debut that set the tone for the next few months for the former first-round pick.
A 2018 All-Pacific Coast League honoree, Hudson had little trouble with the transition from Triple-A to the majors. The Cardinals called upon him in 26 contests, in which he compiled a 4-1 record and 2.63 ERA. In his first six appearances, he did not allow a run.
Hudson was the 59th former Bulldog to make it from State to The Show.
Chris Stratton won 10 games for the San Francisco Giants, appearing in 28 games with 26 starts. In 145.0 innings pitched, Stratton struck out 112 batter and issued just 54 walks. The right hander retired the final 12 batter he faced on Sept. 14 in his first-career complete game, a 2-0 victory over Colorado.
Former Diamond Dawg Jacob Lindgren spend the 2018 season with the Atlanta Braves, spending most of the season on the disabled list recovering from Tommy John surgery.
But none of these pitchers would have wanted to face Hunter Renfroe or Adam Frazier when they were hot.
Renfroe continued his theme of making wild catches and immaculate throws and, most notably, hitting towering home runs as a San Diego Padre. In 2018, he hit 26 of them, tying the career high he set the season before. He also collected 68 RBIs, a new career high.
In Pittsburgh, Frazier rejoined the team from Triple-A in late July and neither he nor the Pirates ever looked back. The infielder was hot all the way until the end of the season, batting .306 with 55 hits in as many games following his recall.
Of the eight former Diamond Dawgs that ended the MLB season on MLB 40-man rosters, only one is over 30 years old (Moreland); the rest are 28 or younger. They have plenty of time to develop and do what Moreland did this season: become an all-star, help their team amass triple-digit victories and win a World Series.
And more are on their way. Six different Bulldogs are on top prospect lists published by MLB Pipeline.
One of the six, Nathaniel Lowe made the jump from Single-A to Triple-A in 2018. In 130 games between the three levels, the Tampa Bay Rays Minor League Player of the Year batted .330 with 32 doubles, 27 homers and 102 RBIs. Lowe received the second-most votes for Minor League Baseball's "Top Offensive Player" award following his productive season.
In July, Lowe lined a pitch to center field in Nationals Park, driving in the first run of the MLB All-Star Futures Game, where he played alongside Hudson for the U.S.A. team amongst minor league baseball's best prospects. State was the only school with a former player in each of the 2018 All-Star games.
Lowe ended 2018 with the Triple-A Durham Bulls, helping them clinch a league title.
Just one full season removed from his SEC Triple Crown performance in 2017, Brent Rooker put up similar numbers in the Double-A Southern League for the Chattanooga Lookouts, outputting a league-leading 79 RBIs. MLB Pipeline's fifth-ranked first baseman also received an invite to the Arizona Fall League, along with another former Diamond Dawg, Daniel Brown.
Zac Houston and Jacob Robson made their cases for being the 60th Bulldog to reach the MLB while playing as teammates for the Detroit Tiger's Triple-A affiliate, the Toledo Mud Hens. Robson batted .305, mostly from the leadoff spot, after his June promotion, while Houston posted a 1.18 ERA in Triple-A. Over his last 20 appearances, Houston allowed only one earned run.
And in early July, a new crop of Bulldog minor leaguers joined the fray. Of the seven players drafted in MSU's 2018 draft class, five signed professional contracts.
Weeks removed from earning a spot on the College World Series All-Tournament team, Hunter Stovall made a name for himself in professional baseball. In his first two at-bats, Stovall blasted a pair of home runs. Stovall hit that many while wearing the maroon and white in 2018 and only four throughout his collegiate career.
The Diamond Dawgs reaching the College World Series bodes well for those who end up playing professional baseball, as seven members of the 2013 CWS team have reached MLB, with the possibility of more to come.
Major league success, minor league success and program success were themes of 2018, and now the road from State to the Show is as busy as ever.
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