Friday Five: Former Durham Bulls All-Stars

I did a little digging into the stat lines of the former Durham Bulls players who are currently playing in the Majors on the lookout for the five most deserving for an All-Star appearance.  Some of these players are actually on the All-Star team, others not so much.

Honorable Mention- Melvin Upton OF 

Stretch.  There are a whole bunch of outfielders having better seasons than Melvin, but he's one of my favorite former Durham Bull players and was easily one of the most talented Triple A players I have seen in uniform for my hometown team.  While Upton may not get an All-Star game nod, he is having a sort of bounce back season and he's on the hometown team.  I know the A.L. is technically the home team this year.  His line so far this year is .260/.308/.439 with 14 home runs, 10 doubles, and 19 steals.  Melvin should post his fourth 20/20 season of his career and first since 2012 when he was still a Ray.

5. Stephen Vogt - C 

I don't like to talk much about the Stephen Vogt trade, but I have been really happy with the success the former Bulls catcher has enjoyed since moving to the Bay Area.  This year is Vogt's second straight All-Star appearance which came with a .266/.311/.413 line along with 6 home runs and 17 doubles.  Vogt played well during two stops in Durham during the 2011 and 2012 seasons.  While I hear a lot of baseball fans argue that there are better choices than Vogt, the second tier at the position behind Salvador Perez, which he is in, is pretty equal.

4. Wil Myers - 1B 

Long ago in 2013 Wil Myers appeared for the Durham Bulls after being traded over from the Kansas City Royals for pitcher James Shields.  Myers was a huge deal in these parts.  Sure, he was a local kid from High Point, North Carolina, but he was also a Top 10 prospect.  He got called up to Tampa for the second half of the season and played well.  The next year was not so great and he got traded to the Padres where he only played half a season in 2015 due to injuries.  This year he is hitting .291/.355/.535 with 19 home runs, 19 doubles, and 14 stolen bases.  First base is always a deep position for the All-Star game, but Myers is more than deserving of this honor.

3.  Evan Longoria - 3B 

The one player on my list who did not actually make the All-Star Game.  Longo is high up on my list of favorite former Durham Bulls, so I had hoped that he could get in with the Final Vote online.  However, he came in last.  Can't win them all.  It's still been a nice bounce back season for Longoria who has posted a .280/.330/.514 line with 18 home runs and 23 doubles.

2.  Wade Davis - P 

Wade Davis used to be one of those former Durham Bulls players who kind of slid through the cracks until he started blowing people away during playoff games for the Royals.  For the last three seasons he has basically been untouchable posting a 26-14 record, 2.91 FIP, and a142 ERA+ in his three and a half years in KC.  This year Davis has saved 19 games for the defending World Series Champs.  He was named to the American League All-Star team, but was headed for a possible DL stint.  I am guessing he does not make it.  

1. Ben Zobrist - 2B 

I hear a lot about Kris Bryant, Jake Arrieta, and Anthony Rizzo, but why isn't anyone talking about Ben Zobrist?  The longtime Ray, and one-time former Durham Bull, is enjoying a great season with the north siders.  He still had a strong stat line last year with the A's and Royals, but at 35 you'd expect his line to start to fall off at some point soon.  Instead, Zobrist is on pace to hit the most home runs he has hit since 2009, record his highest OBP since 2009, and drive in more than 90 runs for the first time since 2011.  The Cubs have a lot of young players, and the window for the team to be competitive is going to be open for a long time, but Zobrist is doing a great job of helping the team out with a little veteran presence.

#MyCardMonday

As I am typing this on Sunday, the Royals have not quite wrapped up the World Series, but they are a game away from their second World Championship.  The Cardinals fan in me is a little indifferent towards the Royals taking home a World Series crown, but my Durham Bulls side is happy with the outcome since the team has two former members on the roster.  I could go with Ben Zobrist for this week's #MyCardMonday, but I feel like the super-utility player has received plenty of love over the years from fans all over baseball due to his unique ability to play all over the field at a high level.

I am actually a little bit happier, not sure that is a thing, for former pitcher Wade Davis.  He was sort of an after-thought in the Wil Myers-James Shields trade a few years ago, but he has excelled since the Royals have moved him into the bullpen.  Last season he was used in a setup role for stopper Greg Holland, but this year has ended up with the job as the team's closer.  Through the Division Series, Championship Series, and World Series games this year he has pitched 7 2/3 innings, without allowing a run, and striking out 13 batters.

So, let's get the card.....

Wade Davis was a pretty generous signer for card companies a few years back and this Triple Threads card is my absolute favorite.  First, let's start with the fact that this is a bat card?  When did Wade Davis ever take an at-bat?  Surprisingly, he is hitting .250 for his career with 2 hits in 8 at bats.  That's above both the Kozma Line (.150) and the Mendoza Line (.200).  Pretty impressive.  

The Triple Threads cards have almost always had a primarily horizontal design to their relic autograph cards, but Topps ditched that concept for one year in 2010 and went vertical.  I have a bunch of these and have always found it to be one of my favorite Triple Threads designs.  Just something different.  

Friday 5: Top 5 Former Durham Bulls in the League Championship Series

I had five minutes this afternoon while I was eating my lunch to gaze at the rosters of the team's left in the two League Championship Series.  I had planned on writing up a Friday Five post this afternoon when I got home from work, which I am still doing, but decided to change my topic.  The original one was pretty good, but I can get to that next week.  For the time being I am going to tackle what I found on the rosters of this year's LCS participants: former Durham Bulls players.

What else can I say about my favorite Minor League team that has not been said over the few years that I have written on my blog.  Their parent team is not even in the playoffs, we have been seem a wild card round, a division series round, and their are still players from past Bulls team's still vying for a World Series ring.  As Bulls fans we see the "Building Champions" motto around the park and can see the evidence on the field every year come playoff time when we get to watch some of our former favorites take the big stage in October.  Here are five former Bulls players to watch as the League Championship Series start this weekend:

5. Dioner Navarro- Toronto Blue Jays - C

The Blue Jays backup catcher appeared for the Bulls during the 2010 season splitting the year between the International League and the Rays.  In 43 games with the Bulls the backstop had a slash line of .284/.387/.390.  The is Dioner's second season with the Blue Jays.  Last year he appeared in 139 games for the Jays, but settled into the backup role behind Russell Martin for the 2015 season.  This is his third trip to the MLB postseason.  Navarro also appeared on the 2008 Rays American League Champions team and the 2012 Cincinnati Reds.  

4. Jason Hammel- Chicago Cubs - P

The Cubs starting pitcher appeared for the Durham Bulls during the 2005, 2006, and 2007 seasons.  He even tossed a combined no-hitter for the Bulls.  Hammel's has also been a solid starting pitcher throughout his 10 year career in the Majors.  This is his second go around with the Cubs after being traded to the A's in between stints for some shortstop prospect named Addison Russell.  Hammel's made one start during the National League Division Series against the Cardinals, but did not factor in the decision.  This is Hammel's fourth appearance in the playoffs.  He also appeared for the 2009 Colorado Rockies, 2010 Orioles, and the 2014 Oakland A's.

3. Ben Zobrist- Kansas City Royals - 2B

The Royals seem content with player Zo at second, but it's nice to see the super utility player back in the playoffs.  Zobrist played for the Bulls during the 2006, 2007, and 2008 seasons.  He played all the infield positions for the Bulls, except for 1B, and did his usual job of getting on base posting a .415 rate in his three Triple A appearances.  He started off the year with the A's after the Rays traded him this offseason.  The A's traded Zobrist to the first place Royals in the middle of the season.  This is Zobrist's fifth appearance in the playoffs.  He made four appearances with the Rays in 2008, 2010, 2011, and 2013.

2. Wade Davis- Kansas City Royals - P

Way back in 2008 and 2009 Wade Davis appeared for the Durham Bulls as a starting pitcher.  He was a top prospect for the Rays, but found a home in the bullpen starting during the 2012 season.  A year later he was involved in the Wil Myers trade and found himself starting again for the Royals.  Luckily the team moved him back to the pen where the hard throwing righty has had an impressive two year run.  Davis ended the season as the closer for the Royals and has been lights out for the team so far in the playoffs.  So far, with 4 innings pitched, he has 5 strikeouts and allowed only a single hit.  This is Wade's fourth appearance in the postseason.  He also made the playoffs with the 2010 and 2011 Rays and the 2014 Royals.

1. David Price- Toronto Blue Jays -P

Price was one of the best prospects in baseball when he rolled through Durham during the 2008 and 2009 seasons.  It was cool to see him in Durham to start the 2009 season considering he helped the Rays advance to the World Series during the 2008 postseason.  The Rays traded the talented starter to the Tigers last year, who then turned around and traded him to the Blue Jays this year.  The 2015 Postseason marks his sixth trip to the playoffs.  He made four appearances with the Rays and one with the Tigers.  He has not had the same results in the Postseason as he has had in the regular season, but I am hoping he can turn it around this year for the Jays.