MLB Update - Season Review
Oct 28 | Baseball
TODD FRAZIER
In his first season with the Chicago White Sox, Frazier hit a career-high 40 home runs, a total that led the team and ranked eighth in the major leagues. He also had personal bests with 98 RBIs and 89 runs scored over 158 games on the South Side. Coming up on the final year of his contract, Frazier owns 148 career home runs and 422 RBIs over six seasons at the highest level. In addition, he has reached the finals of the Home Run Derby in each of the last three seasons.
"Not many people have hit 40 home runs in a year so it's a good feat to have," Frazier said. He became just the seventh White Sox player in team history to reach the mark and the first third baseman.
One of the most accomplished players in Rutgers history, Frazier ranks first in the RU record book with 42 career home runs and 210 runs during his three seasons (2005-07) in Piscataway. He hit .377 with 93 hits, 24 doubles, 22 home runs, 65 RBIs, 62 walks and 25 stolen bases in a memorable All-America 2007 season that saw the Scarlet Knights win the Big East regular season and tournament. Frazier batted .520 (13-for-25) with three homers and seven RBIs in the tournament held in Brooklyn to help lead Rutgers to an NCAA Regional berth. He was selected by Cincinnati as the 34th overall selection in 2007.
PATRICK KIVLEHAN
Kivlehan broke into the major leagues for the San Diego Padres in August and made an immediate impact with a 464-foot home run in his second plate appearance. He ended up seeing action in five games for the Padres before being sent to Triple-A Tacoma, a team that won the Pacific Coast League. Kivlehan played in 100 minor league games in 2016, hitting 12 home runs with 49 RBIs. He originally started the year with the Texas Rangers before being dealt back to the Seattle Mariners in May. The Padres eventually picked him up and called the former Scarlet Knight up. Later on, the Cincinnati Reds signed Kivlehan and he played in three games at the end of the year.
"It was one of the craziest, overwhelming, humbling, but most importantly exciting years of my baseball life," he wrote on his Instagram account. "4 different organizations in the span of a couple months and 5 different teams isn't the way you draw it up but I learned so much along each stop and made so many memories that I will remember for the rest of my life. Excited to decompress from baseball a little bit then start preparing for the 2017 season!"
After a four-year football career at safety for the Scarlet Knights, Kivlehan joined the baseball program as a walk-on for the 2012 season. Readjusting to the sport for the first time since high school, Kivlehan won the starting job at third base and won the first league triple crown in Big East history with a .402 average, 10 home runs and 36 RBIs. Overall, he batted .392 with 14 home runs and 50 RBIs overall, to go with a .693 slugging percentage and .480 on-base percentage to win Big East Player of the Year and Third Team All-America by Baseball America. The Mariners took selected him in the fourth round of the 2012 MLB Draft. Click here for a feature from the San Diego Union-Tribune.
BRIAN O'GRADY
O'Grady spent the 2016 season with the Daytona Tortugas, the A-Advanced affliate of the Cincinnati Reds. Playing several positions, he hit 16 doubles, six triples and nine home runs over 107 games, adding 16 stolen bases. O'Grady also worked 67 walks and had his best month in June when he hit .385/.475/.677. He is now playing in the Arizona Fall League, a league that includes some of the top prospects from across the sport.
"Can't believe the end of the season is about to be here" he wrote on his Instagram account at the end of the minor league season. "It's been a long, fun year even though the Tugas won't be in the playoffs. Excited to get home Monday for a few weeks before having to head back out again. Lucky to have made it through another season healthy!"
A third-team all-conference pick as a senior at Rutgers, he led or tied the team lead with 67 hits, five home runs, five triples, 104 total bases, 20 multiple-hit games and a .510 slugging percentage. O'Grady hit .328 for the season with an on-base percentage of .402, also recording 40 runs and 13 stolen bases. He hit a memorable walk-off home run in the bottom of the 14th inning against Temple to end a four hour, 10 minute game at Bainton Field. He finished his collegiate career ranked third in RU baseball history with 771 career at bats, seventh with 227 hits, ninth with 105 walks and tied for 10th with 46 doubles and 10 triples and was picked in the eighth round in 2014.
MARK MCCOY
McCoy spent time with both the Lexington Legends (A) and the Wilmington Blue Rocks (A-Advanced) of the Kansas Vity Royals' system this past season. The left-hander worked in 35 games out of the bullpen with 58 strikeouts over 66.0 innings. He won four games.
"The biggest thing with me is getting the fastball command up to where my breaking ball command is," McCoy said over the summer. "Most guys can control their fastball but with me, I feel like I can put me breaking stuff where I want. The fastball is what I need to continue to work on. The velocity is there, it feels good coming out of my hand, but it's just a matter of repeating my mechanics and my release point so I can put it where I want it."
Arriving at Rutgers as a transfer in the fall of 2014, McCoy earned a spot in the weekend rotation in 2015 and made 12 starts on the season, including seven to begin a series. He finished second on the team with 63.0 innings pitched and 46 strikeouts (21 called). Displaying a good move to first, the lefty tied for second in the Big Ten with four pickoffs. The Royals selected him in the 29th round last year.
HOWIE BREY
After making just one appearance at with the Greeneville Astros at the rookie level with a save, Brey was promoted to the Tri-City ValleyCats (A). The left-hander ended up pitching in 15 games for the season with 14 strikeouts over 18.2 innings. He earned his professional first win by not allowing an earned run in an inning versus the Auburn Doubledays.
"Everyone has said ever since I was younger that I have a bulldog mentality, and I work my butt off," Brey said. "Not much is going to change for me as a pitcher. I'm sure I'm going to learn so much. In professional baseball, there is so much to learn."
A Third Team All-Big Ten selection as a senior in 2016, Brey worked 100.1 in the regular season, second-most in the conference, with four complete games in league play (Indiana, Ohio State, Penn State, Maryland). He also placed fifth in the conference with 84 strikeouts over 14 games, a total that ranks third in a single season in school history. The left-hander pitched to a team-best 3.50 ERA, including a mark of 1.86 in five home starts. For his collegiate career, Brey sits tied for third in program history with 206 strikeouts, fourth with 291.1 innings pitched, tied for fourth with 38 starts and tied for eighth with 18 victories. He made 64 appearances for the Scarlet Knights over four years with 38 starts, earning the nod on Opening Day in each of the last three seasons.
