With the Major League baseball season more than halfway over, let’s take a look at how former NC State baseball players have fared in the professional ranks:
Trea Turner, Shortstop, Washington Nationals
It’s been a disappointing season for the Washington Nationals, who sit 6.0 games back of first place in the National League East, but Turner has been a key part of why the team is still in contention at this point.
A tough July has brought the former Wolfpack standout’s slash line down to .267/.343/.408, but he’s still stolen 22 bases and launched 12 home runs this season. He’s striking out a bit more than last season but has also seen a significant uptick in his walk rate. If he can keep his offensive production steady, 2018 will be the best season of his young career.
Carlos Rodon, Pitcher, Chicago White Sox
Injuries have been the story of Rodon’s Major League career, and this season has been no different.
After beginning the season on the disabled list, the left-hander returned in June and has made seven starts to the tune of a solid 3.56 ERA. While this is an encouraging development for Rodon, his K/9 of 7.33 is the lowest of his career while walking 3.56 batters per nine innings.
In his 43 innings pitched this season, Rodon is relying less on his slider and sinker compared to earlier in his career and nearly 43 percent of his pitches are fastballs, which could explain the dip in strikeouts.
Tommy DeJuneas, Pitcher, Houston Astros
DeJuneas was a two-way player at NC State, coming out of the bullpen and playing the outfield a bit. In pro ball, he’s been used exclusively as a pitcher.
After being selected in the 27th round by Cleveland back in 2017, he’s been a pleasant surprise on the mound, pitching to a 3.38 ERA while striking out nearly 12 batters per nine innings and decreasing his walks per nine from 5.19 in 2017 to 2.45 in 2018.
He was traded to the Astros in early July and promoted to High-A Buies Creek. He looks like a future bullpen contributor at this point.
Andrew Knizner, Catcher, St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis has a reputation for developing young players, and Knizner is no exception. He opened the year ranked among the Cardinals’ top prospects and has only strengthened his prospect profile this season.
He’s hitting .299 with four home runs at Double-A Springfield and had a brief promotion to Triple-A Memphis. Expect Knizner to see time with the big league club either this year or next.
Joe Dunand, Shortstop, Miami Marlins
A second round pick out of NC State in 2017, Dunand has performed well in the lower ranks of the minors with Miami.
Lauded for his home run power in college, Dunand has carried it over to pro ball, hitting nine home runs this season between High-A and Double-A. He’s still striking out a lot, but if he continues to play solid at shortstop, he’ll find his way onto a Major League roster eventually.
Brian Brown, Pitcher, Boston Red Sox
In six starts after being selected in the ninth round of the draft this year, Brown has worked to a solid 2.55 ERA with Low-A Lowell.
Brett Kinneman, Outfielder, Pittsburgh Pirates
After a relatively slow start to his professional career, Kinneman has raised his slash line to .267/.384/.378. He’s still striking out a lot (23.2 percent of at-bats) and has just one home run in 112 plate appearances, but he’s walking an excellent 15.2 percent of the time.
