While NC State baseball fans may still be searching for their new entertainment fix with the controversial end to the Pack9 season, there’s still plenty of Wolfpack action to be seen with a number of Pack Pros representing the red-and-white in Major League Baseball. Both Trea Turner, shortstop for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Carlos Rodón, southpaw pitcher for the San Francisco Giants, are performing well on the West Coast, and there’s even been a new Wolfpack baseball alum who made his MLB debut in 2022.
Trea Turner, shortstop, Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers have had a hot start to the 2022 MLB season as they are currently tied with the San Diego Padres for first place in the National League West.
Slashing .295/.357/.847 in his first 60 games of the season with 23 extra-base hits and 13 stolen bases, Turner has been a huge part of the Dodgers’ early success. His 46 RBIs so far place him fifth in the league, just behind Paul Goldschmidt of the St. Louis Cardinals and Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees.
The Dodgers recently took two of three games on the road against the Chicago White Sox, a series in which Turner went 4 for 11 with a home run, two RBIs and two walks. That homer, a monstrous shot in the top of the ninth inning, added another insurance run to the Dodgers’ 3-1 lead at the time.
Another impressive feat to begin the year was Turner’s 26-game hit streak, which spanned from May 8 to June 4 and is currently the longest in the MLB this year.
Carlos Rodón, left-handed pitcher, San Francisco Giants
The Giants have also had a solid start to the new season. While a few losing streaks have put them 4.5 games behind their NL West foes, the Dodgers and Padres, the Giants are clearly still well within competition with plenty of baseball left to be played.
Starting pitching has certainly been a huge part of that, including newcomer Rodón, who has a 4-4 record in 11 appearances with a 3.51 ERA and 75 strikeouts after signing with San Francisco as a free agent this past offseason.
If you think that strikeout number sounds high, you’d be correct as Rodón is tied for eleventh in the league with Phillies starter Zach Wheeler in that category. Aside from one lackluster performance back on May 15 where he gave up 10 hits and eight earned runs against the Cardinals, Rodón has had another impressive and healthy start to the year, even with the transition of playing on a new team.
Andrew Knizner, catcher, St. Louis Cardinals
Cardinals catcher Andrew Knizner has continued to have a growing opportunity behind the plate for Arizona. So far he has a .207 average and just one home run in 2022, but that three-run shot was a clutch hit, giving the Cardinals the 6-3 lead over the Kansas City Royals in what would eventually end as a 6-5 game.
The biggest improvement from last season is his RBI total, which already sits at 11 through just 33 games, whereas he only had nine throughout all of 2021.
Joe Dunand, third baseman, Atlanta Braves
Atlanta Braves third baseman Joe Dunand is the latest Pack Pro to make an appearance in the big leagues, having made his debut with the Miami Marlins back on May 7. In that first appearance, he went 2-4 with a double and a home run against the Padres, but that good fortune has not continued as of late.
He has since played in two more games with the Marlins, going 1-6 with two strikeouts before being designated for assignment and claimed by the Atlanta Braves, who DFA’d him again just ten days later.
