As the MLB regular season concludes, the official playoff picture has been set with seven teams from both the American League and National League. With October baseball and the playoffs beginning, some former members of NC State baseball set their sights on the postseason with the hopes of hoisting a World Series trophy.
On the other hand, a few alumni of the Pack9 have seen their season end despite making great strides in their individual careers.
Carlos Rodon, New York Yankees
A year removed from maybe the most challenging season that pitcher Carlos Rodon has had, the Pack Pro bounced back in a big way in his second season with the New York Yankees. After earning a mammoth six-year, $162 million contract last offseason, a frustrating 2023 came as a result of a mix of injury and poor play. Only putting forth a 3-8 record and 6.85 ERA, there was much room for improvement for Rodon.
This season, Rodon has immensely improved on many components of his game. Earning a career-high total in wins with 16 and a much improved ERA at 3.96, he played a vital role in helping guide the Yankees to securing the first seed in the American League playoffs. A pitcher who has shown a strong tendency for striking out batters, he reached 195 punchouts, which ranked seventh best in the American League.
Rodon struggled in June, but pieced together a strong 15-game stretch to round out the regular season. In a span of two and a half months, Rodon only allowed four or more runs on three separate occasions while holding his opposition to one or less runs in five different games. This stretch saw perhaps his best performance of the season come on Sept. 3 against the Texas Rangers. Pitching six innings, he only allowed one run on a single hit along with a season-high 11 strikeouts.
Patrick Bailey, San Francisco Giants
In his first season as the primary catcher for the San Francisco Giants, Patrick Bailey put up a very efficient season. Playing in 121 games on the season, he clocked in at a .234 batting average, he collected eight home runs and 46 RBIs. Even though these numbers demonstrate a season in which he found some success, his .298 on-base and .339 slugging percentage show room for improvement in the offensive category.
This game was part of a stretch of games in which Bailey began to thrive at the plate. Until the All-Star Break in mid-July, he posted a .283 average along with seven homers and 31 RBIs. Opposite of his strong beginning to the season, the stretch of games following the All-Star Break were not as kind to Bailey. In the 52 games he played following the intermission, he compiled a meager .170 batting average, which included only one homer and 15 RBIs.
Despite inconsistencies at the plate, Bailey proved his adeptness on defense, proving to be a constant threat for opposing base-runners with a keen sense for throwing out potential bag-swipers.
Andrew Knizner, Arizona Diamondbacks
The 2024 season has been one of great uncertainty for catcher Andrew Knizner. After spending five seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, he was signed away to join the reigning World Series Champion Texas Rangers. Already equipped with the presence of star catcher Jonah Heim, the Rangers saw more of a backup role for Knizner. In only 35 games, he had a .167 batting average in which he only tabbed 15 hits to go with one homer and nine RBIs.
On July 29, the Rangers demoted Knizner to Triple-A in the wake of bringing another name at the catcher position. Only a few weeks later, the Diamondbacks opted to sign Knizner to a minor league deal as he was assigned to their Triple-A affiliate in Reno, Nevada. In the minor leagues, Knizner played in 27 games in which he collected 21 hits, a pair of homers and 12 RBIs while compiling a .232 average.
Trea Turner, Philadelphia Phillies
A consistent offensive threat, shortstop Trea Turner proved yet again to the baseball world why he is worth the sizable contract he received in the 2023 offseason. Boasting a strong .295 batting average which ranked ninth in the MLB, Turner powered 21 homers along with 62 RBIs. Despite a strong showing in the 2024 regular season, he was greatly overshadowed by the plethora of playmakers that the Phillies boasted. Commanding one of the best offenses in all of baseball, the Phillies secured the second NL seed in the playoffs.
One of the fastest players in the league, Turner has continually shown his ability to steal bases. Amassing an impressive statline for 2024, Turner was honored with a spot in the 2024 All-Star Game where a total of eight Phillies earned a spot. He looks to help guide his team in the postseason as they have come up just short of a championship in the past two seasons.
