RSS
Home
'Hoos in Major League Baseball: Part 1 of a series
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
.jpg)
Ryan Zimmerman is the first ballplayer from UVa to
be named to an MLB All-Star squad.
AP Photo/Gail Burton
In the first of a four-part series examining Hoos in the pros, we'll take a look today at what the three University of Virginia baseball players currently playing in Major League Baseball are up to. It's an especially apropos time for this with the All-Star break approaching: three is not a large number, but most of those who are playing in The Show are receiving All-Star accolades for their work.
RP Javier Lopez (Boston Red Sox): Not to be confused with the former catcher of the same name, Lopez is a relief pitcher in the Red Sox organization; the catch here is that he isn't actually on the major-league roster right now. Lopez broke camp with the Red Sox in April, but a disastrous month in which he allowed 12 earned runs in 11 2/3 innings of work earned him a designation for assignment to Triple-A Pawtucket, where he has been pitching since early May. Lopez, ironically, was a better hitter than pitcher at UVa, racking up a 6.30 career ERA.
3B Mark Reynolds (Arizona Diamondbacks): Reynolds is having far and away the best year of his career. Always a successful power hitter, Reynolds has dialed it up this year with 24 home runs, just four off his career high and tying him for second in the majors in home runs; additionally, his 62 RBIs tie him for 7th in the majors. He was named one of the five choices for MLB's Final Vote, in which fans are invited to vote for the last inclusion on each league's All-Star team.
3B Ryan Zimmerman (Washington Nationals): Zimmerman came in second in the 2006 NL Rookie of the Year voting in the closest vote ever; since then, his game has improved from there. Like Reynolds, he's on pace for a career year in most offensive categories, and was named to his first All-Star Game this year. It's not just a personal first. Continuing the litany of firsts achieved by the Cavalier baseball team this year, Zimmerman is the first former Cavalier baseball player ever to be named an All-Star - he's going as a reserve.
Also of note - there is one other active Cavalier who has played in the majors: 1B Joe Koshansky, who appeared in 2007 and 2008 with the Colorado Rockies. Koshansky is now playing with Triple-A Nashville in the Milwaukee Brewers system and has yet to appear on the Brewers' major league roster.
I said this would be a four-part series: parts two through four will highlight the performances of former Cavaliers playing in the NBA, NFL and Major League Lacrosse.
