THE FLATS — With the trade deadline behind us, we check in #ProJackets in the 2024 MLB season.
Joey Bart has been enjoying his best professional season to date in his first year with the Pirates. He waisted no time making his presence felt in his new home, connecting for a 410-foot blast off his first swing. After 43 games with Pittsburgh, Bart boasts a career-best .825 OPS (the 6th-best among qualifying MLB catchers) and a 133 OPS+. His 24 RBI is just one shy of his career high from two years ago (accomplished over 97 games).
THE SEVENTH BART DART OF THE SEASON 🎯 pic.twitter.com/Y0mc1lOiHh
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) August 1, 2024
In his 14th major league season, Charlie Blackburn continues to be a consistent source of production for the Colorado Rockies. He has delivered a .737 OPS this year while adding three triples, bringing his career total to 66, the most among active MLB players. The 37-year-old “Chuck Nazty” is closing in on some significant career accomplishments, including 1,000 career runs scored (currently 19 away) and 800 career RBI (currenly 16 away).
Buck Farmer has emerged as one of the most reliable arms in the Cincinnati Reds bullpen this year, posting an impressive 2.76 ERA and 43 strikeouts over 49.0 innings of work. Success in Cincy is nothing Farmer, his ERA with the Reds over the past three seasons is down a full 1.65 runs from his initial eight years with the Tigers (3.28 with Cincinnati, 5.33 with Detroit). Now in his 11th season in the show, is just 8.1 innings away from achieving 500 career innings pitched.
Two Jackets have made their major league debuts in 2024. Kyle McCann with the Oakland A’s and Justyn-Henry Malloy with the Detroit Tigers. McCann has been swinging a hot bat in his first season in the show, leading all major league rookie catchers with a .812 OPS. Only Tyler Fitzgerald (San Francisco) and Wilyer Abreu (Boston) have a higher OPS among rookies with more games played than McCann. Malloy has settled into an everyday role with the Tigers since being called up on June 3rd, blasting seven home runs with 17 RBI and 14 runs scored in only 44 games with Detroit. His seven HRs ranks 14th among MLB rookies despite playing in fewer than half of the games as those above him and his 19.29 at-bats/home run is 2nd among rookies with a minimum of 150 plate appearances.
Xzavion Curry is in his third season with Cleveland. He has bounced back and forth between Columbus (AAA) and the big league club this season and is currently sporting a 4.98 ERA over 21.2 innings and four starts with the Guardians in 2024.
Around the Minors
- Kristian Campbell was promoted to Boston’s double-A affiliate on June 4 and responded by winning Eastern League Player of the Week in his first full week after the promotion (June 10-16). He carried that momentum into being named Eastern League Player of the Month for June. His 1.039 OPS over 42 games in AA was good enough to land him on Baseball America’s Top 100 prospect rankings in July, coming in at No. 89.
- Brant Hurter has earned a spot in the starting rotation for Detroit’s triple-A affiliate, the Toledo Mud Hens, after playing all of last season in AA. He has started 18 games for Toledo with a 2-4 record and a 5.80 ERA. He was just recently named the International League’s Pitcher of the Week after throwing 7.0 scoreless innings and allowing only two baserunners while striking out six in a victory over Louisville (July 26).
- Chandler Simpson was awarded a spot in the 2024 All-Star Futures Game in his second professional season. Simpson has been terrorizing the basepaths across High-A and Double-A ball this year, swiping 72 bags in just 80 games and only being caught 11 times.
- Amos Willingham was briefly called back up to the big leagues last month, throwing one inning for the Washington Nationals before being sent down to Triple-A Rochester, where he has a 2-3 record and 10 holds over 37 appearances out of the bullpen.
- Matthew Ellis (Waddy, Ky.) signed a free agent contract with the Seattle Mariners. Ellis became the fifth Yellow Jacket to sign a professional contract this summer, along with all four of Tech’s draftees: Payton Green (Round 6, Pick 184, Miami Marlins), Cam Hill (Round 8, Pick 252, Philadelphia Phillies) Dawson Brown (Round 16, Pick 494, Arizona Diamondbacks) and Logan McGuire (Round 17, Pick 505, Cleveland Guardians).
