Houston Astros’ George Springer (4) hits a two-run home run against the Texas Rangers during the seventh inning of a baseball game Saturday, April 20, 2019, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Mike Stone)
While the current Huskies are killing it at the JOC, some Hook C alumni are making their own marks in the pros. From Springer to Oberg, they are all having good seasons thus far. It’s time to catch up with how the former UConn standouts are doing in the MLB.
George Springer: Despite the Astros losing three of their five games, Springer has been crushing it over the past week. He went 6-for-19 with three home runs, six RBIs, six walks and only four strikeouts over that span, raising his line to .277/.371/.578 on the season. He’s on pace to have the best season of his career, and his OPS is currently over 150 points above what he finished with last year. While the Astros may be a game back from first place in the AL West, the Mariners have dropped off after their hot start, so Springer and the ‘Stros should be back on top in no time.
Matt Barnes: Barnes is one of the only functioning members of the defending champion Boston Red Sox, holding down the back end of their bullpen for a pitching staff that is worse than everyone in the league except the Orioles. He made three appearances over this past week, giving up two earned runs in three innings pitched while striking out seven. He did get credited with two blown saves, however; they were his first two of the season, and the Sox did end up winning all three games (I know, surprising right?) in their sweep of the Rays. Boston might finally be figuring things out, and if they want to capitalize on their momentum, Barnes will need to keep dealing.
Nick Ahmed: Ahmed has become the almost every day shortstop for the Diamondbacks this season, who after trading away franchise cornerstone Paul Goldschmidt are beginning a rebuild. He struggled this past week, going just 3-for-19, walking twice and striking out five times. He’s hitting just .259/.287/.383, but that is normal for Ahmed, who has always been more of a defensive specialist. He’s been living up to his Gold Glove so far, committing only one error in 61.2 innings of work.
Scott Oberg: While the Rockies may have been struggling this season, Oberg has had a great start to his year. He’s given up just two earned runs and six hits through 10.2 innings pitched, with one and three coming in this past week, respectively. Oberg is an integral part of the Rockies’ bullpen, and they usually use him to preserve a lead or, at the very least, to keep the game tied. In fact, all but one of his eight appearances have come while the Rockies were either tied or leading, and they are 6-2 in games he’s pitched. Coming off his first truly good season of his career in 2018, Oberg has picked up right where he left off.
Jorge Eckardt is a staff writer for The Daily Campus. He can be reached via email at jorge.eckardt@uconn.edu.
