NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Vanderbilt will once again be represented in the Major League Baseball postseason as right-hander Walker Buehler (Los Angeles Dodgers) and shortstop Dansby Swanson (Atlanta Braves) are featured on their respective club’s playoff rosters.
The Dodgers will face the winner of Tuesday’s National League Wild Card Game between the Milwaukee Brewers and Washington Nationals in the best-of-five NLDS starting Thursday. In the regular season, Buehler (14-4, 3.26 ERA) posted five outings of seven-plus innings pitched, 10-plus strikeouts, no walks and two runs or less.
The Braves take on the St. Louis Cardinals in the best-of-five NLDS beginning Thursday. Swanson enters the postseason with a hit in four of his final five games. The former No. 1 overall pick has batted .300 (9-for-30) with six runs in his final seven contests.
Right-hander Kyle Wright, who was left off the Braves’ postseason roster, tossed a pair of scoreless appearances after being recalled in September. The former fifth-overall pick appeared in seven games and made four starts.
The 2018 World Series featured stellar performances from Red Sox southpaw David Price and Buehler. Price posted a 2-0 record and 1.98 ERA in the Fall Classic, collecting two outs in relief in Game 3 and then seven dazzling innings in Game 5. Buehler tossed seven scoreless and permitted just two hits in Game 3.
Fifteen Commodores made a Major League appearance this season including nine pitchers. Buehler, Sonny Gray (Cincinnati Reds) and Mike Minor (Texas Rangers) were tabbed MLB All-Stars and became the first trio from the same university to eclipse 200 strikeouts in a single season.
Vanderbilt products Bryan Reynolds (Pittsburgh Pirates) and Mike Yastrzemski (San Francisco Giants) captivated fans with phenomenal rookie seasons. Reynolds finished with the highest batting average (.314) for a switch-hitting MLB rookie since 1896. Yastrzemski swatted 21 home runs and totaled 55 RBIs across 107 games while batting .272.
“It’s the best school in the country for baseball. I was just grateful that they gave me a chance when nobody else would.”
Lucky to have you, Bryan.
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— Vanderbilt Baseball (@VandyBoys) September 27, 2019
