It’s no secret that dark-horse MLB stars step up and showcase their stuff on the October stage every season. Strong postseason performers are able to maintain the same calm, level-headed approach they would employ during a regular season game in April.
There’s no questioning the fact that the playoffs present a prime opportunity for players to shine on the big stage. Here are the top 10 performers of this year’s postseason (up to this point).
10. Bryce Harper
His team may have went out with a whimper, but the Nationals’ promising young outfielder went out with a bang—three, in fact. Harper got Washington on the board in Game 1 by launching a moon shot off Giants fireballing reliever Hunter Strickland. The ball eventually came down—landing in the third deck of Nationals Park’s right field stands.
Strickland was victimized again by Harper in Game 4. This equally-towering blast rested in McCovey Cove and briefly tied the contest at 2-2 in the seventh. One day earlier, the 21-year-old nearly reached that landmark with a ninth inning blast that added an insurance run in what would be the Nationals’ only win of the NLDS.
Bryce Harper has FOUR #postseason HRs before the age of 22. Only other players to do that? Andruw Jones, Miggy and Mantle.
— MLB (@MLB) October 8, 2014
9. Andrew Miller
This year’s trade deadline featured several significant names changing teams. One deal that goes unrecognized is the one that sent the lefty Miller from Boston to Baltimore. With each passing playoff performance, however, it garners the necessary attention.
Added to a bullpen that was already one of the best in baseball by late July, Miller isn’t just a specialist in to face left-handed batters. That’s definitely been proven out this month. He’s thrown 6.1 postseason innings (second-most among relievers), having allowed just one hit, one walk, and no earned runs.
8. Yusmeiro Petit
A relief pitcher throwing more than six innings in the span of a week is routine. Attempting to go over that amount in a single game—and additionally trying to navigate the tightrope of an extra inning affair—is awfully impressive.
Thus the accomplishment of Petit, in what has been his only playoff outing to date, deserves recognition. In the marathon that was Game 2 of the NLDS against Washington, Petit took the mound in the 12th with the score knotted at one. He then furthered the Nationals’ frustration at the plate with six scoreless frames in striking out seven and giving up just a single hit.
Once Brandon Belt went deep in the top of the 18th, Petit was in line for the victory. Strickland closed it out in the bottom half, as the Giants came through to win the longest game in postseason history.
7. Greg Holland
The man who was second in the Major Leagues in saves during the regular season hasn’t let up since—converting on all four of his opportunities.
With the primary focus being on the late-game dramatics from the K.C. offense, it’s been Holland who’s closed the door and preserved those victories. It also helps that he’s been backed up by a bullpen that’s kept opposing offenses in check in the innings leading up to the ninth. That said, no reliever going in the playoffs has more standout numbers: nine strikeouts, one run allowed and omly three hits (all to Baltimore).
6. Mike Moustakas
Of the numerous heroes that have steered their magic carpets, he is probably the most unlikely. As a No. 9 hitter in the lineup, Moustakas has done the work of a player deserving of a higher slotting—compiling a .318 batting average, an .864 slugging percentage and four home runs in Kansas City’s six straight postseason victories.
His top-of-the-11th shot off Angels reliever Fernando Salas was the difference in a 3-2 victory in Game 1 of the ALDS—and was his first homer since August 25th. Moustakas’ lone hit in the opening contest of the ALCS at Camden Yards came in the 10th inning, a two-run blast that followed what Alex Gordon did just three hitters prior. It added some much needed insurance, as the Orioles rallied to plate one in the bottom half—but still fell short of the destiny-filled Royals.
5. Nelson Cruz
Behind Cruz, the O’s belted an MLB-best 211 round-trippers during the regular season. Cruz (who ranked first in the majors with 40 HRs) kept up his torrid pace in the ALDS versus Detroit—and continued to be haunting sight for Tigers pitchers. His two homers, five RBI, 12 total bases and a .500 average led to an Orioles sweep.
In fact, Cruz has recorded exactly two hits in each of the five postseason games. His total of ten hits is tied for the most among all playoff performers. However, it hasn’t made much of a difference in the ALCS—as the Royals are halfway to the World Series, while Baltimore is halfway to winter meetings.
4. Matt Carpenter
Of all the surprise happenings that we’ve witnessed, this statistic may be the most staggering. The St. Louis Cardinals had the lowest home run output of any National League team during the regular season. In the playoffs, the Cards lead all clubs with 11. And, as has been the case so many times with this franchise over the past decade, the homers have come in timely fashion.
Individually, Matt Carpenter has gone deep most frequently among NL players with four. He made life miserable for the Los Angeles Dodgers with three home runs in successive games. However, the biggest blow he delivered came in the opener with a bases-clearing double off Clayton Kershaw. It knocked the certain Cy Young Award winner (as well as possibly winning MVP) out in the seventh and forged a critical St. Louis win.
3. Eric Hosmer
For a playoff appearance 29 years in the making, this Royal renaissance has been worth the wait. And Hosmer is one reason why it occurred—and why it may continue.
The Kansas City first baseman had his worst season in 2014, but has more than made up for those struggles with what’s he’s done over the past two weeks. His three hits in the remarkable Wild Card game comeback over Oakland included a key triple. He drove in four runs in the ALDS sweep of Los Angeles and hit an 11th inning homer in Game 2.
Hosmer then brought his postseason hit total to 10 and his RBI total to seven when he went 2-for-4 and drove in a pair on Sunday versus the Orioles.
2. Madison Bumgarner
The Giants wouldn’t have made it to the NLDS, much less the NLCS, if not for their southpaw ace’s complete game effort in the Wild Card game. Bumgarner baffled the Pittsburgh Pirates’ bats for the duration, allowing just four hits and fanning ten in an 8-0 win. Brandon Crawford’s grand slam may have silenced the raucous PNC Park crowd in the fourth inning, but Bumgarner’s brilliant pitching swung the momentum towards San Francisco right from the start.
On Sunday, he helped the visiting Giants get the jump on the Cardinals—lasting 7.2 shutout innings. Only a bad throw to third base in the seventh inning of NLDS Game 3 against Washington—which led to three runs—placed a blemish on what has been an otherwise perfect postseason.
1. Lorenzo Cain
It’s unfortunate that the voting on Gold Glove Award winners is solely based on regular season merits, because Cain is making his case to be the best defensive outfielder in the game. With the boost of a national spotlight, Cain has made so many spectacular plays in the field that it’s hard to narrow down the play for the top of his highlight reel.
Proving the bat is nearly as mighty as the glove, he went 4-for-5 in Kansas City’s Game 2 victory over Baltimore—becoming the first Royal since Hall-of-Famer George Brett to record four hits in a single postseason contest.