By Trey Wilson
AltoonaCurve.com
The 2018 MLB Postseason officially begins tonight as the Chicago Cubs host the Colorado Rockies at Wrigley Field. Although the Pirates missed this year’s playoffs, there are still a handful of former Curve players you can cheer on throughout October.
Find it hard to pull for any other National League teams? We get that. From the looks of the projected postseason rosters, there will only be one former Curve player active in the NL side of the playoff bracket: 2010 Curve left-hander Justin Wilson with the Cubs, who helped pitch the Curve to their first Eastern League championship.
On the American League side, the New York Yankees added a pair of the most notable Altoona alumni in franchise history to their roster this season: Former Curve and Pirates teammates Andrew McCutchen and Neil Walker.
McCutchen and Walker joined the Curve together late in the 2006 season and returned to for 2007 as Pittsburgh’s two top-ranked prospects. They’re together again in the Bronx, and the Yankees will host the Oakland Athletics in the AL Wild Card Game on Wednesday night.
If the Yankees win the AL Wild Card Game, they will advance to face the Boston Red Sox in the ALDS. Boston’s playoff roster includes 2007 Curve first baseman Steve Pearce, who tied the franchise single-season record with a .334 batting average that season, and infielder Brock Holt, who is one of only four players in team history to be named as an Eastern League All-Star in multiple seasons.
After winning the World Series last season, the Houston Astros added 2012 Curve pitcher Gerrit Cole this past offseason. They also have Charlie Morton on their roster, who pitched six games for the Curve from 2013-15.
The Astros will face the Cleveland Indians in the ALDS, a team that includes 2005 Curve outfielder Rajai Davis, who is tied for the franchise record with 45 stolen bases in a single season. Davis is back with the Indians, a team he hit a memorable Game 7 homer for against the Cubs in the 2016 World Series.
So there you have it. Even if you cannot bring yourself to cheer for any of the teams in this year’s MLB Postseason, we’ve got eight former Curve players who you can cheer along to a possible World Series title.
