Bregman and lots of ex-’Topes are in the postseason

Bregman became a star while others had their troubles

Looking at Major League Baseball 2018 through an Albuquerque prism, there is this:

Alex Bregman, Albuquerque Academy alumnus, is a star. He won’t win the American League MVP award — which looked like at least a distinct possibility a few weeks ago. But the third baseman (31 homers, 103 RBIs, an AL-best 51 doubles) has been the most productive player on a Houston Astros team that looks like it could win another World Series.

Blake Swihart (Cleveland High) has had a bounceback year and has proved himself an essential part of the Boston Red Sox plan after a 2017 spent mostly in the minors. Swihart (.229, three homers in 82 games) has caused conversation about whether he should be the third Red Sox catcher for the upcoming playoff series. And that’s kind of the point. His versatility is valued.

Anybody here routing for a Houston-Boston American League Championship Series?

Mitch Garver, La Cueva and University of New Mexico alumnus, has established himself in Minnesota. Last Friday he drove in six — six! — runs in a win over the White Sox, in his first start since suffering a concussion on Sept. 12. Garver (seven homers, .268 in 102 games) might not make Twins fans forget the retiring Joe Mauer, but he looks like he is a contender to be the next Minnesota catcher.

Ken Giles (Eldorado, Rio Grande) may have found a home in Toronto at the end of what could have been a forgettable season. Before his trade deadline move from the Astros, the righty reliever had a very visible meltdown during which he slapped himself in the face coming off the field after a rough outing. And he got demoted to Triple-A Fresno. In spite of all of that, and soso numbers (0-3, 4.65 overall), he still was 40-for-40 in save opportunities between Toronto and Houston, and he’s one of a few pitchers assured of a job with the Jays next year.

Really, of the five local big leaguers, the one that appears to be at a crossroads is Matt Moore. In Texas with his third major league team, the Moriarty High alumnus posted an 8.02 ERA in a dozen starts and lost his job, and seemingly his way, in the Rangers’ rotation. The Rangers paid Moore $9 million for 2018, but the team reportedly has a buyout that should put Moore in the pitching job market this offseason. That great outing in the playoffs two years ago against the eventual World Series champion Cubs (two runs, one earned, and 10 strikeouts over eight innings) seems like a long time ago.

Meanwhile, like last year, there are a lot of former Albuquerque Isotopes in the postseason because the Rockies are in it. The list that accompanies this story was put together by the Isotopes’ Kevin Collins and Andrew Cockrum.

Of note was a story posted on MLB.com Monday about how each of the 10 postseason teams were built. In projecting each team’s 25-man playoff rosters, the Rockies had 12 players that were “homegrown” (draft or international), most of any playoff team. Colorado routes its talent through Albuquerque much more so than did the Marlins or Dodgers.

Finally, note that the Boston manager, Alex Cora — one of six managers all time to lead their team to 100-plus wins in his rookie campaign — played in the last three Albuquerque Dukes teams (1998-2000). Cora played here in 1999 for Mike Scioscia, who was just getting started in management at the time.

Scioscia went from Albuquerque to the Los Angeles Angels and managed them for 19 years until stepping down Sunday.