As Major League Baseball has just over a month left in the regular season, a pair of former Mountaineers could have a heavy impact down the stretch for their respective ball clubs.
John Means is a starting pitcher for the AL East-leading Baltimore Orioles. Means was drafted with the 331st pick, the 11th round of the 2014 draft. His current contract is a two-year $5,925,000 deal he signed back in the 2022 offseason.
2022 started off rough for Means when he had to have Tommy John surgery just two starts into the year and was going to be out late into the next season. However, he is set to return in early September, just in time to warm back up and possibly be a key piece for a young Orioles team looking to make noise in the playoffs. Baltimore could use his help, considering he had a respectable 3.62 earned run average in his last fully healthy season in 2021.Â
Michael Grove is a starting pitcher for the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers. Grove was drafted much earlier in the draft at 68th overall, which was in the second round of the 2018 draft.
Grove has yet to see as much action, only starting 17 career games with a combined earned run average of 5.98. He has the chance, however, to make an impact come playoff time as the Dodgers plan to lock up the division and make a deep run in the playoffs with a middle-of-the-pack starting pitching group.Â
These former Mountaineers can make a name for themselves in the 2023 MLB playoffs as their respective squads look to make it far in their conference’s bracket. Look out for these two as you watch the Orioles and Dodgers compete during the playoffs in early October.Â
Photo from Associated Press
