OUTSIDE THE BUBBLE: Spring Training Starts up in FL and AZ

As Pitchers and Catchers reported starting on Monday in both the Grapefruit League (located throughout Florida) and Cactus League (Located around the Phoenix area), let's look at where former Samford Baseball alumni will start the process for a potential World Series run.

Phillip Ervin

After being drafted with the 27th pick of the MLB Amateur Draft in the Summer of 2013, Ervin broke into the Major Leagues on April 22, 2017 with the Cincinnati Reds. Ervin will be entering his 6th season in the MLB with the Chicago Cubs, having spent 4+ with the Reds and spending the last half of the season in Seattle after being traded. After a very quiet year last year (.149 BA, 0 HR, 11 RBI), baseball-reference.com is projecting a bounce back year for the only Samford alumni currently on an MLB team: .239 BA, 6 SB, 3 3B, 9 HR, and 14 2B.

Jared Brasher

Drafted in the 8th round of the 2017 MLB Amateur Draft by the Washing Nationals, Brasher will be returning to High-A ball after the MiLB announced last year that there would be no Minor League Baseball during 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Brasher has been utilized as a reliever in his 3 year career, pitching in 12 games in 2019, pitching 26 innings and posting a 2.77 ERA and striking out 29 batters. Brasher is still with the Nationals, but it will probably be another 3-5 years before we see him get the call.

Heath Quinn

Drafted out of high school in the 12th round in 2013, Quinn increased his draft stock in his three years at Samford, being drafted in the 3rd round in 2016 by the Giants of San Francisco. In his Minor League Career, Quinn has hit for a .282 BA, swatted 42 HR, and has 160 RBI. While Quinn is not on the MLB roster for Spring Training at the beginning of the 2021 season, he is just off in the wings at the Triple A level as a member of the Sacramento River Cats. With a good camp and good season, we might see Quinn get the MLB invite this time next year, possibly with a call up later that year.

Parker Curry

While Curry was not drafted after his senior season in Birmingham, he was signed by the LA Dodgers in the Spring of 2017. Curry last saw action in 2019 as a member of the Double A Tulsa Drillers where he posted a 3.67 ERA in 98 innings, striking out 89 batters. Curry is in an organization that is currently loaded with pitching talent, so either he waits for a few years in the minor league system, or he could be packaged in a trade that could send him to an organization currently lacking in pitching depth.