Although the North Carolina baseball team’s 2018 season ended on June 20, Carolina fans still have a reason to watch the sport on the professional level.
Ten former Tar Heels have seen action in the MLB this year, including Kyle Seager, and countless more have made a mark in the minor leagues, led by 2017 first-team All-American J.B. Bukauskas.
Former UNC pitcher J.B. Bukauskas (38) is pulled out of the game against Long Beach State on March 3, 2017 in Chapel Hill.
MLB
Seager has perhaps the most decorated career of any UNC hitter still active in the major leagues. The 2014 all-star and gold glove winner is batting a career low .217 but has bashed 20 home runs and knocked in 72 teammates this season.
The third baseman needs just 16 more home runs to surpass the all-time Tar Heel mark of 188 set by B.J. Surhoff, and will likely reach the milestone in 2019.
The 30-year-old is joined on the Seattle Mariners by two other Tar Heels: Mike Morin, who has made three relief appearances on the season, and Adam Warren. Warren, who has struck out 45 batters in just 42 innings to go along with a 3.56 earned run average, recently joined the Mariners after a trade from the New York Yankees. The trade was unfortunate for the reliever because it took him from a team in the thick of a playoff race to one that is slowly slipping in the wild-card race.
Warren’s former Tar Heel battery mate, Matt Harvey, is not the staff ace he once was.
After beginning the season with the New York Mets, the pitcher nicknamed ‘Dark Knight of Gotham’ was shipped to the Cincinnati Reds. His 21 earned runs in 27 innings with the Mets was too much for management to swallow, but Harvey has somewhat righted his career with the Ohio-based ball club.
