The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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130 ■ THE WOLFPACKER ■ PACK PROS Led By Trea Turner's Career Year, Three Wolfpackers Play During 2018 MLB Season BY RYAN TICE A trio of former Wolfpackers appeared in "The Show" during the 2018 season — mainstays Trea Turner, a shortstop for the Washington Nationals, and Carlos Rodon, a left-handed pitcher for the Chicago White Sox, were joined by Cory Mazzoni, a 2011 second-round draft pick and right-handed pitcher who appeared in eight games for the Chicago Cubs. When Mazzoni was on the mound in the bigs from May through July, he posted solid numbers for Chicago, which lost in the wild card game to the Colorado Rockies. Mazzoni, who turned 29 Oct. 19, threw 8 2 ⁄3 innings out of the bullpen and allowed just five hits and one earned run while striking out seven. He picked up his first MLB victory June 6, after he got the final two outs, in- cluding a strikeout, in the top of the ninth inning before the Cubs walked off with a 7-5 victory. He has pitched in at least six MLB games three of the last four seasons. The 6-1, 210-pounder spent the rest of the year with the Cubs' Triple-A affiliate in Iowa, and went 4-3 with four saves and a 4.46 ERA in 29 relief appearances. He struck out 34 in 38 1 ⁄3 innings of work and allowed a .248 batting average. However, Turner and Rodon — just like when they were teammates in Raleigh — are the headlining stars of former Wolfpack players on the diamond. Turner finished second in the majors with 43 stolen bases and had a career year in almost every category. He played in ev- ery game for the first time in his profes- sional career — becoming just the second National to ever do so and one of just seven players to accomplish the feat this season. The 25-year-old also posted single-season bests in starts (158), at-bats (664), runs (103), hits (180), total bases (276), doubles (27), home runs (19), RBI (73), walks (69) and extra-base hits (52). The 6-2, 185-pounder led all of base- ball in at-bats, while his run total tied for 11th, his hit count tied for 12th and he tied for 22nd with six triples. He also showed improved patience at the plate with his 69 walks, which more than doubled his previous career high and tied for 42nd in the league. "I feel bad that he didn't make the All- Star team. I thought he should of. I told him, 'For me, there's always an All-Star team at the end of the year, continue to play hard and try to make that one,'" Wash- ington manager Dave Martinez told The Washington Post."That's the big [one] for me and … the power numbers for him have been a lot better. "He's going to get better, and he wants to get better." Additionally, the shortstop became the first National to post back-to-back sea- sons with 40 or more stolen bases and set the club's all-time record in the category, breaking Ian Desmond's old mark of 122. Although the franchise has only been around since 2005, Desmond needed 927 games to reach that total during his seven years with the team. Meanwhile, Turner now has 124 in just 360 contests — and during that span, he has been caught only 25 times, a success rate of 83.2 percent. "I think he's only [going to] get bet- ter; I really do," Martinez told MLB.com. "Here's a guy who I think can steal 50 or 60 bases a year, maybe more, and he's going to get better at it — picking spots when he can run and steal when there's an opportunity to steal where it's not going to be close." Turner set the franchise record with 46 steals in 2017, despite playing in just 98 games, so he knows there is more to be had after showing he can stay healthy. "I think I've been way more conservative because we've lost a lot more this year," Turner told MLB.com. "When you're down by one or two, I've had opportuni- ties where I should have or could have run, but I haven't because if I get thrown out, I know what that does momentum-wise. "I definitely haven't been as aggres- sive, but I think the score kind of shuts that down a little bit." Meanwhile, it was an up-and-down cam- Turner was one of seven major league players to appear in all 162 games this season, and he finished second in MLB with 43 stolen bases. PHOTO COURTESY WASHINGTON NATIONALS BASEBALL CLUB