Arizona baseball: How former Wildcats did in MLB regular season play in 2016

A couple of former UA guys had some really nice years in the big leagues

For a few years now, the number of guys that wore an Arizona Wildcats uniform in their college days have been few and far between in the Major Leagues.

In 2016, things started to pick up a bit with guys like Jett Bandy, Rob Refsnyder, and Joey Rickard getting extended playing time with their respective MLB teams.

With the Wild Card round behind us, let’s take a look at how all the former Wildcats did at the game’s highest level in 2016:

Mark Melancon — Pittsburgh Pirates and Washington Nationals

Even though Melancon was traded at the trading deadline, he continued his dominant ways right into the 2016 postseason, and remains the best former UA player in MLB. In 75 total appearances this year, Melancon posted a 1.64 ERA, and converted 47 save opportunities. In the last three seasons, he has 131 saves.

Melancon has the chance to cash in this offseason as he will become a free agent, and is arguably the best and most consistent closer on the market. Not bad for a 30th round draft pick in the 2003 MLB Draft.

The Nationals being their 2016 postseason run on Friday when they host the Dodgers in the NLDS.

Jett Bandy -- Los Angeles Angels

The former Arizona catcher got his chance with the big league team thanks to early season injuries at the position, and he definitely took advantage of the opportunity. Bandy ended up getting 231 plate appearances in 70 games, knocked eight homers, and drove in 25 runs. It’ll be interesting to see if he winds up being a serviceable backup catcher moving forward.

Nick Hundley — Colorado Rockies

This catcher had one of the most productive seasons of his career. He posted an OPS of .759, the third-best single season mark of his nine years in MLB. In 83 games, Hundley hit ten home runs, 20 doubles, and knocked in a career-best 48 runs.

Rob Refsnyder — New York Yankees

Refsnyder was up with the Yankees for a good chunk of the summer, eventually seeing action in 58 games. He was not nearly the player we saw in 2015 when he had an OPS of .859 in 16 games. That number dropped to .637, but his walk rate increased to help his on-base percentage out. He did end up with a negative WAR though.

Joey Rickard — Baltimore Orioles

Strangely enough, just like Zach Britton, Rickard did not play in Baltimore’s Wild Card loss on Tuesday. In his first year at the Major League level, Rickard posted a .268 batting average in 282 plate appearances. He also didn’t commit an error in the outfield. All in all, it was a pretty successful debut season.

Steve Selsky -- Cincinnati Reds

Also making his MLB debut this year was the 33rd round draft pick from the 2011 MLB Draft. As a September call-up, Selsky got 54 plate appearances in 24 games, hit two home runs, and posted a .314 batting average. What’s concerning is that he struck out 22 times, and only recorded 13 outs on balls put in play. It’s certainly feast or famine for Selsky in his short MLB career so far.

Andy Burns — Toronto Blue Jays

Burns appeared in ten games for the eventual AL Wild Card Champions during the summer. He only got seven plate appearances, did not record a hit, but did reach base thanks to getting plunked by Giants ace Madison Bumgarner on May 11th.

MANAGERS

Terry Francona -- Cleveland Indians

Cleveland won the AL Central thanks to a record of 94-67. They were just one win shy of the Texas Rangers for the best record in the American League. Francona is now 1381-1209 in his MLB managerial career, and is now looking for his third World Series. He’ll face his former team, the Boston Red Sox, in the ALDS beginning Thursday night.

Chip Hale — Arizona Diamondbacks

Hale didn’t have quite the success that Francona had this year, and has now lost his job because of it. The DBacks went 69-93 in Hale’s second season as a big league manager. Maybe he’ll get another chance somewhere else.

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