Feature Photo: Ian Happ, 2B/OF, Cubs
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Off we go with last week’s debuts! The most interesting debut was, no doubt, that of Pirates super-utilityman Chris Bostick as part of the Buccos’ May 8 game. His insertion into the lineup came via the popular double switch, as he came into the game along with Pirates right-handed reliever Josh Lindblom. Bostick, now with his fourth organization despite being just 24 years old (he’s been traded three times, each time for big names), had been part of a 2013 swap where he and one other player were dealt by the Athletics to the Rangers for Lindblom and one other player. The two landed on the same team, the Pirates, via trade (Bostick) and as a minor league free agent (Lindblom) this past offseason, and were called up to the big leagues two days apart (Lindblom was not making his debut, however).
This week also featured our third “debut-not” of the season as the Giants called up right-handed reliever Reyes Moronta straight from Double-A Richmond on May 10, but promptly sent him back to the Flying Squirrels the very next afternoon when they were able to activate both outfielder Denard Span and infielder Brandon Crawford from the disabled list. Moronta joined Orioles southpaw Paul Fry and Phillies right-hander Ben Lively as our trio of guys who got the call and got the thrill, but still haven’t debuted. (But we keep our hopes up, and our debut page filed and at the ready!)
But the aforementioned Lively re-entered the fray on Sunday when, thanks to the rule that allows teams playing doubleheaders to add a 26th man to the roster for the day, the Phillies brought him back up for their day/night doubleheader versus the Nationals. He did not, however, get into either game and was sent back down (again) Monday afternoon. (The Phillies had an off day Monday, so they were in no rush to make your humble scribe’s day any easier.) As a result, Lively becomes our first “double-debut-not” of the season.
As mentioned last week, your humble scribe is now mentally mulling which organization will be the next one (or for that matter the last one) to send up a debutante and who that might be. Heading into Week 7, we knocked the Cubbies off that list with the arrival of megawatt second base prospect Ian Happ, who lived up to his billing by homering in his first game, leaving us with “and now there were three”: the Astros, Diamondbacks and Brewers are still holding out on us. (Personally, I think the Brewers will be the least likely to be the team left standing because I don’t think they’ll be keeping outfield sensation Lewis Brinson down on the farm much longer, but that’s my totally unique YMMV observation.)
Click here to view our running table of major league debuts this season!
(Reminder! The MLB Debut table is also found by clicking the Spotlights Tab on our home page, and scrolling to the top sub-menu selection.)
