Thirty-five players from Alabama high schools and colleges appeared in Major League Baseball games during the 2025 regular season. But the MLB playoffs likely will feature no more than a handful, and they’ll all be pitchers.
Hoping to make an impact from the mound will be the Cincinnati Reds’ Graham Ashcraft (Huntsville, UAB), Detroit Tigers’ Casey Mize (Springville, Auburn), Philadelphia Phillies’ David Robertson (Paul Bryant, Alabama) and Boston Red Sox’s Garrett Whitlock (UAB).
The MLB playoffs start on Tuesday, and the eight teams playing in the best-of-three Wild-Card Round will need to have their series rosters of 26 players apiece (with no more than 13 pitchers) set by Tuesday morning.
The Tigers open the playoff schedule at 12:08 p.m. CDT Tuesday against the Cleveland Guardians. Detroit will send ace Tarik Skubal on the mound. But manager A.J. Hinch hasn’t named the starting pitcher for Game 2 on Wednesday. It could be Mize. And if not, he’ll almost certainly start Game 3, if one is necessary, on Thursday.
“Both have strengths that could help us,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “We’re going to go over every scenario.”
The No. 1 pick in the 2018 draft, Mize entered the 2025 season with a 9-19 record. But he went 14-6 in 28 starts and made the American League team for the MLB All-Star Game this season.
Boston Red Sox reliever Garrett Whitlock pitches during an MLB interleague game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sept. 7, 2025, at Chase Field in Phoenix, Ariz.(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
The Red Sox are hoping to get to the eighth inning with the lead in their Wild-Card Round games against the New York Yankees. That has been a winning formula during the season with Whitlock pitching the eighth inning and Aroldis Chapman working the ninth for Boston.
“Around this time last year,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said this weekend, “(Whitlock) came into (my office) and told me, ‘I want to be a reliever. I want to be a leader of the team.’ I said, ‘OK, you’ll be a leader on the team.’
“It feels good. I’m very proud of him. The season didn’t start the way he wanted, and the way he’s throwing the ball right now, he’s one of the best relievers in the big leagues.”
Whitlock had a 7-3 record with a 2.25 earned-run average in 62 relief appearances in 2025. He’s a holdover from Boston’s previous postseason team. In 2021, Whitlock went 1-0 with a 2.16 ERA in five playoff appearances.
Cincinnati Reds reliever Graham Ashcraft pitches during a National League game against the Milwaukee Brewers on June 3, 2025, at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.(AP Photo/Kareem Elgazzar)
After working strictly as a starter in his first three MLB seasons with Cincinnati, Ashcraft moved to the Reds’ bullpen in 2025. He made 62 relief appearances with an 8-5 record and 3.99 ERA.
Ashcraft would have pitched more, but a right forearm strain kept him off the mound between Aug. 24 and Sept. 13. He’s pitched nine times since returning, including seven consecutive scoreless outings.
Ashcraft has a 2.45 career ERA at Dodger Stadium, where the Reds will take on Los Angeles in the Wild-Card Round.
Philadelphia Phillies reliever David Robertson pitches during a National League game against the Miami Marlins on Sept. 6, 2025, at LoanDepot Park in Miami.(AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
Robertson won’t be involved in the Wild-Card Round. After finishing with the second-best record in the National League, the Phillies have a bye until the NL Division Series.
Robertson was selective about what he did with his 17th MLB season, and he didn’t make his first appearance for Philadelphia until Aug. 11. He made 20 appearances out of the Phillies’ bullpen with a 2-0 record and 4.08 ERA.
While Robertson’s 881 games rank 35th among pitchers in MLB history, his 42 games as a postseason pitcher rank 10th. The right-hander has a 6-0 playoff record, but he’s been chasing another World Series title since the Yankees won in 2009.
Detroit could carry a reliever with Alabama baseball roots in its bullpen against Cleveland with left-hander Bailey Horn (Auburn) and right-hander Tanner Rainey (West Alabama) among the options being considered by Hinch.
“There’s always the hard decisions at the end, and most likely they’re pitching decisions,” Hinch said about the playoff roster. “I’m expecting us to carry all the position players who were in Boston to end the year. I would expect them to be active, and then decide how many pitchers we’re going to use and how to configure it.”
The best-of-five Division Series start on Saturday. The best-of-seven League Championship Series start on Oct. 12 in the American League and Oct. 13 in the National League. The World Series begins on Oct. 24.
The schedule for the best-of-three Wild-Card Round includes (with all times CDT):
American League
Televised by ESPN
Detroit Tigers at Cleveland Guardians: 12:08 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and, if necessary, ThursdayBoston Red Sox at New York Yankees: 5:08 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and, if necessary, Thursday
National League
Televised by ABC
San Diego Padres at Chicago Cubs: 2:08 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and, if necessary, ThursdayCincinnati Reds at Los Angeles Dodgers, 8:08 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and, if necessary, Thursday
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