A pair of Nevada baseball alums were on primetime television last night as the Los Angeles Dodgers battled the Cincinnati Reds in an MLB wild-card matchup.

One made sense, that being TJ Friedl, who hits leadoff for the Reds.

The other no so much. But when Friedl was at bat in a crucial bases-loaded situation in the eighth inning, the ESPN broadcast briefly showed a pair of fans wearing Reds hats. One was Bryce Greager, Friedl’s former Wolf Pack teammate presumably supporting his friend.

That at-bat, which came with the Dodgers leading 8-4 and the Reds desperately in need of runs, ended with Alex Vesia freezing Friedl on a sharp-breaking slider for a strikeout to end the inning. That also was Friedl’s final at-bat of the 2025 season with the Dodgers sweeping the Reds, 2-0. But it was another strong season for Friedl, who played for Nevada from 2014-16.

Friedl, who made his playoff debut this season, rebounded from an injury-plagued 2024 by playing a career-high 152 games this season, hitting .261 with 38 extra-base hits and a career-best 82 runs scored, chipping in 53 RBIs and 12 steals. His on-base percentage of .364 (11th in the National League) was a career best thanks to 81 walks and 16 hit by pitches.

The 30-year-old centerfielder piled up 2.3 WAR (wins above replacement) this year, which tied for the eighth best in a single season for a Nevada alum in the majors behind five years from Lyle Overbay (2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010), one from Ryan Church (2007) and Friedl’s 3.6-WAR season in 2023. Friedl’s career WAR swelled to 6.8, which is the fifth best for a Wolf Pack product. You can see the top 10 below.

Career WAR for Nevada alums in MLB

1. Lyle Overbay (16.3 WAR)

2. Chris Singleton (9.7 WAR)

3. Ryan Church (9.1 WAR)

4. Kevin Kouzmanoff (7.6 WAR)

5. TJ Friedl (6.8 WAR)

6. Chad Qualls (5.8 WAR)

7. Joe Inglett (4.9 WAR)

8. Chris Dickerson (3.3 WAR)

9. JoJo Romero (2.6 WAR)

10. Darrell Rasner (0.8 WAR)

Romero, who had a great 2025 season pitching for the Cardinals (1.7 WAR in 61 innings), also moved into the top 10. Friedl could threaten for the No. 2 spot on this list by the end of next season. Catching Overbay will be tough but is not out of the question. Overbay has a 16.3 to 6.8 WAR edge over Friedl, per Baseball Reference’s metrics, with that advantage being 10.4 to 8.1 using FanGraphs’ model. Big difference between those two.

Friedl has been a steal since making his big-league debut for Cincinnati in 2021, not making more than $780,000. He’ll be first-year arbitration eligible in 2026 and will see his salary bump up. Fair comps include the Tigers’ Zach McKinstry, the Angels’ Jo Adell, the Diamondbacks’ Geraldo Perdomo and the Cardinals’ Bo Donovan, who made between $1.65 million to $2.85 million this season as first-year arbitration eligible players. My guess is Friedl gets a deal around $2.5 million for 2026.

Friedl, who in 2023 became the first Wolf Pack alum to get an MVP vote, will remain a bargain for the Reds and continue to march up the leaderboard for Nevada products in the big leagues. He already ranks sixth in games played (461), fifth in runs scored (232), fifth in hits (417), fourth in homers (54), fifth in RBIs (201) and second in steals (55). Nevada’s Mt. Rushmore of position players in the big leagues has long been Overbay, Singleton, Kouzmanoff and Church. You can now chisel Friedl onto that mountain (probably in Church’s place), and there’s a non-zero chance he could one day move past Overbay on the WAR charts (I’d put it at 5 percent using bWAR and 70 percent using fWAR).

Not bad for a player who was asked to redshirt in 2015 because he wasn’t going to see playing time at Nevada and one season later signed a deal with the Reds that included a $732,500 signing bonus, a record for an undrafted free agent after teams didn’t know he was draft eligible after sitting out the year prior and playing as a redshirt sophomore in 2016. He’s certainly made that investment worthwhile.

Sports columnist Chris Murray provides insight on Northern Nevada sports. Contact him at crmurray@sbgtv.com or follow him on Twitter @ByChrisMurray.