#ProCards: Duvall’s All-Star Selection Highlights First Half of Season
July 14, 2016 | Baseball
Duvall became first UofL alum to be chosen for MLB All-Star Game and Home Run Derby
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The first half of the 2016 professional baseball season was special for University of Louisville as a school record five former Cardinals made Major League Baseball appearances, highlighted by the performance from Cincinnati Reds outfielder Adam Duvall.
Duvall, who played two seasons with the Cardinals in 2009-10, became the first UofL baseball alumnus to be selected for the Major League Baseball All-Star Game as well as the Home Run Derby. Duvall was added to the National League roster for the 2016 All-Star Game in San Diego on July 5 before begin selected two days later for the Home Run Derby.
The first Louisville native to be chosen for the All-Star Game since Pee Wee Reese in 1954, Duvall was tabbed as the No. 3 seed in the eight-man Home Run Derby after connecting for 23 home runs in the first half of the season, the fourth highest total in the big leagues. Duvall, who also ranks in the top 10 in MLB with 61 RBI and the top 15 with a .551 slugging percentage, opened Monday night's Derby at Petco Park by defeating Padres slugger Wil Myers 11-10 in the quarterfinal round. Duvall's pursuit of the title ended with a narrow 16-15 semifinal loss to reigning champion and former Reds teammate Todd Frazier.
The following night, Duvall returned to the field for his All-Star Game debut taking over in left in the bottom of the fifth inning. The ball wasted little time finding Duvall as the Butler High School product hauled in the first out of the inning on a flyball off the bat of Manny Machado. Duvall had two plate appearances in the game registering a groundout in the sixth inning and earning a walk in the eighth as the American League earned a 4-2 triumph.
Duvall and the Reds will kick off the second half of the 2016 season with a weekend series against the Milwaukee Brewers at Great American Ball Park on July 15-17.
EGE, KIEKHEFER, GREEN AND ZYCH JOIN DUVALL IN THE BIG LEAGUES
While Duvall garnered the most headlines, he was not the only former Cardinal to reach the highest professional level of the game in 2016 as four other UofL alumni appeared in Major League Baseball games during the first half of the season – lefthander pitcher Cody Ege (Miami Marlins), righty Chad Green (New Yankees), lefty Dean Kiekhefer (St. Louis Cardinals) and righty Tony Zych (Seattle Mariners).
While both Duvall and Zych were named to the Opening Day rosters for their respective clubs after making their MLB debuts in previous seasons, Ege, Green and Kiekhefer were each promoted to the big leagues for the first time during the first half of the 2016 season. Ege, who pitched for Louisville from 2011-13, was called up to Miami from the New Orleans (AAA) on April 23 and made five relief appearances for the Marlins before returning to the Zephyrs on May 2.
Kiekhefer, who pitched for the Cardinals from 2008-10, received his first call-up on May 13 when he was promoted to St. Louis from Memphis (AAA). He made 11 relief outings St. Louis before being optioned back to Memphis on June 19. Green, who twirled for Louisville from 2011-13 as a teammate with Ege, was promoted from Scranton/Wilkes Barre (AAA) to New York on three different occasions this season – May 14, June 10 and July 3. During that span, Green made four appearances with three starts and earned his first career MLB win on July 3 at San Diego.
18 FORMER CARDINALS ENTER SECOND HALF OF SEASON ASSIGNED TO AA OR HIGHER
With the second half of the MLB season set to begin Friday and the Minor League Baseball slate scheduled to resume Thursday, 33 former Cardinals are active on MLB or MiLB rosters (as of July 14), including 18 players assigned to AA teams or higher. Joining Ege, Green and Kiekhefer in AAA are Chris Dominguez (Boston Red Sox/Pawtucket Red Sox) and Justin Marks (Tampa Bay Rays/Durham Bulls), while 11 UofL baseball alumni are assigned to AA teams. Click here to track all of the #ProCards in MLB and MiLB.
FOLLOWING THE CARDINALS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans can follow Louisville baseball on Twitter (@UofLBaseball) at http://twitter.com/uoflbaseball and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ulbaseball.
