Five former LSU players will participate in the 2022 Major League Baseball Playoffs that begin Friday.
The former Tigers who are scheduled to be on active MLB playoff rosters include second baseman DJ LeMahieu of the New York Yankees, third baseman Alex Bregman of the Houston Astros, pitcher Kevin Gausman of the Toronto Blue Jays, pitcher Aaron Nola of the Philadelphia Phillies and catcher Austin Nola of the San Diego Padres.
A total of 41 former LSU Tigers have played for MLB playoff teams since 1990, and 13 former LSU players have been members of World Series Championship teams in that 32-season span.
Aaron Nola and the Phillies will open a best-of-three Wild Card Series against the St. Louis Cardinals at 1 p.m. CT Friday in St. Louis. Gausman and the Blue Jays will begin their Wild Card Series at 3 p.m. CT Friday in Toronto versus the Seattle Mariners, and Austin Nola and the Padres face the New York Mets in Game 1 of their Wild Card Series at 7 p.m. CT Friday in New York.
Bregman and LeMahieu will begin playoff action on Tuesday in the American League Divisional Series, as both the Astros and Yankees won their respective divisions this season. The Divisional Series opponents for Houston and New York will be determined by the results of the Wild Card Series.
Gausman, a 2021 National League All-Star with the San Francisco Giants, has recorded a 12-10 mark this season for the Blue Jays with a 3.35 ERA and 205 strikeouts in 174.2 innings. Gausman is in his 10th MLB season – his first with the Blue Jays – and he has previous postseason experience with the Baltimore Orioles in 2014, the Atlanta Braves in 2018 and the Giants last season.
Aaron Nola, a 2018 NL All-Star, helped lead Philadelphia this season to its first postseason appearance since 2011, recording an 11-13 mark and a 3.25 ERA in 205 innings with 29 walks and 235 strikeouts. He registered the most strikeouts with fewer than 30 walks in Major League Baseball History. Nola, the Phillies’ first-round draft choice in 2014, is in his eighth MLB season in Philadelphia.
Austin Nola, in his third season with the Padres after making his MLB debut in 2019 with Seattle, batted .251 this season for San Diego with 15 doubles, four homers, 40 RBI and 40 runs scored.
LeMahieu, who is in his 12th Major League season and fourth with the Yankees, batted .261 in the 2022 regular season with 18 doubles, 12 homers, 46 RBI and 74 runs scored. A three-time All-Star and Gold Glove recipient, and a two-time winner of the Silver Slugger Award, LeMahieu won the MLB and American League batting titles in 2020.
LeMahieu became the first player in modern Major League history to win a batting title in each league, as he also captured the 2016 MLB and National League batting titles while playing for the Colorado Rockies.
Bregman, a 2017 World Series champion, a two-time All-Star and the 2018 All-Star Game MVP, batted .259 during the 2022 regular season for Houston with 38 doubles, 23 homers, 93 RBI and 93 runs scored. Bregman is in his seventh season with the Astros, who selected him as the No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 MLB Draft.
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