July 12 - Seven players from Northern Virginia have appeared for Major League Baseball clubs this season, and none had a more impressive first half than Westfield High School graduate Justin Bour.
Despite entering the All-Star break on the 15-day disabled list while recovering from an ankle injury suffered on July 2, Bour has been one of the top slugging first basemen in baseball. The hulking, 6-foot-3, 265-pound third-year Miami Marlins player is hitting .268 with 15 home runs and 46 RBI in 68 games.
Bour has been better offensively across the board over a 2015 campaign in which he hit .262 with 23 homers and 73 RBI in 129 games and finished fifth in the National League Rookie of the Year voting. His on-base average (.347) is up 26 points from last year, and strikeout percentage (19.0) is down nearly four points. The 28-year-old, who starred locally at George Mason University after his prep career with the Bulldogs, is currently on pace for 27 homers and 85 RBI.
His former teammate at Westfield, Brandon Snyder, has made his return to the big leagues after a three-year absence. The former first-round pick of the Baltimore Orioles was signed during the offseason by the Atlanta Braves and started out at Triple-A Gwinnett (GA), where he hit .325 in 34 games before his promotion last month. He has since served mainly as a pinch hitter, getting a handful of starts at first base while hitting .200 with two homers and six RBI in 25 at-bats over 16 games.
Herndon grad Brandon Guyer returned to the Tampa Bay Rays lineup on June 29 from a four-week absence while recovering from a hamstring injury, and promptly homered in his first game back. The 30-year-old outfielder has had mixed results in the 10 games since as he looks to find his swing again, and enters the break hitting .250 with seven homers and 17 RBI in 51 games.
One thing the former University of Virginia standout has quickly rediscovered is his penchant for being hit by pitches. He’s been hit five times since his return and 20 times total this season, which tops the majors.
Javier Lopez, a Robinson grad in his 14th season in the big leagues, has returned to form after a slow start in his role as a left-handed specialist out of the San Francisco Giants’ bullpen. Lopez has allowed a run just once in his past 15 appearances, and he enters the break with a 5.02 ERA in 39 appearances this season.
The 39-year-old has posted ERAs of 3.11 or better in each of his previous six seasons.
Lopez’ teammate with San Francisco, Colonial Forge grad Jarrett Parker, has played all three outfield positions for the National League West leaders, who enter the break with the best record in baseball. Parker is hitting .257 with five homers and 11 RBI in 98 at-bats over 39 games.
Another former Robinson pitcher, Paul Clemens, was well-traveled in the first few months of the season. Beginning the year in Triple-A New Orleans, he was promoted to the Marlins’ roster and made two starts last month, going 1-0 with a 6.30 ERA, before being waived. He was claimed on June 28 by the San Diego Padres, and has made three scoreless relief appearances with his new club.
It is the third organization Clemens has appeared in the big leagues with, previously pitching as a reliever with the Houston Astros in 2013-14.
Broad Run grad Conor Mullee, meanwhile, has made three appearances out of the New York Yankees’ bullpen in two separate stints with the club. He had posted four strikeouts and had yet to allow a hit in three innings of work prior to being placed on the 15-day disabled list on July 3 with what were described as ‘carpal tunnel syndrome-like symptoms’ in his throwing hand.
Mullee may have been a Triple-A All-Star were it not for his promotion, having gone 4-0 with six saves and a 0.52 ERA in 23 appearances with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Photos credits: Guyer courtesy of Tampa Bay Rays; Bour courtesy of Miami Marlins; Parker courtesy of Minor League Baseball; Snyder courtesy of Associated Press; Lopez courtesy of San Francisco Giants
