If Your Birthday is July 28th...

...you share it with Walker Buehler, the Dodgers pitcher hoping to make it back in September after 2022 Tommy John surgery.  Already with 14- and 16-win seasons (and two All Star game appearances) to his credit, a healthy Buehler is the logical successor to Clayton Kershaw as LA's ace -- as well as arm who could be the difference as the Dodgers battle to stay ahead of the Giants and Diamondbacks in the NL West.

Tylor Megill was a dependable middle-of-the-rotation starter for the '21 Mets, before dealing with injuries in 2022.  And this year, the Californian never got on track, before being optioned to their Syracuse farm club in late June.  (My image is from a June '22 rehab start for Binghamton.)


Some other names you might recognize in our July 28th birthday circle:

  • Spencer Howard, once a top pitching prospect for the Phillies, who has struggled with the Rangers since a deadline 2021 trade to Texas.
  • Carmelo Martinez homered for the Cubs in his first big league at bat.  Traded to the Padres the following winter, he was the 1st baseman on San Diego's first pennant winner but never reached the stardom that was expected.  For trivia buffs, the Puerto Rico native is a cousin of Hall of Famer Edgar Martinez.
  • Darin Ruf, who showed promise as a righthanded power hitter with the Phillies, and then turned things up a notch when he played in Korea.  The Giants brought him back to the states, where he posted a .905 OPS in their division winning 2021. But his numbers plunger after being traded to the Mets last summer.  Cut this spring, he's now on Milwaukee's 60-day Injured List.

 

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