ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - Our hometown St. Louis Cardinals fell short of reaching the World Series this year, but the STL will still be well represented.
Game 1 between the Tampa Bay Rays and Los Angeles Dodgers is on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. local time and here are a few locally grown or developed products to keep an eye on:
Randy Arozarena
(Getty Images)You already know by now that the 25-year-old Cuban born stud – who was traded this offseason from St. Louis to Tampa – is the story of the postseason. With one more home run he'll tie a playoff record with eight bombs in a single postseason. And with 21 hits he's just one away from tying New York Yankees legend Derek Jeter for the most in a single postseason.
Josh Fleming
(Getty Images)The 24-year-old Rays lefty is from Columbia, Ill. and was drafted in 2017 out of Webster University (D-III) in St. Louis. Fleming made his MLB debut this year and was 5-0 with a 2.78 ERA. In this postseason he's been pitching out of the bullpen and has a 6.00 ERA in three innings.
Peter Fairbanks
(Getty Images)He's another Rays pitcher with St. Louis ties, Fairbanks was named the Rays rookie of the year this season – just barely beating out Fleming and Arozarena. He graduated from Webster Groves High School and pitched at Mizzou before being drafted by the Texas Rangers in 2015. The 26-year-old is a righty who had more appearances (27) than any other reliever this season.
Joe Kelly
(Getty Images)Like Arozarena, Kelly wasn't born in St. Louis, but he grew up in the Cardinals system. He last pitched for St. Louis in 2014, before being traded midseason. He had a 1.80 ERA in 12 games this season with the Dodgers and is about to pitch in his third World Series. He won the 2018 World Series with the Red Sox, but also lost to Boston in 2013 with St. Louis.
Joe Buck
(Getty Images)The Buck name will forever be associated with St. Louis, thanks to Joe Buck's father, Jack Buck and his career on KMOX and national sports broadcasts. Joe Buck, 51, will be calling his 23rd World Series on FOX this year – making it 21 in a row.
