2018 Hot Rods: Where Have They Gone?
I don’t know if the word “arguably” applies here but after running rough-shot over the Midwest League en route to the club’s first title in its 10th season, one could say the 2018 Hot Rods were the best in team history.
Led by manager Craig Albernaz in his first year with BG, the team boasted numerous prospects (like it normally does) and set a team record with 90 wins. That wasn’t enough, though. BG was 7–1 in the postseason, advancing past the opening round for the first time in franchise history, and won five straight before dropping game-two to the Peoria Chiefs in the MWL Championship. The Hot Rods bounced back and took the final two games by a combined score of 13–3 to take the crown.
We post a lot about history, so how about an update? Let’s take a look at the key players in that title run and update you on where they’ve gone!
Brendan McKay — LHP
McKay spent limited time in BG during the 2018 season, but he’s certainly one of the most notable names on the roster. He made six starts on the mound and played the field in 21 games and was stellar on the bump. While his batting average was .254 with a homer and a killer walk-to-strikeout ratio (28 BB — 13 K), he was nearly unhittable when pitching. McKay was 2–0 with a 1.09 ERA and an absurd 0.41 WHIP. 40 strikeouts in 24.2 innings with a .096 batting average against? Yeah. That’s good. That’s real good.
Do you want to talk about ascension? McKay played at three levels in ’18 (GCL, BG, Charlotte) and three more in 2019. The two-way player logged time with Montgomery (AA), Durham (AAA), and 13 games (11 starts) in the big league with Tampa Bay! The Rays selected his contract on June 29 and was called up the same day.
Vidal Brujan — 2B
Brujan was actually promoted during 2018 but returned to Bowling Green just before the playoffs started. During the season, the speedy middle infielder played in 95 games while posting a .313 batting average to go along with 48 stolen bases.
2019 was a good year for Brujan, playing in both the Florida State League with the Charlotte Stone Crabs and in AA with the Montgomery Biscuits. He had another productive year in the Rays system, batting .277 while swiping 47 more bases with an OPS of .735. He was named to the Midseason All-Star team with Charlotte and a Rising Star in the Arizona Fall League playing for Salt River. In November the Rays selected Brujan’s contract for the 40-man roster and in March.
Ronaldo Hernandez — C
Hernandez was a huge player for the 2018 Hot Rods championship quest, playing in 109 games while swatting the second-most homers in team history with 21.
The Colombian native did a tour in the Florida State League himself in 2019, staying there for the duration of the season. The 22-year old seemed to take a step back, batting .265 with nine home runs. Now for the perspective: the Florida State League has been known to be a tougher league to hit in. Outside of the obvious reason that it’s a higher level of competition, people have speculated for years that its some combination of the ballparks and the humidity that can leave numbers low. Hernandez still impressed and was named to the Postseason All-Star team.
The Rays were still impressed enough with Hernandez to add him to the 40-man roster along with Brujan in November.
Moises Gomez — OF
Gomez wasn’t too far behind Hernandez as a power hitter, clubbing 19 homers himself during that 2018 campaign. He stuck in BG the entire season raking to the tune of a .280 average with a .831 OPS.
The outfielder joined his friends in Charlotte but struggled through the season, except for power. While batting .220 was a big step down, the ball continued to leave the yard 16 times. He also collected 26 doubles during the season and is looking to make the jump to Montgomery in 2020.
Taylor Walls — SS
Walls was integral to the Hot Rods for 120 games during that championship run, and stood up to the long season. He batted .304 with 6 homers and 31 stolen bases and earned a Midseason All-Star nod for his troubles.
In ’19 the Rays pushed and challenged Walls. He began the year with Charlotte and batted .269 with four homers in 41 games before getting promoted to AA Montgomery. With the “Butter and Blue” as our friend Chris Adams-Walls likes to call them, Taylor Walls continued a steady season. In the Southern League, he hit .270 with another six homers in 55 games while putting up a .824 OPS. Walls was also a Non-Roster Invitee to 2020 Rays Spring Training. Walls also appears on MLB The Show 2020 on both the minor league rosters and in the Diamond Dynasty mode, although he’s available as a “free agent” card because he’s not on the 40-man.
Tommy Romero — RHP
Romero was another key piece in bringing a championship to Bowling Green Ballpark in 2018. After a trade with the Seattle Mariners that sent Denard Span and former Hot Rod Alex Colome to the M’s, Romero was assigned to BG for the rest of the season and became a front-line starter. He went 8–1 with the Hot Rods with a 3.21 ERA over his 16 starts and threw a complete game.
In 2019 Romero made nearly all of his starts with A+ Charlotte, pitching even better than the previous season. A 1.89 ERA was accompanied by a 12–4 record over his 23 appearances before he went to AA Montgomery for one start to close out the regular season. That Stone Crabs team was electric, posting the best record in franchise history and Romero was named the Pitcher of the Year in the FSL.
Phoenix Sanders — RHP
Sanders spent most of 2018 with BG, and was promoted to Charlotte in early August. In his second year as a pro, the righty went 5–3 with the Hot Rods out of the bullpen where he appeared from 28 times. He K’d 71 batters in 50.2 innings of work while holding his opponents to a .234 ERA.
Sanders earned an NRI in 2020 after pitching in 37 games for AA Montgomery in 2019. The reliever was 3–3 with a 1.81 ERA before he reached the top step of the minors with AAA Durham, where he turned in another stellar performance. Against high-level competition, Sanders was 1–0 in eight appearances with a 2.38 ERA and had 11 punchouts in 11.1 innings with just three walks.
Tyler Zombro — RHP
Zombro made his full-season debut with the Hot Rods and was another integral bullpen piece. The George Mason product was 8–2 in 33 appearances and a 1.16 WHIP to go along with his 2.84 ERA while staying in Kentucky for the duration of the season.
Fast forward to 2019 and Zombro started the year in Montgomery. In 37 outings he got even better, going 2–0 with a 1.87 ERA and 11 saves for the Biscuits and a super low 0.88 WHIP. Zombro was so good the Rays mixed him in off and on with Durham during the season. He was another 2020 NRI who should impress when he gets back on the mound.
Craig Albernaz — Manager
It’s not often you hear about coaches and managers making leaping and bounding jumps, but Albernaz certainly made those the last two years. After leading the charge for Bowling Green’s historic run and skippering Baseball America’s MiLB Team of the Year, Albernaz was promoted to be the Rays’ Field Coordinator.
After roving for the 2019 season (including making some stops back in Bowling Green), Albernaz was hired by the San Francisco Giants to be the team’s Major League Bullpen/Catching Coach. He seems to be keen on his time with the Hot Rods, though, as the group photo from the MWL championship win is the banner photo on his Twitter profile. Can’t say we blame him.
As you can see, tons of Bowling Green players and staff continue on to bigger things. We’ll keep following them as they climb the latter to the big leagues while keeping an eye on those whose journeys are ready to travel through Bowling Green Ballpark!
We hope you’ve enjoyed today’s look back at where some of the 2018 Midwest League Championship team ended up last year and early this year!
Check back in on Friday for our next Flashback Friday post! Don’t forget that Thursday will be another Hot Rods Twitch stream where we’ll play against and talk to 2018 Hot Rod Drew Strotman. Friday morning we’ll also release our next episode of “The Tune-Up” podcast with this week’s guest, 2019 Hot Rods pitcher Caleb Sampen!
Until next time, have a great day!
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