Professional Gamecocks: MLB and WNBA Playoff Race Edition

Down the stretch they come in the MLB and WNBA. Multiple former Gamecocks appear primed for postseason play. In the MLB, 12 of 30 teams make the playoffs. The six division winners and three wild cards from both the AL and NL. There are four Gamecocks in the MLB that are in playoff races, although Clarke Schmidt and the Yankees have a lot of ground to cover.

In the WNBA, eight teams will qualify for the playoffs. Seven teams have already clinched a playoff birth with plenty of Gamecocks represented on those rosters. Zia Cooke and the LA Sparks are fighting for the last spot.

All state current thru 9/6

Clarke Schmidt - New York Yankees. Clarke has made three starts since our last update. Two of those starts were quality starts. Schmidt picked up a win against Detroit throwing 6.1 innings and striking out six while allowing three runs. Schmidt is 9-8 with a 4.54 ERA and 139Ks in 140.2 innings pitched. New York is 6.5 games back of the last wild card spot but they've won their last five games.

Christian Walker - Arizona Diamondbacks. Walker is having another strong season with 30 home runs and 91 RBIs while hitting a career-best .272. He needs four more RBIs to set a career-high. Walker has seven hits in last 19 ABs with two of those hits be roundtrippers. Arizona is .5 game back of the last wild card spot.

Jordan Montgomery - Texas Rangers. Montgomery has hit a bit of a rough patch allowing nine earned runs over his last two starts with only four strikeouts. The Rangers have lost his last three starts. For the year Jordan is 8-10 with a 3.46 ERA and 138Ks in 156 innings. Texas is 3 games back in the AL West and half a game back of the last AL wild spot.

Whit Merrifield - Toronto Blue Jays. Merrifield is 6-26 in the month of September with two walks and three strikeouts. On the season, the Blue Jays' All-Star is hitting .283 with 11 home runs and 62 RBIs. He has also stolen 25 bases. Toronto has no shot to win the AL East put they currently occupy the AL's third and final wild card spot.

Jonah Bride - Oakland A's. Bride has bumped up from Triple A several times this season. He is currently still with Oakland.On the season he is hitting .170 with seven RBIs. Oakland has the worst record in baseball.

Carmen Mlodzinski - Pittsburgh Pirates. Mlodzinski has three appearances since coming off the IL in late August. He has thrown three innings, picking up a win while striking out three to only one walk. For the season he is 3-3 with a 2.03 ERA with 24Ks in 26.2 IP. Pittsburgh has no shot of making the playoffs.

T.J. Hopkins - Cincinnati Reds. Hopkins was sent back down to AAA in the last week of August. T.J. is hitting .171 on the season with a RBI and a stolen base. It's unlikely that Hopkins would make the Reds playoff roster.

Cody Morris- Cleveland Guardians. Morris was called back up and the end of August and has since been sent back to the minors. He pitched four innings in two appearances during his last MLB stint. He allowed three hits and two runs with four walks and three strikeouts. For the season his ERA is 6.75 during six appearances.

The Las Vegas Aces, Connecticut Sun, Atlanta Dream, and Minnesota Lynx have all clinched playoff births. That means A'ja Wilson, Alaina Coates, Allisha Gray, Laeticia Amihere, Ty Harris and Tiffany Mitchell will all be playing playoff basketball.

Aliyah Boston - Indiana Fever. Boston is having one of the best rookie seasons in league history. She leads the league in field goal percentage and is the franchise leaders in rebounds a season. She is currently averaging 30+ minutes a night with 14.5 points, 8.3 boards, 2.3 assists, 1.3 blocks and 1.3 steals per game.

Victaria Saxton - Indiana Fever. Saxton has played in 14 games. She is now averaging 1.4 ppg, 0.6 rpg.

Zia Cooke - LA Sparks. Cooke has played in 37 games this season mostly in a reserve role. She is averaging 4.6 points per game. Zia is playing better off the bench this season and has struggled when given the opportunity to start.

Destanni Henderson - Henderson's contract was terminated by the Sparks after they got another guard back from injury. Henderson played well in her brief stint and should get another opportunity. In ten games she posted: 5.0 ppg, 2.5 apg. She's in Europe playing now.

Tiffany Mitchell - Minnesota Lynx. The longest-tenured WNBA Gamecocks has started 19 of the Lynx games this season. She's been back in the starting lineup the last few weeks. Mitchell is averaging 7.3 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 2.2 assists a night.

Tyasha Harris - Connecticut Sun. Harris has been the Sun's sharpshooter off the bench as she is currently tied for the lead in three-point percentage. Harris' numbers on the year are a solid 5.4 ppg, 1.7 apg, 0.8 rpg. She is shooting 44.4% from three.

Laeticia Amihere - Atlanta Dream. Amihere has appeared in 19 games this season averaging 7.3 minutes a game with 2.9 points and a rebound a game.

Allisha Gray - Atlanta Dream. Outside of Boston and Wilson, Gray is having the best season of all of Dawn's former birdies. Gray was an All-Star with Aliyah Boston and A'ja Wilson. Gray is averaging 17.2 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 3.2 apg, 1.1 spg.

A'ja Wilson - Las Vegas Aces. A'ja is making strong to retain her MVP crown. She's posted 76 points in her last three games with 29 rebounds. Her stat line is an impressive 22.3 ppg, 9.6 rpg, 2.32 bpg, 1.6 apg, 1.3 spg.

Alaina Coates - Las Vegas Aces. Coates has appeared in eight games for the Aces averaging 3.3 minutes a night and 1.1 points and 1.3 rebounds a contest. Coates has played in 86 WNBA games with seven different franchises.