Josh Lucas becomes latest local to make MLB debut

With college and pro football around the corner and the pro baseball season winding down, there are plenty of Hometown Heroes to check on.

Josh Lucas, who previously called Bradenton home during his junior college career, added his name to State College of Florida’s Major League Baseball tradition this past weekend.

The St. Louis Cardinals called up Lucas on Saturday, which means Lucas became the 30th player in the nearly 60-year history of SCF to earn an MLB promotion.

He’s the first former SCF player since Nick Goody, who debuted in the majors with the Yankees in 2015, to receive a big-league call-up.

Prior to the promotion, the 26-year-old Lucas converted 14 of 17 save opportunities with the Memphis Redbirds, the Cards’ Triple-A club that competes in the Pacific Coast League.

The Cardinals didn’t waste time seeing what Lucas could do at the MLB level.

Fittingly, he made his debut against Bradenton’s spring training tenants, the Pittsburgh Pirates. Lucas threw two innings, striking out two but also giving up a solo home run to Jose Osuna.

Nonetheless, Lucas’ promotion produced a big Hometown Hero moment.

Elsewhere

Joe Hills: The Palmetto High alumnus continues proving how good of a wide receiver he is after yet another phenomenal Arena Football League season.

Whether he gets a NFL shot or not is anyone’s guess, but one thing is clear: Hills, who plays for the Tampa Bay Storm, is a beast in the AFL. The league announced Hills and five other Storm players earned First Team All-Arena honors. Hills led the league with 1,353 receiving yards and 36 receiving touchdowns. Hills also set the AFL record for consecutive games with a receiving touchdown last month.

Now he has his sights on an AFL championship, something Tampa Bay hasn’t done since 2003. The Storm will battle the Philadelphia Soul in ArenaBowl XXX at 7 p.m. Saturday at Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center.

Cord Sandberg: The former multi-sport star at Manatee High earned his second promotion of the 2017 season back in July, but he isn’t showing signs of slowing down. Entering Monday’s game, Sandberg was hittin .268 with a .287 on-base percentage and .454 slugging percentage for Double-A Reading (Pa.).

Sandberg ended 2016 with Clearwater in the Florida State League, but a pitch off his face left him rehabbing through the offseason. That meant Sandberg began the 2016 season down one level playing for Lakewood (N.J.). Then Sandberg received the first of his two promotions when he returned to Clearwater in June. Sandberg spent less than a month there before the Philadelphia Phillies promoted him to Reading for Double-A ball on July 4.

Brad Zunica: The Lakewood Ranch High and State College of Florida alumnus saw his impressive season with the Fort Wayne (Ind.) TinCaps hit a roadblock on Aug. 10 when he broke a bone in his right foot.

Zunica is expected to miss three to six weeks. According to the Fort Wayne (Ind.) Journal Gazette, TinCaps manager Anthony Conteras said he doesn’t think Zunica needs surgery.

Zunica is a big reason why the TinCaps, the San Diego Padres’ Single-A affiliate, set a franchise home run record. He tallied 18 homers as part of the 103 that broke the previous franchise mark.

Mike Ohlman: The former Lakewood Ranch High star baseball player made his second stint with the Toronto Blue Jays earlier this month. Toronto recalled Ohlman on August 12 but designated him for assignment on August 16. A catcher, Ohlman went 1-for-4 in two games during the recent call up.

Seth McGarry: Since the Pittsburgh Pirates traded McGarry to the Philadelphia Phillies last month, it’s been a rocky transition for the right-handed pitcher.

McGarry, who plays in high-Single A ball, has made nine appearances for the Clearwater Threshers following his trade deadline move. Entering Monday’s action, McGarry is 0-3 with a 5.40 ERA in 10 innings.

The Lakewood Ranch High alumnus also has matched his prior season total in runs allowed, giving up six during his time with Clearwater compared to the six allowed in 31 games with the Bradenton Marauders prior to the trade.

This story was originally published August 21, 2017 at 4:58 PM with the headline "Josh Lucas becomes latest local to make MLB debut."