9 Former Shorebirds Star in 2026 MLB Playoffs

The 2026 MLB Playoffs begin today, Tuesday, September 29, and there's plenty of former Shorebirds set to star this postseason! From the West Coast to the East Coast and everywhere in between, 9 former Shorebirds who started their career here on Delmarva will get the chance to shine on baseball's biggest stage!

As a 7x All-Star and 1x Platinum Glove winner, Manny Machado once again leads the Padres into postseason baseball. His professional baseball roots though? Those can be traced back to Salisbury, Maryland in 2011 where he burst on the scene at shortstop and cemented himself as one of the best Shorebirds players in team history! Drafted 3rd overall in 2010, Machado had a brief, but impactful, stint with the Shorebirds hitting .276 with 6 home runs, earned South Atlantic League Player of the Week, and starred on the Mid-Season All-Star team. Now, he's one of the most decorated athletes in baseball and has helped the Padres reach the playoffs in 5 of his 8 seasons in San Diego.

From lockdown third basemen to a lockdown closer, Josh Hader finds himself once again in the high pressure moments and bright lights as the Astros closer is heading into the postseason for the seventh time in his career. A local kid from Millersville, Maryland, Hader played for the Shorebirds back in 2013 rocking a 2.65 ERA and sitting everyone down with 79 strikeouts in just over 70 innings. A 19th-round steal by the Orioles in 2012, Hader has bounced around in the big leagues, but has remained one of the most dominant relief pitchers in baseball no matter which uniform he has donned.

Joining Hader in the postseason with the Astros is Christian Walker, the 3x Gold Glove Winner at first base. Walker was part of that same Shorebirds team in 2013 where he slashed a ridiculous .353/.420/.474 across 31 games for the Shorebirds, before quickly working his way up through High-A Frederick and Double-A Bowie all in the exact same season. Coming out of South Carolina as a 4th-round pick by the Orioles, Walker has put together a great professional career that has landed him in the postseason for the third time.

You'll recognize the name as Mike Yastrzemski find himself back in the postseason in 2026, this time with the Atlanta Braves. Yastrzemski had a dominant 63-game stint in Salisbury in 2014 where he scorched South Atlantic League pitching with a .306/.365/.554 slash line, 10 home runs, 44 RBIs, and 12 stolen bases that earned him SAL Mid-Season All-Star honors. From his humble beginnings in Delmarva, Yastzemski has bounced around with a couple of different MLB teams, while making his second appearance in the MLB postseason this fall.

A dominant center fielder and a member of the Orioles for seven season, Cedric Mullins finds his way back to the postseason, but this time with the Tampa Bay Rays. Playing with the Shorebirds in 2016, Mullins appeared in 124 games racking up 141 hits,14 Home Runs, and casually swiping 30 bases. As a 13th round pick with the Orioles, Mullins is well known for his glove, but don't sleep on his bat as he has collected over 798 big league hits and swiped 168 bases. Mullins is now set to star in his third MLB postseason which will begin this weekend in the ALDS after the Rays earned the first-round bye.

From the Orioles, to the Marlins, to the Padres, to now the Dodgers, left-hander Tanner Scott continues to find himself in postseason baseball. A member of the Shorebirds in 2015, Scott began his journey to becoming one of the most trusted arms out of the bullpen at the MLB level right here on Delmarva. in 2015, Scott posted a 3.86 ERA over 10 relief appearances holding opponents to a .196 batting average. From Delmarva, Scott continued to refine his craft turning into a dominant MLB reliever as 2026 will mark his third postseason appearance.

From starting the year with Team USA in the World Baseball Classic to now helping the Tampa Bay Rays out of the bullpen in the postseason, left-handed reliever Garrett Cleavinger will appear in his second postseason. A member of the Shorebirds in 2016, Cleavinger had 17 relief appearances with a 5-0 record, 4 saves, 1.38 ERA and a 0.92 WHIP across 39.0 innings pitched. He quickly earned a promotion to High-A Frederick before being traded to the Phillies where he would make his MLB debut in 2020. Now a mainstay in the big leagues, Cleavinger has pitched in 7 MLB seasons providing experience and length to the Rays pitching staff.

During his standout 2018 season in Salisbury, DL Hall put up 2.10 ERA and 1.17 WHIP over 22 games (20 starts), racking up 100 strikeouts while yielding just 68 hits in 94.1 innings. Now, Hall finds himself with the Milwaukee Brewers and their 103-win season that landed them the #1 seed in the National League. Hall was a former Orioles first-round pick that was traded to the Brewers in 2024 after making his MLB Debut with the Orioles just months before. Hall now fins himself in the thick of his second postseason in the challenging National League.

The most recent Shorebirds star heading to the postseason is Adley Rutschman who will make his first postseason appearance with the Red Sox, third postseason overall. As one of the headline trades at the 2026 MLB trade deadline, Rutschman was one of the most anticipated players in Shorebirds history from winning a Golden Spikes Award to being the #1 overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft before arriving in Delmarva that same year. The 3x All-Star catcher will now look to anchor the Red Sox staff as they take on their bitter rivals, the New York Yankees, in the AL Wild Card round.

Touching every corner of the diamond, there are plenty of Shorebirds that will be on display this MLB postseason. So, tune in for all the playoffs as we watch former Delmarva stars, whine on baseball's biggest stage.