Around the Curve | Curve Alums Featured on MLB Playoff Rosters

CURVE, Pa. – As summer turns to fall, the leaves and temperature start to drop, but in baseball, the intensity begins to rise. The MLB Playoffs kicked off with the Wildcard Round this week, and seven former Altoona Curve players are going to battle for the World Series title.

Four of the seven played with Altoona as Minor Leaguers on their way to the show, while three others arrived in Curve, PA on a rehab assignment. With the Pirates narrowly missing out on the postseason, here is your Curve, PA Rooting Guide to the 2026 Postseason!

Gerrit Cole – New York Yankees

Cole was not needed in the Yankees’ Wild Card Round sweep of the Red Sox, meaning that he could be lined up for a Game One start against the Tampa Bay Rays in the Divisional Round. Cole, who missed the 2025 season due to Tommy John Surgery, didn’t start his 2026 campaign until late May, finishing the season 10-9 with a 3.61 ERA in 22 starts. As one of the most decorated pitchers in franchise history, Cole has plenty of playoff experience between the Pirates, Astros, and Yankees, but is still in search of his first World Series ring. The former No. 1 overall pick pitched in Altoona in 2012 in his first season as a Minor Leaguer and debuted with the Pirates in 2013.

David Bednar – New York Yankees

Another reason to root on the Bronx Bombers! David Bednar joined the Yankees last summer in a trade deadline deal from Pittsburgh, but his highly celebrated tenure in Pittsburgh cannot be forgotten! The Pittsburgh native was a staple in the Pirates bullpen from 2021 to 2025 and was named a National League All-Star twice in this time. This season, Bednar stacked up 35 saves in 39 attempts, just four shy of a career-high he set with the Pirates in 2023. He made 64 appearances and pitched to a 2.47 ERA. Bednar made his only trip to Altoona in 2024, making one appearance on Major League rehab by tossing a scoreless inning.

Jase Bowen – San Diego Padres

If you are looking for a “feel-good story” for this postseason, look no further than the San Diego Padres! Jase Bowen was a fan-favorite in Altoona, playing with the Curve for eight games in 2023 before spending all of 2024 and most of 2025 in Altoona. Bowen was the Pirates 11^th round selection in 2019 out of Toledo Central Catholic in Ohio and quickly won over fans with his high-energy style of play. He signed with San Diego as a minor league free agent this offseason and just barely missed making the roster out of Spring Training. After a strong showing in Triple-A El Paso, he got his chance on June 2, becoming one of 15 Curve alums to make his Major League debut this season. He has remained on the Padres roster ever since, playing in 83 regular season games as an extra outfielder. Now, he’ll get his first chance at playing in the postseason!

Tyler Glasnow – Los Angeles Dodgers

Another former Altoona ace who will toe the rubber this postseason is Tyler Glasnow, who is looking to help lead the Dodgers to a three-peat. Glasnow missed significant time this season due to low back spasms, but it does allow him to be fresh with only 74 innings on his arm this year. Another alumnus with significant postseason experience, this will be Glasnow’s sixth October run and second with the Dodgers, after he made six appearances with three starts and a 1.69 ERA last year to earn his second ring. With a rotation featuring Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tarik Skubal, and Blake Snell, Glasnow won’t be the only superstar looking to pitch the Dodgers to the title. Glasnow pitched in Altoona in 2015 and 2016 before debuting with the Pirates in 2016.

Joe Musgrove – San Diego Padres

It was a bit of a shock when the Padres announced that Joe Musgrove would make their Wild Card roster, considering the last time he stood on a mound was nearly two years prior. The right-hander underwent elbow surgery in the 2024 offseason and missed the entire 2025 and 2026 campaigns trying to rehab. That long road will lead him back to the mound this postseason, where he will join the bullpen and try to help his hometown team capture a World Series title. Musgrove pitched for the Pirates from 2018-2020 and made one rehab start with Altoona in 2018.

Clay Holmes – Chicago Cubs

Clay Holmes has re-written the story of his career over the last two seasons. After breaking into the Majors in the bullpen with the Pirates, Holmes spent parts of four seasons in the Yankees bullpen, serving as their closer for three seasons. 2025 brought changes for Holmes, who moved across town to the Mets and moved into the rotation, a place he had not been since his Minor League days with the Pirates. He made 31 starts last season and 18 this year, becoming a trade deadline acquisition by the Cubs. Holmes did not get a chance to take the mound before the Padres swept the Cubs in the Wildcard, but the right-hander has rejuvenated his career and will look to be a key piece of Chicago’s rotation in 2027. Holmes made 26 starts with the Curve in 2016, winning 10 games with a 4.22 ERA.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa – Boston Red Sox

A veteran infielder who has played with five organizations, Isiah Kiner-Falefa made his Pirates organizational debut with Altoona in 2024. After Pittsburgh acquired him from Toronto for infielder Charles McAdoo, he began his Pirates tenure on a rehab assignment with the Curve, playing in one game before joining the Pirates. IKF joined the Red Sox this season and played in 66 games, making the Wildcard Roster as a veteran bench infielder. He did not appear in either of Boston’s games in New York before the Red Sox were swept by the Yankees. He will once again become a free agent this offseason.