The former Jacksonville players who have starred this summer

How Jacksonville has made a footprint in MLB's mid-summer classic

Former Jacksonville Sun Clayton Kershaw started the 2022 MLB All-Star Game.

By Matt Davis/Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp

July 25, 2022

The “Come watch the stars of tomorrow, today” catchphrase has been synonymous with Minor League Baseball for several years now. For local and visiting fans to Northeast Florida, that phrase has rung true over decades of Jacksonville baseball. The 92nd MLB All-Star Game on July 19, was proof of that, with several Jacksonville alumni taking the field in Los Angeles. Here’s a glimpse of their time in Jacksonville and their major league careers beyond that:

Clayton Kershaw (Starting pitcher for National League): After being selected in the first round (seventh overall) by the Dodgers in the 2006 MLB Draft, Kershaw made his major league debut on May 25, 2008 against the St. Louis Cardinals. He has thrown over 2,500 total innings with a career ERA of 2.48. He has started in 388 games, posting 192 wins and winning a World Series in 2020. The 2022 season was his ninth All-Star selection over his illustrious 15-year career.

After spending 2006 with the GCL Dodgers, he split time in 2007 between Low-A Great Lakes and Double-A Jacksonville. With the Jacksonville Suns, Kershaw made five starts, going 1-2 with a 3.65 ERA. In 24.2 innings, he allowed 10 earned runs with 17 hits while striking out 29. He returned to the First Coast in 2008, registering a 1.91 ERA in 13 appearances before getting called up to the major leagues for his debut.

Former Jacksonville Sun Giancarlo Stanton was named this year's All-Star Game MVP.

Giancarlo Stanton (All-Star Game MVP): Before being named the 2022 All-Star Game MVP, Stanton was selected in the second round of the 2007 MLB Draft by the Marlins. He made his major league debut on June 8, 2010 against the Philadelphia Phillies. In 13 seasons, Stanton has played in 1,400 games, slashing .267/.356/.541/.898 with 371 home runs. He’s led the league in home runs twice (2014 with 37 and 2017 with 59), both as a member of the Marlins. He earned his fifth All-Star selection in 2022 and was the third Yankee to receive MVP honors (Derek Jeter, 2000; Mariano Rivera, 2013).

Stanton had two stints with the Jacksonville Suns. In 2009, he played in 79 games, slashing .231/.311/.455/.766 with 16 home runs and 53 RBIs. Stanton didn’t spend much time with the Suns in 2010 as he only played in 53 games. In that span, he slashed .313/.442/.729/1.171 with 21 home runs and 52 RBIs. Those fantastic stats earned him a call to play with the Marlins and he played in 100 games in The Show that season, smacking 22 home runs with an .833 OPS.

Luis Castillo: Castillo originally signed with the San Francisco Giants in December 2011 as an international free agent and spent three seasons in their farm system before being traded to the Marlins in 2014. He was then dealt to the Cincinnati Reds in January 2017 along with RHP Austin Brice and OF Isaiah White for RHP Dan Straily. He made his major league debut on June 23, 2017 against the Washington Nationals, pitching five innings, and allowing just two runs on five hits with five strikeouts. His 2022 All-Star selected marked the second such honor of his career (2019).

In 2016, Castillo made three appearances with Jacksonville in the Southern League. In 14 innings, he allowed six earned runs for an ERA of 3.86 and tallied 12 strikeouts.

Starling Marte: After signing with the Pittsburgh Pirates as an international free agent in 2007, Marte made his major league debut on July 26, 2012 against the Houston Astros, going 2-for-4 with a home run. After spending eight years with the Pirates, he was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks in January 2020. He played in 33 games with Arizona before being traded again to the Miami Marlins on August 31, 2020 for LHP Caleb Smith, RHP Humberto Mejía and LHP Julio Frias. Between Arizona and Miami, Marte batted .281/.340/.430/.770 with six home runs and 27 RBIs in 61 games. The 2022 season was Marte’s second time being selected as an All-Star, with the honor being his first selection as a member of the Mets.

As a member of the Marlins, Marte played in two games with Jacksonville on a rehab assignment in 2021.

Former Jumbo Shrimp Jazz Chisholm Jr. was named an All-Star for the first time in his career this season. (Joey Mims/Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp)

Jazz Chisholm Jr.: Chisholm Jr. was originally signed as an international free agent by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2015. He was eventually traded to the Marlins in 2019 for RHP Zac Gallen and then made his major league debut on September 2, 2020 against the Toronto Blue Jays. Chisholm Jr. earned his first All-Star selection in 2022 as the starting second baseman for the National League.

Chisholm Jr. had two stints with Jacksonville, one as a member of the Double-A Southern League and one as a member of Triple-A East. In 2019 following the trade, Chisholm Jr. played in 23 games for the Jumbo Shrimp, slashing .284/.383/.494/.877 with three home runs and 10 RBIs. His second stint came in 2021 in Triple-A East where he hit .444/.500/.889/1.389 with one home run and four RBIs in four games as part of a rehab stint. He played in 124 games in 2021 for the Marlins, batting .248/.303/.425/.728 while clubbing 18 home runs and driving in 53 runs. He also stole 23 bases.

Garrett Cooper: Cooper was originally selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the sixth round of the 2013 MLB Draft. After playing five seasons in the Brewers’ farm system, he was traded to the New York Yankees in 2017 for LHP Tyler Webb. Cooper made his major league debut with the Yankees later that year on July 14, 2017 against the Boston Red Sox. He was named a 2022 NL All-Star, the first selection of his career, after hitting .281/.349/.434/.783 with seven home runs and 40 RBIs in 81 games with Miami.

Cooper played for Jacksonville in 2021 as part of a rehab assignment. In two games, he went 2-for-5.

Dave Roberts: After being drafted twice (Cleveland, 47th round/1993 and Detroit, 28th round/1994), Roberts made his major league debut on August 7, 1999 against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He had a nine-year career, playing for the Cleveland Guardians, Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants. Perhaps his most notable highlight came with Boston in 2004. when he stole second off Mariano Rivera in the 2004 ALCS and sparked the Red Sox to their first championship in 86 years. Following his playing career, he was hired in 2015 to be the manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He has taken the Dodgers to the playoffs in all six of his years with the club, winning the World Series in 2020.

Roberts had three stints with the Jacksonville Suns from 1996-1998. Over those three seasons, he hit .336/.458/.420/.878 with 38 doubles, seven triples, nine home runs and 83 RBIs and 44 steals.