The Major League Baseball playoffs started Tuesday, and seven former Mississippi State players are competing on their sport’s biggest stage.

For the Texas Rangers, first baseman Nathaniel Lowe and pitcher Chris Stratton are facing off against the Tampa Bay Rays in an American League Wild Card series. Lowe, a 13th-round pick in the 2016 MLB Draft, batted .262 this season with 17 home runs and 82 RBIs. Stratton, who was drafted in the first round in 2012 by the San Francisco Giants, was traded to the Rangers from the St. Louis Cardinals in July, and he pitched a total of 82 ⅔ innings with a 3.92 ERA.

The Baltimore Orioles await the winner of the Rangers-Rays series, and they also have a pair of former Bulldogs in second baseman Adam Frazier and rookie infielder Jordan Westburg. Frazier, a sixth-round pick in 2013 by the Pittsburgh Pirates, hit .240 this year for Baltimore with 13 home runs and 60 RBIs. Westburg, drafted 30th overall in 2020, batted .260 in 68 games for the Orioles.

Rookie pitcher J.P. France, a 14th-round pick in 2018 by the Houston Astros, went 11-6 with a 3.83 ERA in 136 ⅓ innings for the defending World Series champions. Houston also has journeyman pitcher Kendall Graveman, an eighth-round pick in 2013 by the Toronto Blue Jays. In 66 ⅓ innings this season for the Chicago White Sox and Astros, Graveman pitched to a 3.12 ERA. The Astros will play either the Blue Jays or the Minnesota Twins in the AL Division Series.

Brandon Woodruff, drafted in the 11th round in 2014 by the Milwaukee Brewers, was outstanding this season in limited work, going 5-1 with a 2.28 ERA in just 11 starts. Woodruff is not on the Brewers’ roster for the National League Wild Card series against the Arizona Diamondbacks as he continues to deal with a shoulder injury.