All-Time 25, Victory Field Era Roster: Nos. 21-18

The illustrious history of the Indianapolis Indians features some of the best players to ever step on a baseball diamond over the past century. Now, as we approach the 25th anniversary of a beautiful ballpark in downtown Indianapolis, we’ve broken down the best players to step foot on the grass at Victory Field.

On Jan. 29, we released a lengthy list of honorable mentions and Nos. 25-22 to begin the countdown that will lead up to the announcement of the top player in the Victory Field era the week of March 9. Some you may remember because of their fan-favorite status in Indianapolis and others because of their future place in Cooperstown, but no matter how you remember them, they all made their mark on the game of baseball in Indianapolis.

#21 – SP Zach Duke (2005, 2007)

With a 12-3 record and 2.92 ERA in 2005, Zach Duke was named the International League Most Valuable Pitcher and kicked off a major league career that continues today. He led Indianapolis in both wins and ERA and was the second consecutive Indians starter to win the league’s top pitching award after Ben Hendrickson in 2004.

On May 3, 2005, Duke fanned 11 batters in 6.2 two-hit innings at Toledo for his best performance in an Indians uniform. That same season, he made 14 starts for Pittsburgh and went 8-2 with a 1.81 ERA to finish fifth in National League Rookie of the Year voting. He was a regular starter in Pittsburgh for six seasons, one of which landed him on the NL All-Star team and has since moved to Cincinnati’s bullpen.

Indianapolis Stats & Accolades

17 games/17 starts, 12-4 record, 2.98 ERA, 111.2 IP, 115 H, 41 R, 37 ER, 8 HR, 25 BB, 67 K, 1.25 WHIP, .273 AVG

2005 Futures Game Selection, 2005 International League mid and postseason All-Star, 2005 International League Most Valuable Pitcher, 2005 Baseball America Triple-A All-Star

MLB Stats & Accolades

570 games/169 starts, 69-91 record, 4 SV, 4.31 ERA, 1,360.0 IP, 1,554 H, 714 R, 651 ER, 132 HR, 419 BB, 854 K, 1.45 WHIP, .291 AVG

2009 National League All-Star

#20 – OF Rajai Davis (2006-07)

Before his Game 7 home run off Aroldis Chapman in the 2016 World Series, Rajai Davis made his way onto the Indianapolis leaderboards with 45 stolen bases in 2006 and a 21-game hitting streak in 2007, both of which are Victory Field era records.

After hitting .364 with 13 extra-base hits, 13 RBI and eight stolen bases during those 21 games, Davis was recalled by Pittsburgh and never returned to Indianapolis to extend his streak. In the big leagues, he established himself as a speed demon on the basepaths, swiping a career-high 50 bags in 2010 with Oakland and an American League-leading 43 in 2016 with Cleveland.

Indianapolis Stats & Accolades

153 games, .295 AVG (176-for-596), 84 R, 29 2B, 5 3B, 6 HR, 51 RBI, 72 SB, .744 OPS

N/A

MLB Stats & Accolades

1,448 games, .262 AVG (1,111-for-4,244), 637 R, 226 2B, 43 3B, 62 HR, 387 RBI, 415 SB, .690 OPS

N/A

#19 – RP Danny Graves (1997-98)

Two seasons in Indianapolis propelled Danny Graves to an impressive career with the Reds. After being traded to Cincinnati from Cleveland in July 1997, Graves found himself in the Circle City for the first time in his career and trimmed his ERA from Buffalo to Indy by over one run (4.19 to 3.09). When he returned to begin the 1998 season, he improved his strikeout-to-walk ratio while dropping to a 1.93 ERA in 13 relief appearances. On May 14, he made his first appearance with the Reds for the year and never returned to Indianapolis.

Graves spent parts of nine seasons with Cincinnati and amassed 182 saves, a 3.94 ERA and 388 strikeouts. He earned National League All-Star bids in 2000 and 2004, placing him alongside B.J. Ryan as the only Indianapolis relievers from the Victory Field era to make two All-Star teams in the majors.

Indianapolis Stats & Accolades

24 games/0 starts, 2-0 record, 5 SV, 2.45 ERA, 25.2 IP, 22 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 1 HR, 8 BB, 16 K, 1.17 WHIP, .237 AVG

N/A

MLB Stats & Accolades

518 games/30 starts, 43-44 record, 182 SV, 4.05 ERA, 808.1 IP, 857 H, 416 R, 364 ER, 96 HR, 271 BB, 429 K, 1.40 WHIP, .274 AVG

2000 and 2004 National League All-Star (Cincinnati)

#18 – SP Jameson Taillon (2013, 2016-17)

Rated as the Pirates No. 2 prospect by Baseball America in 2013, Indians fans saw the future of Pittsburgh’s pitching staff take the mound at Victory Field for the first time. After six Triple-A outings to round out the 2013 season, Taillon did not see professional action again until 2016 after his first of two Tommy John surgeries sidelined him for 2014-15. When he did return, however, he was even better than when he first came through Triple-A. In 10 starts for the Indians during that comeback 2016 season, he went 4-2 with a 2.04 ERA, 0.81 WHIP and an impressive 10.17 strikeout-to-walk ratio (61 K, 6 BB).

Taillon made his major league debut on June 8, 2016 and had since made himself into one of the most reliable starters the Pirates had, when healthy. In 2018, his last full season in the majors to date, Taillon went 14-10 with a 3.20 ERA and 179 strikeouts in 32 starts. He then made seven starts in 2019 before more arm troubles led to his second Tommy John surgery, forcing him to miss the rest of 2019 and the entire 2020 campaign. Despite multiple Tommy John surgeries, Taillon’s value still garnered four prospects for the Pirates in a trade last month with the Yankees.

Indianapolis Stats & Accolades

18 games/18 starts, 5-6 record, 2.87 ERA, 109.2 IP, 87 H, 36 R, 35 ER, 3 HR, 24 BB, 113 K, 1.01 WHIP, .213 AVG

N/A

MLB Stats & Accolades

82 games/82 starts, 29-24 record, 3.67 ERA, 466.0 IP, 464 H, 202 R, 190 ER, 48 HR, 117 BB, 419 K, 1.25 WHIP, .259 AVG

4/9/2018 National League Player of the Week