HawgBeat - Pro Hogs on Opening Day MLB Rosters
HawgBeat details which former Arkansas baseball players are on Opening Day MLB Rosters.
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The 2023 Major League Baseball season will get underway today and there is a solid group of former Razorbacks that have found themselves on Opening Day rosters.
Eight alumni from Dave Van Horn’s baseball program are active on an MLB roster as the season gets started and the Road to October begins.
Here's where some familiar names are at:
James McCann - Catcher, Baltimore Orioles
The former Razorbacks catcher battled through injuries in 2022 and was traded after the season from the New York Mets to the Baltimore Orioles along with cash considerations for a minor league outfielder.
McCann is looking for a home with the O’s after spending less than two seasons with his last two teams. The catcher played in 11 games for Baltimore in spring training and batted .188 with two runs on six hits and struck out six times in his 32 at-bats. McCann is looking to be a contributing piece in getting the Orioles their first trip to the playoffs since 2016.
Jalen Beeks - Pitcher, Tampa Bay Rays
Beeks has been a mainstay on the Tampa Bay Rays pitching staff since being traded by the Red Sox in 2018. The lefty from Prairie Grove pitched in a career-high 42 games last season for the Rays and could massively help Tampa Bay's return to the postseason for a fifth consecutive season. Beeks was used sparingly in spring training, pitching in just 7 1/3 innings and boasting a 2.45 ERA.
Andrew Benintendi - Outfielder, Chicago White Sox
The White Sox picked up Benintendi in the offseason and signed him to 5-year deal worth $75 million. The 2022 MLB All-Star was traded from the Kansas City Royals to the New York Yankees as a part of a three-team trade with the Mets last season.
Benintendi was sidelined for most of the second half of the season due to a wrist injury that required surgery. Like most projected Opening Day starters, Benintendi did not see much playing time in spring training with just 37 at-bats.
Trevor Stephan - Pitcher, Cleveland Guardians
Stephan is back on the Guardians' Opening Day roster for a third straight year after making his MLB debut nearly two years to the day.
The right-handed pitcher was drafted by the Yankees in 2018 but could only make it past Double-A Trenton. In 2020, Stephan was selected in the Rule 5 draft by the Guardians. The former Razorback picked up a win during spring training, but the 7.94 ERA was inflated by a couple of bad innings during the seven games he pitched.
Ryne Stanek - Pitcher, Houston Astros
It is pretty crazy to think this will be just Stanek’s fifth full season in the majors. The 2022 World Series champion made his debut with the Rays in 2017 after spending four seasons in the minors before getting the call.
Stanek went 2-1 in 2022 with a career-low 1.15 ERA in 59 games. The righty will be a crucial piece out of the pen as Houston’s title defense begins.
Zach Jackson - Pitcher, Oakland Athletics
Of the players that made their MLB debuts in 2022, Zach Jackson was one of them.
Jackson was picked up by the Oakland Athletics in the same Rule 5 draft that saw Trevor Stephan move to Cleveland. Jackson also moved out of the AL East with the Toronto Blue Jays and headed west for the A’s. The Tulsa, Oklahoma, native went 2-3 last season with a 3.00 ERA, but struck out 67 batters in 48 innings.
Drew Smyly - Pitcher, Chicago Cubs
Smyly will be pitching for a seventh different team since making his debut with the Detroit Tigers over a decade ago. He started 22 games with the Chicago Cubs, his current team, in 2022 and struck out 91 of the 447 batters he faced.
After the end of last season, Smyly became a free agent but resigned with the Cubs for a two-year, $19 million deal that allows him to opt out of the current after the season if he chooses.
Brian Anderson - Infielder, Milwaukee Brewers
Anderson is entering his first season with the Brew Crew in Milwaukee after spending the last five in South Florida with the Marlins.
The former Razorback third baseman signed a one-year, $3.5 million deal with the Brewers after becoming a free agent in 2022. Of all the current former Razorbacks in the majors, none had a more productive spring training than Anderson, as he batted .338 with seven runs on 13 hits and three home runs.
