Play ball
The 2024 Major League Baseball season began in earnest Thursday (the Dodgers and Padres played a two-game series in Seoul last week) and seven former Tigers are on MLB Opening Day rosters.
Josh Smith will be getting his World Series ring as the defending champion Texas Rangers begin their title defense in Arlington against the Cubs.
Smith might be getting a World Series ring, but I’d argue that Aaron Nola is an even bigger winner as he was rewarded by the Philadelphia Phillies with a seven-year $172 million contract in November.
Speaking of former Tiger aces, Kevin Gausman is coming off an All-Star season with the Toronto Blue Jays, while Alex Lange is the Detroit Tigers’ closer.
Three other position players made Opening Day rosters and they’re the names you would expect. Alex Bregman is entering his ninth season with the Houston Astros. Bregman is 19 hits away from 1,000 career hits and 35 homers away from 200. Jake Fraley is entering his sixth MLB season and third with the Cincinatti Reds. Meanwhile DJ LeMahieu continues to be LSU’s elder MLB statesman as he’s entering his 14th season in the big leagues. LeMahieu is beginning his sixth season with the New York Yankees.
But what about the first two picks of last summer’s Draft: Paul Skenes and Dylan Crews? Skenes and Crews both got Spring Training invites but they’re going to spend some time in the minors. It probably won’t be long though. Skenes is already in Triple-A (Indianapolis) after just 6.2 innings of minor league work last summer and four innings of Spring Training ball. Crews, on the other hand, will stay in Double-A (Harrisburg). Crews only played in 20 games in the minors last summer and hit .156 in spring.
A call up for both Skenes and Crews in 2024 seems like a matter of when, not if. Skenes is ranked as the No. 3 overall prospect while Crews is ranked seventh.