Kelowna Falcons

WCL In MLB

This year, a record 31 players with West Coast League experience have earned spots on Major League Baseball Opening Day rosters, four of which are former Falcons. What’s more, three of those players—reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber, of the Cleveland Indians; the Seattle Mariners’ Marco Gonzales; and the Detroit Tigers’ Matt Boyd—will serve as their teams’ Opening Day starting pitchers.

Here is the list of West Coast League alumni on MLB Opening Day rosters in 2021:

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Matt Andriese (Corvallis), Boston Red Sox
Shane Bieber (Cowlitz), Cleveland Indians
Matt Boyd (Corvallis), Detroit Tigers
Griffin Canning (Wenatchee), Los Angeles Angels
*Chris Davis (Kelowna), Baltimore Orioles
Jace Fry (Corvallis), Chicago White Sox
Kyle Garlick (Cowlitz), Minnesota Twins
Marco Gonzales (Wenatchee), Seattle Mariners
Mitch Haniger (Corvallis), Seattle Mariners
Cole Irvin (Cowlitz), Oakland A’s
Ramon Laureano (Medford), Oakland A’s
Nicky Lopez (Bend), Kansas City Royals
Nick Madrigal (Corvallis), Chicago White Sox
Phil Maton (Kelowna), Cleveland Indians (pictured)
James Paxton (Kelowna), Seattle Mariners

Nick Pivetta (Victoria), Boston Red Sox
Tarik Skubal (Kitsap), Detroit Tigers
Pat Valaika (Wenatchee), Baltimore Orioles
Andrew Vaughn (Victoria), Chicago White Sox

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Tyler Anderson (Corvallis), Pittsburgh Pirates
*Jeff Brigham (Bend), Miami Marlins
Adam Cimber (Kitsap), Miami Marlins
Matt Duffy (Corvallis), Chicago Cubs
Keston Hiura (Wenatchee), Milwaukee Brewers
Rhys Hoskins (Kitsap), Philadelphia Phillies
David Peterson (Medford), New York Mets
Drew Rasmussen (Wenatchee), Milwaukee Brewers
Eric Sogard (Bend), Chicago Cubs
Ryan Tepera (Kelowna), Chicago Cubs
Taylor Williams (Cowlitz), San Diego Padres
Eric Yardley (Walla Walla), Milwaukee Brewers

*On injured list

That list of WCL/MLB players this year is sure to grow. During the pandemic-shortened 2020 MLB season, 42 alumni of West Coast League teams played in the major leagues.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *