NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Vanderbilt boasts eight players on Major League Baseball rosters while another pair are among their respective club’s 40-man rosters as teams begin their seasons Tuesday.
The group includes Walker Buehler (Los Angeles Dodgers), Curt Casali (Cincinnati Reds), Sonny Gray (Cincinnati Reds), Tony Kemp (Houston Astros), Mike Minor (Texas Rangers), David Price (Boston Red Sox), Dansby Swanson (Atlanta Braves) and Kyle Wright (Atlanta Braves).
Drew VerHagen (Detroit Tigers) opens the season on the 10-day injured list while nursing a strained forearm. Tyler Beede (San Francisco Giants), who made two MLB starts a season ago, also begins the season on the 40-man roster.
Coming to a ballpark near you. ⚾️#VandyBoys | #OpeningDay pic.twitter.com/dZHQNTYTSW
— Vanderbilt Baseball (@VandyBoys) March 28, 2019
Five pitchers garner an opening week start including Minor who gets the ball Thursday against the Cubs. Gray will make his Reds’ debut on Saturday against Pittsburgh while Buehler and Wright get their seasons underway on Sunday against the Arizona and Philadelphia. Price starts Monday against Oakland.
The SEC leads all leagues with 85 players on opening day rosters. The ACC ranks second with 47 followed by the Pac-12 with 45.
No. 6 Vanderbilt opens a three-game series against Tennessee at 6:30 p.m. Saturday’s middle game is scheduled for 8 p.m. and Sunday’s finale will get underway at 2 p.m. The final two games are set to air on the SEC Network.
