Photo by: Milwaukee Brewers
#STATEtoTheShow: 2021 Opening Day
April 01, 2021 | Baseball
Diamond Dawgs see nine alums on MLB Opening Day active rosters
STARKVILLE –Fans of the Mississippi State baseball program will have a host of Diamond Dawg alums to cheer for when Major League Baseball Opening Day takes center stage on Thursday, April 1. Nine former student-athletes have earned spots on active rosters as the 2021 season kicks off.
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Headlining the group is Brandon Woodruff (2012-14) who will become the first Milwaukee Brewer to make consecutive Opening Day starts on the mound since Yovani Gallardo started five straight openers for the Crew in 2010-14. Woodruff will toe the rubber at 1:10 p.m. CT against the Minnesota Twins in Milwaukee. In 2020, Woodruff tied for the Major League lead with 13 starts while ranking among National League leaders in average against (No. 4; .204), hits per nine innings (No. 4; 6.72), WHIP (No. 5; 0.99), strikeouts per nine innings (No. 7; 11.1) and ERA (No. 9; 3.05).
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The duo of Adam Frazier (2011-13) and Chris Stratton (2010-12) will again help lead Pittsburg in the National League Central Division. Frazier is slated to make his fifth straight Opening Day start for the Pirates after hitting a blistering .488 with a 1.372 OPS in 14 Spring Training games. Ten of his 21 hits went for extra bases in preseason camp, while he enters as one of the top defensive second basemen in in the MLB with back-to-back seasons of .994 or better fielding. MSU has another connection in Pittsburgh, as David Bednar, brother of current MSU starting pitcher Will Bednar, is also on the Opening Day active roster for the Pirates.
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The American League West Division is stocked full of Diamond Dawgs as Kendall Graveman (2010-13), Nathaniel Lowe (2016) and Mitch Moreland (2005-07) all reside out west to begin the season. Graveman will be a part of the Seattle Mariners bullpen, Lowe trades his beach chair for a cowboy hat as he joins the Texas Rangers for the 2021 season and Moreland will look to get his own hand-painted sign in the outfield at the Oakland Coliseum as a member of the Oakland Athletics.
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Finally, Hunter Renfroe (2011-13) joins the Boston Red Sox for his eighth professional season. The outfielder spent his first six MLB seasons in San Diego, before helping the Tampa Bay Rays to the World Series in 2020. He will now look to familiarize himself with the Green Monster, after Boston traded for the right-handed hitter in the offseason. Prior to arriving in Starkville, Renfroe was originally drafted by the Red Sox out of high school in 2010.
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Jonathan Holder (2010-13) will begin the 2021 season with the National League club in Chicago, after spending the last five seasons with New York's American League affiliate. Dakota Hudson (2014-16) will begin the 2021 season on the injured reserve in St. Louis, as he recovers from Tommy John surgery.
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Diamond Dawg Season Openers (All times central)
Thursday, April 1
1:10 p.m. – Baltimore at Boston (Renfroe)
1:10 p.m. – Minnesota at Milwaukee (Woodruff)
1:20 p.m. – Pittsburgh (Frazier, Stratton) at Chicago Cubs (Holder)
2:10 p.m. – St. Louis (Hudson) at Cincinnati
3:10 p.m. – Texas (Lowe) at Kansas City
9:07 p.m. – Houston at Oakland (Moreland)
9:10 p.m. – San Francisco at Seattle (Graveman)
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Headlining the group is Brandon Woodruff (2012-14) who will become the first Milwaukee Brewer to make consecutive Opening Day starts on the mound since Yovani Gallardo started five straight openers for the Crew in 2010-14. Woodruff will toe the rubber at 1:10 p.m. CT against the Minnesota Twins in Milwaukee. In 2020, Woodruff tied for the Major League lead with 13 starts while ranking among National League leaders in average against (No. 4; .204), hits per nine innings (No. 4; 6.72), WHIP (No. 5; 0.99), strikeouts per nine innings (No. 7; 11.1) and ERA (No. 9; 3.05).
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The duo of Adam Frazier (2011-13) and Chris Stratton (2010-12) will again help lead Pittsburg in the National League Central Division. Frazier is slated to make his fifth straight Opening Day start for the Pirates after hitting a blistering .488 with a 1.372 OPS in 14 Spring Training games. Ten of his 21 hits went for extra bases in preseason camp, while he enters as one of the top defensive second basemen in in the MLB with back-to-back seasons of .994 or better fielding. MSU has another connection in Pittsburgh, as David Bednar, brother of current MSU starting pitcher Will Bednar, is also on the Opening Day active roster for the Pirates.
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The American League West Division is stocked full of Diamond Dawgs as Kendall Graveman (2010-13), Nathaniel Lowe (2016) and Mitch Moreland (2005-07) all reside out west to begin the season. Graveman will be a part of the Seattle Mariners bullpen, Lowe trades his beach chair for a cowboy hat as he joins the Texas Rangers for the 2021 season and Moreland will look to get his own hand-painted sign in the outfield at the Oakland Coliseum as a member of the Oakland Athletics.
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Finally, Hunter Renfroe (2011-13) joins the Boston Red Sox for his eighth professional season. The outfielder spent his first six MLB seasons in San Diego, before helping the Tampa Bay Rays to the World Series in 2020. He will now look to familiarize himself with the Green Monster, after Boston traded for the right-handed hitter in the offseason. Prior to arriving in Starkville, Renfroe was originally drafted by the Red Sox out of high school in 2010.
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Jonathan Holder (2010-13) will begin the 2021 season with the National League club in Chicago, after spending the last five seasons with New York's American League affiliate. Dakota Hudson (2014-16) will begin the 2021 season on the injured reserve in St. Louis, as he recovers from Tommy John surgery.
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Diamond Dawg Season Openers (All times central)
Thursday, April 1
1:10 p.m. – Baltimore at Boston (Renfroe)
1:10 p.m. – Minnesota at Milwaukee (Woodruff)
1:20 p.m. – Pittsburgh (Frazier, Stratton) at Chicago Cubs (Holder)
2:10 p.m. – St. Louis (Hudson) at Cincinnati
3:10 p.m. – Texas (Lowe) at Kansas City
9:07 p.m. – Houston at Oakland (Moreland)
9:10 p.m. – San Francisco at Seattle (Graveman)
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Players Mentioned
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