As 28 Major League Baseball teams celebrate Opening Day on Friday, three Saint Ignatius High School alumni are on pro rosters.
Derek Dietrich '07, Luke Farrell '09, Nick Margevicius '14 have all made MLB rosters in advance of the abbreviated 2020 season.
The start of the season has led to plenty of roster upheaval all over the league, as teams work to fill spots with some testing positive for COVID-19. But despite the roster turbulence, the Wildcats will have three representatives in the big leagues to start the season.
Dietrich started out camp with the Cincinnati Reds, looking to play in the Queen City again after a nice 2019 campaign, which included a dynamite start. Dietrich hit a career-best 19 home runs, adding 43 RBIs. Interestingly, he was near the league lead for hit by pitches with 25. But the Reds decided to part ways, so Dietrich searched for another team. It took him less than three days to find a new home.
Dietrich quickly found a new team, a division rival for his old ballclub. The Cleveland native signed a deal with the Chicago Cubs. The utility player will look to catch on with the Cubs as the rosters evolve over the next couple of weeks.
Meanwhile, Farrell made the cut for the Texas Rangers' initial roster. The 4-year MLB veteran will be a reliever for the Rangers, following a nice 2019 season. Farrell appeared in 9 games, starting once, tabbing a 2.70 ERA in 13.1 innings.
Farrell is nine pitchers starting the year in the Texas bullpen. As rosters begin to shrink over the next few weeks, Farrell will look to pitch well to stay on the major league roster.
Margevicius also caught on with the big league club after moving in the offseason. The hard-throwing lefty spent the 2019 season with the San Diego Padres, starting 12 games. Margevicius enjoyed a nice start but tabbed a 2-6 mark on the year.
In the offseason, Margevicius was designated for assignment by the Padres and was later claimed off waivers by the Seattle Mariners. On Mariners.com, the 6'5" stud is listed as the seventh starter. He'll have chances to impress as a 23-year-older. Margevicius was just the second player to reach the bigs in his draft class when he debuted last spring.