This year, a record 33 players with West Coast League experience have earned spots on Major League Baseball Opening Day rosters. It is the second consecutive season the WCL has set a new record for alumni on MLB Opening Day rosters after there were 31 in 2021.

Former WCL players gearing up to start the season in the big leagues include 2020 American League Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber of the Cleveland Guardians and both Mitch Haniger and Marco Gonzales of the Seattle Mariners.

Rising young standouts like Andrew Vaughn (Chicago White Sox), Keston Hiura (Milwaukee Brewers) and Nick Madrigal (Chicago Cubs) and pitchers Nick Pivetta (Boston Red Sox) and Tarik Skubal (Detroit Tigers) are also set to begin the 2022 campaign in the major leagues.

Here is the list of West Coast League alumni on MLB Opening Day rosters in 2022:

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Shane Bieber (Cowlitz), Cleveland Guardians
Seth Brown (Bend), Oakland A’s
*Griffin Canning (Wenatchee), Los Angeles Angels
Adam Cimber (Kitsap), Toronto Blue Jays
Matt Duffy (Corvallis), Los Angeles Angels
Kyle Garlick (Cowlitz), Minnesota Twins
Marco Gonzales (Wenatchee), Seattle Mariners
Mitch Haniger (Corvallis), Seattle Mariners
Spencer Howard (Bellingham), Texas Rangers
Cole Irvin (Cowlitz), Oakland A’s
*James Kaprielian (Wenatchee), Oakland A’s
Steven Kwan (Corvallis), Cleveland Guardians
Nicky Lopez (Bend), Kansas City Royals
Phil Maton (Kelowna), Houston Astros
Eli Morgan (Yakima Valley), Cleveland Guardians
*James Paxton (Kelowna), Boston Red Sox
Nick Pivetta (Victoria), Boston Red Sox
Drew Rasmussen (Wenatchee), Tampa Bay Rays
Tarik Skubal (Kitsap), Detroit Tigers
Ryan Tepera (Kelowna), Los Angeles Angels
Andrew Vaughn (Victoria), Chicago White Sox

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Tyler Anderson (Corvallis), Los Angeles Dodgers
*Matt Boyd (Corvallis), San Francisco Giants
Justin Bruihl (Walla Walla), Los Angeles Dodgers
Keston Hiura (Wenatchee), Milwaukee Brewers
Rhys Hoskins (Kitsap), Philadelphia Phillies
Cooper Hummel (Bend/Cowlitz/Walla Walla), Arizona Diamondbacks
Connor Joe (Kelowna), Colorado Rockies
Damon Jones (Cowlitz), Philadelphia Phillies
Nick Madrigal (Corvallis), Chicago Cubs
David Peterson (Medford), New York Mets
Cody Poteet (Walla Walla), Miami Marlins
Michael Rucker (Bellingham), Chicago Cubs

*On injured list.

That list of WCL/MLB players this year is sure to grow. During the 2021 MLB campaign season, a record 59 alumni of West Coast League teams played in the major leagues.

About the West Coast League: The West Coast League is the West’s premier summer collegiate baseball league. Encompassing Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, and now Alberta, the WCL showcases pro prospects from major collegiate conferences around the nation. Every summer, the league features unparalleled fan and player experiences, with North America’s best baseball weather and a mix of classic and state-of-the-art ballparks, all backdropped by dramatic scenery. The 2019 MLB amateur draft began with former Corvallis Knight Adley Rutschman selected with the overall No. 1 pick by the Baltimore Orioles, and the 2021 draft included 42 WCL alumni, including 4 of the first 63 picks.