BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Major League Baseball season is set to open on Thursday with five Texas A&M Aggies set to break camp on big-league rosters.Â
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The Aggies set for MLB Opening Day rosters include Corbin Martin (Arizona Diamondbacks), A.J. Minter (Atlanta Braves), Brooks Raley (New York Mets), Ross Stripling (San Francisco Giants) and Michael Wacha (San Diego Padres). All have prior MLB experience.
2023 MLB AGGIES
CORBIN MARTIN, pitcher (Arizona Diamondbacks)
Martin heads into his fourth year in the bigs and his third with in Arizona. The righty is coming off a season that saw him make seven appearances and a pair of starts for the Diamondbacks, logging 22.1 innings with 21 strikeouts and one walk. He now has 10 major league starts to his credit and 57.2 innings in stops with Arizona and the Houston Astros.
A.J. MINTER, pitcher (Atlanta Braves)
Minter is entering his seventh season in Atlanta and is just two years removed from helping the Braves to the 2021 World Series crown. He was one of the most-used arms on the Braves' staff in 2022 when he made a career-high 75 appearances out of the bullpen, upping his career total to 275 total relief outings. His 2.06 ERA in 2022 was his lowest in a non-COVID season of his career and he finished with 94 punchouts to only 15 walks in 70.0 innings. For his career he has picked up 16 wins and 25 saves with a 3.24 ERA and a .230 opponent average.
BROOKS RALEY, pitcher (New York Mets)
Raley is in his first year with the Mets after a strong two-year stint back in the majors with Houston and Tampa Bay following five years in Korea with the Lotte Giants. Most recently he was on the roster for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, but suffered an injury that the Mets have declared they will be cautious with and thus will keep him on the shelf for at least the first week of the season. He was acquired by the Mets in a trade from Tampa Bay in the off-season after a year with the Rays that saw him go 1-2 with a 2.68 ERA and 61 strikeouts in 53.2 innings and 60 total appearances.
ROSS STRIPLING, pitcher (San Franciso Giants)
Stripling signed a two-year deal with the Giants in the off-season after a 2022 season that saw him make 24 starts and eight relief appearances for the Toronto Blue Jays, throwing 134.1 innings with a 3.01 ERA. He set career bests in starts, innings and ERA and in 2022 and joins his new squad in San Francisco after two and a half years with the Blue Jays. Prior to being acquired by Toronto in 2020 he had spent the better part of five years with the Los Angeles Dodgers and enters 2023 with 38 big-league wins and a 3.78 career ERA.
MICHAEL WACHA, pitcher (San Diego Padres)
Wacha will be entering his 11th season in the majors and will pitch for his fifth team in five years after signing a one-year deal with the Padres in February. He spent the bulk of his career pitching in St. Louis before leaving the Cardinals for the 2020 season and is headed to San Diego off a solid year with the Boston Red Sox where he went 11-2 with a 3.32 ERA in 23 starts, his highest win total since 2017 and his lowest ERA since 2018. Wacha has 74 big-league wins to his credit in total and a career 4.05 ERA, logging at least 120 innings in six of his first 10 years in the league.
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The Aggies set for MLB Opening Day rosters include Corbin Martin (Arizona Diamondbacks), A.J. Minter (Atlanta Braves), Brooks Raley (New York Mets), Ross Stripling (San Francisco Giants) and Michael Wacha (San Diego Padres). All have prior MLB experience.
2023 MLB AGGIES
CORBIN MARTIN, pitcher (Arizona Diamondbacks)
Martin heads into his fourth year in the bigs and his third with in Arizona. The righty is coming off a season that saw him make seven appearances and a pair of starts for the Diamondbacks, logging 22.1 innings with 21 strikeouts and one walk. He now has 10 major league starts to his credit and 57.2 innings in stops with Arizona and the Houston Astros.
A.J. MINTER, pitcher (Atlanta Braves)
Minter is entering his seventh season in Atlanta and is just two years removed from helping the Braves to the 2021 World Series crown. He was one of the most-used arms on the Braves' staff in 2022 when he made a career-high 75 appearances out of the bullpen, upping his career total to 275 total relief outings. His 2.06 ERA in 2022 was his lowest in a non-COVID season of his career and he finished with 94 punchouts to only 15 walks in 70.0 innings. For his career he has picked up 16 wins and 25 saves with a 3.24 ERA and a .230 opponent average.
BROOKS RALEY, pitcher (New York Mets)
Raley is in his first year with the Mets after a strong two-year stint back in the majors with Houston and Tampa Bay following five years in Korea with the Lotte Giants. Most recently he was on the roster for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, but suffered an injury that the Mets have declared they will be cautious with and thus will keep him on the shelf for at least the first week of the season. He was acquired by the Mets in a trade from Tampa Bay in the off-season after a year with the Rays that saw him go 1-2 with a 2.68 ERA and 61 strikeouts in 53.2 innings and 60 total appearances.
ROSS STRIPLING, pitcher (San Franciso Giants)
Stripling signed a two-year deal with the Giants in the off-season after a 2022 season that saw him make 24 starts and eight relief appearances for the Toronto Blue Jays, throwing 134.1 innings with a 3.01 ERA. He set career bests in starts, innings and ERA and in 2022 and joins his new squad in San Francisco after two and a half years with the Blue Jays. Prior to being acquired by Toronto in 2020 he had spent the better part of five years with the Los Angeles Dodgers and enters 2023 with 38 big-league wins and a 3.78 career ERA.
MICHAEL WACHA, pitcher (San Diego Padres)
Wacha will be entering his 11th season in the majors and will pitch for his fifth team in five years after signing a one-year deal with the Padres in February. He spent the bulk of his career pitching in St. Louis before leaving the Cardinals for the 2020 season and is headed to San Diego off a solid year with the Boston Red Sox where he went 11-2 with a 3.32 ERA in 23 starts, his highest win total since 2017 and his lowest ERA since 2018. Wacha has 74 big-league wins to his credit in total and a career 4.05 ERA, logging at least 120 innings in six of his first 10 years in the league.