Texas Tech Red Raiders on MLB Opening Day rosters

Thursday is Opening Day for Major League Baseball and fans across the nation are ready for the return of the national pastime. Fortunately, there are some Texas Tech baseball alums on MLB rosters for Red Raider fans to follow this year.

The Baseball Almanac shows 36 total Red Raiders to have appeared in the big leagues. That includes 37 position players and 24 pitchers.

One of the most famous is Dallas Braden who pitched from 2007-11 playing for the Oakland A's. Of course, in May of 2009, he pitched a perfect game, just the 19th in Major League history.

Chad Bettis had a nice career on the mound as well. A member of the Colorado Rockies from 2013-19, he had a career record of 31-31 and an ERA of 5.12.

Reliever AJ Ramos was another Red Raider who had a memorable MLB career. From 2012-21, he pitched for the Miami Marlins, New York Mets, Colorado Rockies, and Los Angeles Angles. Over the course of 381 appearances, he racked up a record of 17-18 and a 4.86 ERA. He was also a National League All-Star in 2016. Angels

In the field, catcher Josh Bard had a lengthy MLB career. He played from 2002-11 spending time with Cleveland, Boston, San Diego, Washington, and Seattle. In all, he slugged 39 career homers and posted a .254 batting average.

Which Texas Tech baseball alums are on 2024 MLB Opening Day rosters?

This year, there are four Red Raider alums on Opening Day rosters. That list includes Josh Jung, Danny Coulombe, Parker Mushinski, and Clayton Beeter.

Jung is the headliner of the group. The starting third baseman for the defending World Champion Texas Rangers, he was the American League All-Star starter at the hot corner last season.

Despite a broken thumb that took him out of action for over a month late in the 2023 season, he still managed to bash 23 homers and drive in 84 while hitting .266. In the playoffs, he was even better hitting .308 while hitting three homers and driving in eight runs.

One of the teams that Texas mowed through on its way to the title was Danny Coulombe's Baltimore Orioles. This will be year 10 in the big leagues for the Southpaw reliever who has a career ERA of 3.69. Last year was his first with the Orioles after stints with the Dodgers, A's, and Twins.

Mushinski enters his third season in the Houston Astros' bullpen. His career ERA is 4.91 and he has made 21 career appearances. He's yet to factor into a decision at the big-league level though.

Finally, Beeter will be making his MLB debut when he takes the mound for the first time with the New York Yankees in 2024. The righty is a starter by trade but will be New York's long man out of the pen after posting a 3.12 ERA in spring training. In the minors, he started 76 games with an ERA of 3.86 and should the Yankees need a spot start or suffer an injury in their rotation, he could make a start in the big leagues at some point this season.