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MLB Opening Day

5 Santa Clarita Players Make MLB Opening Day Rosters

With the Major League Baseball Season underway, five Santa Clarita Natives find themselves in the Big Leagues.

Tyler Glasnow (Hart ‘11 / Tampa Bay Rays), Trevor Bauer (Hart ‘08 / Los Angeles Dodgers), Pat Valaika (Hart ‘10 / Baltimore Orioles), Keston Hiura (Valencia ‘14 / Milwaukee Brewers), and Scott Barlow (Golden Valley ‘11 / Kansas City Royals) all hope to make Santa Clarita proud this season. 

Glasnow is entering his sixth season in the MLB and his third full season with the Rays. The 27 year old, Hart alumni, should be the ace this season for a Rays team that made it all the way to the World Series last year. If they are going to make another run this year they will need Glasnow to have a great season. Glasnow will be making his first start on Opening Day against the Miami Marlins. Glasnow finished Spring Training with a 3.68 ERA over four games in which he pitched 14.2 innings and tallied 27 strikeouts. His best appearance came a few days ago, on March 27, where he pitched five scoreless innings and had an impressive 10 strikeouts. That outing will hopefully give Glasnow momentum heading into the regular season.

Bauer was one of the most prized free agents in 2021 and was coming off of the best season of his career. In 2020, Bauer posted a 1.73 ERA in 11 starts for the Cincinnati Reds, while also striking out 100 batters, and taking home the National League Cy Young Award. Ultimately, Bauer decided to return home to L.A., signing a 3-year, $102 million contract with the Dodgers. The Dodgers have had the MLB’s best team ERA in both of the last two seasons and the addition of Bauer puts them as the front-runners to do this again. More importantly, the Bauer signing sets the Dodgers up to be favored to repeat as World Series Champions. In six Spring Training appearances, Bauer had a 4.24 ERA and 28 strikeouts. Bauer should be making his first start in a Dodger uniform Friday, April 2, against the Colorado Rockies.

Related Article: MLB Spring Training Update On 9 Santa Clarita Players

Valaika will be playing in his second season with the Orioles and his sixth season in the Big Leagues. He is coming off his best MLB season in 2020 where he batted .277 with eight home runs and 16 RBIs. Valaika is one of the most versatile defensive players in the game and he should get playing time at first base, second base, shortstop, third base, and maybe even left field throughout this season. While he may not be in the starting lineup every day, Valaika plays an invaluable role for the Orioles with the ability to fill in at so many different positions. Valaika had eight hits including two homeruns in Spring Training this year.

Hiura is entering his third MLB season and third season with the Brewers who drafted him ninth overall in 2017. Hiura is projected to be the everyday starter at first base and he could also see a few starts at second base. The 24 year old should play an important role in the Brewers success this season, batting in the middle of the lineup, where he should see a lot of RBI opportunities. Hiura had an impressive Spring Training in 2021, showing that the young star is continuing to improve. Hiura batted .283 with four homeruns in Spring Training, including a two homerun game on March 23 against the Dodgers.

Barlow will be playing in his fourth MLB season, all of which have been with the Royals. Barlow was a workhorse out of the bullpen last season, appearing in a Major League leading 32 games. This season’s role should be similar for the 28 year old as he looks to solidify himself as one of the Royals go-to pitchers in the bullpen. Barlow made seven appearances out of the bullpen in Spring Training, giving up just two earned runs and striking out 11 batters. The Royals open up 2021 against the Texas Rangers, so look for Barlow to make an appearance on Opening Weekend.

Be sure to follow KHTS Sports for the 2021 Santa Clarita high school football season and your Santa Clarita Dodgers coverage. Find all the latest news and updates on your hometown schools here as they compete in the Foothill League, Heritage League, Western State Conference and GSAC.

If you have any news and notes about our teams and players to share please send them to sports@hometownstation.com, like us on facebook.com/khtssports and follow us @KHTSSports on Twitter.


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5 Santa Clarita Players Make MLB Opening Day Rosters

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About Corey Goldman

Corey Goldman was born and raised in Northern California. He graduated high school in 2019 and is currently enrolled at Syracuse University where he is studying Sport Analytics. Corey joined KHTS as a sports writer. When he is not working Corey enjoys playing sports and hanging out with his friends.