Four Former Cal Players on Opening Day Major League Baseball Rosters

Two other ex-Bears barely missed making their teams' active roster

Four former Cal players are on Opening Day rosters of Major League Baseball teams, and two others barely missed.

Mark Canha, Andrew Knapp, Marcus Semien and Andrew Vaughn are the four on active rosters, while Daulton Jefferies and Trevor Hildenberger nearly made it and are likely to be with the big club some time this season.

Also Tyson Ross signed a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers in February, but it did not include an invitation to spring training.

Here is a brief rundown of the four ex-Bears on active rosters:

.

Mark Canha, Oakland A’s, outfield

Canha has been a staple in the A’s lineup the past three seasons, but this year he is likely to bat leadoff.

He had a breakout season in 2019, when he hit .273 with 26 homers, but slipped a bit in last year’s shortened season when he batted .246 with five homers in 59 games.

Canha did not have much of spring, hitting .167 with no homers and 12 strikeouts, but he did walk 11 times, which may be why he’s destined for the leadoff spot.

He has been slotted in the leadoff spot in only one previous game in his major league career, but he had on-base percentages the past two seasons of .396 and .387

.. 

Andrew Knapp, Philadelphia Phillies, catcher

Knapp is coming off his best season, hitting .278 with two homers in 33 games in 2020, and he will remain the Phillies’ backup catcher behind J.T. Realmuto.

However, Knapp figures to get significant playing time and will probably be in the lineup every time Zach Elfin pitches. Knapp was the starting catcher for Elfin's last seven starts of 2020, and Elfin went 6-1 in those starts.

.

Marcus Semien, Toronto Blue Jays, second base

Yes, you read that correctly. Semien is expected to play second base primarily for the Jays after being the A’s everyday shortstop the past six seasons.

Semien had an outstanding 2019 season, when he hit .285 with 33 homers and finished third in the American League MVP voting. But he batted just .223 with seven home runs in 53 games last season.

He signed a one-year, $18 million free-agent contract with the Blue Jays in the offseason and will move over to second base to allow promising shortstop Bo Bichette to remain at his natural position.

.

Andrew Vaughn, Chicago White Sox, outfield/designated hitter

Vaughn is expected to make his major-league debut on Friday after having a solid spring, in which he hit .279 with two homers, 14 strikeouts and eight walks.

He originally was expected to be the White Sox designated hitter this season, but injuries have forced the White Sox to give him a try in left field. He never played in the outfield at Cal, where he was a first baseman, but he got some work in the outfield during spring training.

Two Who Just Missed

Trevor Hildenberger, New York Mets organization, relief pitcher

Hildenberger was a non-roster invitee to the Mets’ spring-training camp, and he made a strong case to make the Mets’ Opening Day roster, as noted by a March 7 New York Post story.

Hildenberger spent the past three seasons with the Twins, and he was 2-2 with a 10.47 ERA and nine saves in 22 appearances for the Twins in 2020.

But in this year’s spring season, he allowed just two hits and one run with nine strikeouts in 3 1/3 innings in four appearances.

Hildenberg’s spring was nearly perfect until he faced his next-to-last batter in the  Mets' final spring game on Monday.

He came on to pitch in the ninth with the Mets holding a 3-2 lead over the Cardinals. Hildenberger got the first two batters in the ninth and had a 1-2 count on the next hitter, Edmundo Sosa, when Sosa hit a home run to tie the game. Hildenberger struck out the next batter to end the inning, but it amounted to a blown save as he allowed the only run he gave up in spring.

Whether that one pitch cost him a spot on the active roster is impossible to know.

Daulton Jefferies, Oakland A’s organization, starting pitcher

Jefferies was outstanding in the spring and was competing for the fifth spot in the rotation right up until the final cutdown. Ultimately he was optioned to the Athletics alternate training site on Thursday, but he is likely to make appearance for the A’s before the season is over. The A’s will use Banner Island Ballpark in San Jose as their alternate training site in 2021,

In his only appearance for the A’s last season, Jefferies yielded five runs on five hits, including two home runs, in just two innings of a starting assignment.

However, he opened some eyes this spring. In six spring appearances, including four starts, Jefferies was 3-0 with a 1.50 ERA and an 0.89 WHIP while limiting opposing batters to a .156 average over 18 innings.

.

Cover photo of Marcus Semien by Jonathan Dyer, USA TODAY Sports

.

Follow Jake Curtis of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53

Find Cal Sports Report on Facebook by searching: @si.calsportsreport or going to https://www.facebook.com/si.calsportsreport