Seven Former Cards Make 2022 Opening Day Rosters

Four additional former Louisville baseball players are also on 40-man rosters.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Major League Baseball has officially returned. The lockout might have pushed back the start of the season by a week, but a full 162-game schedule is still in store for 2022, and Opening Day is finally here.

With play scheduled to begin today, five former University of Louisville baseball players have made Opening Day rosters across the league: catcher Will Smith, outfielders Adam Duvall, Adam Engel and Nick Solak, right-handed pitchers Chad Green and Kyle Funkhouser, and left-handed pitcher Reid Detmers.

Four additional former Cardinals have made 40-man rosters: infielder Drew Ellis, outfielder Corey Ray, right-handed pitcher Josh Rogers and left-handed pitcher/designated hitter Brendan McKay.

After Smith won the World Series in 2020, Duvall made it back-to-back years with a Louisville player winning the Fall Classic, doing so with the Atlanta Braves. Starting out the season with the Miami Marlins before being dealt to Atlanta at the trade deadline, he tallied a National League-best 113 RBI's, while also hitting .228 and 38 home runs.

Smith's Los Angeles Dodgers nearly made a return trip to the World Series, but ultimately fell to Duvall's Braves in the National League Championship Series. In his first full season as the primary catcher, Smith hit .258 with 25 home runs and 78 RBI's.

Solak was one of the top players on the Texas Rangers last season, finding a permanent home at second base after playing six different positions the year before. He had a slight dip in overall efficiency, but still managed to hit .242 with 11 homers and 49 RBI's.

Green had another stellar season, maintaining his status as one of the top bullpen arms for the New York Yankees. His ERA of 3.12 was fourth-best on the team, and his 10.6 strikeouts per nine innings was third-best behind Gerrit Cole and Aroldis Chapman. He totaled 99 strikeouts to just 19 walks over 67 appearances and 83.2 innings pitched.

Engel was extremely limited in 2021, playing only 39 games for the Chicago White Sox due to several injuries, but still managed to find a way to be productive when he did see the field. He launched a career-best seven home runs, accompanied by a .252 average and 18 RBI's.

After a rough rookie campaign in 2020, Funkhouser took a big step forward last season for the Detroit Tigers, and became a regular option out of the bullpen. Making 57 total appearances, which was third on the team, he posted an ERA of 3.41 with 63 strikeouts to 38 walks over 68.1 innings pitched - the second-most on the Tigers for relievers, behind Michael Fulmer.

For his second year in the majors, Detmers could very well be in store for a huge step forward. After posting an ERA of 7.50 over five starts in 2021, he looked sharp in spring training for the Los Angeles Angels, giving up just two earned runs and striking out 11 in two starts.

(Photo of Adam Duvall: Troy Taormina - USA TODAY Sports)

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