LOS ANGELES – Seven UCLA baseball alums will begin the 2018 Major League Baseball season today on opening day rosters.
Trevor Bauer (Cleveland Indians), Gerrit Cole (Houston Astros), Brandon Crawford (San Francisco Giants), Matt Grace (Washington Nationals), Chase Utley (Los Angeles Dodgers), Pat Valaika (Colorado Rockies) and Zack Weiss (Cincinnati Reds) all made their initial 25-man opening day rosters. Additionally, Dave Roberts begins his third year as the manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, while Torey Lovullo starts his second season as the manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Bauer (2009-11) begins his seventh season in the majors and his sixth season in Cleveland. After debuting with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2012, Bauer has spent his remaining time with the Cleveland organization. The right-hander posted his best season in the bigs in 2017 with a 17-9 record and a 4.19 ERA. The 2011 Golden Spikes Award winner has racked up 705 strikeouts in 728.2 career innings at the big league level.
Cole (2009-11) begins his sixth season in the majors, but his first in Houston after being traded to the defending champions over the winter. Cole finished last with a 4.26 ERA and a 12-12 record to go along with 196 strikeouts. The first overall pick in the 2011 draft holds career marks of 59-42 with a 3.50 ERA and 734 strikeouts in 127 games (127 starts).
Crawford (2006-08) is in his eighth campaign with the Giants and has won three consecutive NL Gold Glove awards at shortstop. Last season, he hit .253 in 144 games with 14 home runs and 77 RBIs. As durable as they come, Crawford has played in at least 143 games in each of his last six seasons with the club. In over 950 career games, Crawford has posted a .252 career average with 73 home runs and 423 RBIs.
Grace (2008-10) starts his fourth season at the big league level with the Nationals after his most successful season in 2017. Last season, he made 40 appearances with one start and compiled a 1-0 record with a 4.32 ERA. In total, Grace has made 71 appearances in his major league career with a 4.11 ERA in 70.0 innings of work.
Utley (1998-00) begins his 16th MLB season and fourth season with the reigning National League champion Dodgers. A long-time member of the Philadelphia Phillies, has won three National League titles, one World Series championship and has played in six MLB All-Star Games in his career. Last season, the infielder played in 127 games with a .236 average and 34 RBIs. In 1,850 career games, the Pasadena native has hit .276 with 258 home runs and over 1,000 RBIs.
Valaika (2011-13) will start his third season in Colorado after playing his first full season in the MLB last season. In 2017, he set the all-time single-season RBI record for a rookie pinch hitter with 16 and also hit .328 coming off the bench. The Rockies earned the final National League Wild Card spot with a record of 87-75 and will make their first postseason appearance since 2009. Valaika finished last year batting .259 with 13 home runs and 40 RBIs in 110 games.
Weiss (2011-13) made his first MLB 25-man roster in his professional career after missing the 2016 season due to injury and playing the majority of last season at double-A. He recorded a 2.89 ERA in 24 games out of the bullpen at double-A last season with 37 strikeouts. Weiss finished his career at UCLA with a 10-7 record and a 3.29 ERA. He made 82 appearances on the mound and 22 starts in three seasons and recorded 124 strikeouts.
Lovullo (1984-87) and Roberts (1992-95) will be returning as managers in the NL West and have won the last two NL Manager of the Year honors with Roberts winning in 2016 and Lovullo claiming the award last season. The Dodgers won the NL pennant last season, while the Diamondbacks made its first postseason appearance since 2011.