Opening Day Tigers in MLB

CLEMSON, S.C. – Former Tigers Jeff Baker, Brad Miller and Tony Sipp were on major league rosters on opening day earlier this week. Other former Tigers could follow in the coming weeks. Seven former Tigers played in the majors in the 2014 season.

Baker, an infielder with the Miami Marlins, is in his 11th season in the majors. In 2014, he became the ninth former Tiger to play 10+ years at the MLB level when he hit .264 in 90 games with the Marlins. Entering the 2015 season, Baker had 51 career MLB home runs, fifth most among former Tigers. He was also sixth in games (707) and fifth in RBIs (227).

Miller is in his third year with the Seattle Mariners. An All-American in 2011 with the Tigers, he has a .241 career batting average with 18 home runs and 26 doubles in 199 MLB games. He had 10 home runs last season along with 15 doubles. Miller was 2-for-3 at the plate in Seattle’s season-opening win on April 6.

Sipp, a lefthander with the Houston Astros, is in his seventh year in the majors. His career is now seventh longest among former Tiger pitchers in the majors. Sipp, who was a position player for most of his Clemson career, has a career record of 18-12 with 330 strikeouts in 308.2 innings pitched. He is the only former Tiger to average more than nine strikeouts per nine innings pitched among pitchers with 2+ years of experience. Last season, he was 4-3 with the Astros and had 63 strikeouts in 50.2 innings pitched.

Righthander Dominic Leone had an 8-2 record with a 2.17 ERA last year for Seattle, but began the 2015 season at the AAA level. Kyle Parker and Ben Paulsen both played for the Colorado Rockies last year, but also started this season at the AAA level. Paulsen hit .317 in 31 games last year.

Tyler Colvin was a seventh former Tiger in the majors last year. He played 57 games with the San Francisco Giants. The former Clemson All-American has 49 career home runs, including 20 in 2010 for the Chicago Cubs.