TinCaps news release announcing that 35 former players have made it to 2021 Major League Baseball Opening Day rosters.
35 Former TinCaps/Wizards Make 2021 MLB Opening Day Rosters
Tatis Highlights List Who’ve Gone from the 260 to The ShowFort Wayne, Indiana (April 2, 2021) — As the 2021 Major League Baseball season began Thursday, 35 former Fort Wayne prospects made Opening Day rosters. The list features six players with the TinCaps’ parent club, the San Diego Padres, including star shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. In all, Fort Wayne’s alumni can currently be found with 18 of MLB’s 30 teams.
The 22-year-old Tatis helped lead the Padres to a playoff series win over the St. Louis Cardinals last year. During the offseason, he signed a 14-year contract extension with the Padres, making it the longest deal for a player in MLB history. At $340 million, it was also the third largest. Now Tatis is on the cover of this year’s MLB The Show video game, becoming the youngest player ever to earn that honor. He has recently appeared in commercials for Adidas, BMW, and Gatorade. The Padres are considered a World Series contender in 2021.
Tatis’ stardom has come after he electrified Fort Wayne as an 18-year-old in 2017. That year the Midwest League All-Star set the franchise’s single-season home run record with 21 long balls in 117 games and had multiple defensive highlights appear on SportsCenter’s Top 10.
In February, MLB Network ranked Tatis as the sixth best player in baseball. Not far behind, 2014 TinCap shortstop Trea Turner, now with the Washington Nationals, checked in at No. 26. A pair of former ’Caps pitchers also made the “Top 100” as left-hander Max Fried (2013-14) of the Atlanta Braves ranked 70th and Padres righty Dinelson Lamet (2015) was No. 74.
Padres lefty Ryan Weathers and infielder Tucupita Marcano—both of whom are just 21 and called Parkview Field home in 2019—are the freshest Fort Wayne alumni in the bigs. At the other end of the spectrum, Oliver Pérez (2001), Brandon Kintzler (2005), Wade LeBlanc (2006), Joakim Soria (2006), Eric Sogard (2007), and Corey Kluber (2008) all played for the Fort Wayne Wizards before the team rebranded to the TinCaps in 2009. Marcano made his MLB debut Thursday, becoming the 193rd player since the franchise’s inception in 1993 to reach “The Show.”
Meanwhile, along with 2014-15 TinCap infielder Josh VanMeter, who grew up about 20 minutes south of Parkview Field in Ossian and now plays for the Arizona Diamondbacks, a pair of Fort Wayne natives are also in the big leagues. Bishop Luers High School grad Kevin Kiermaier continues to star in center field for the Tampa Bay Rays, while Zach McKinstry out of North Side High School is a rookie for the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. Coming up through the Midwest League, Kiermaier and McKinstry both played against the TinCaps.
In 2020, 46 Fort Wayne alumni played in the majors. Click here to see that list. The number of recent TinCaps in the majors will surely rise as this season progresses.
The 2021 TinCaps are set to begin their season on Tuesday, May 4 (7:05 p.m.) against the West Michigan Whitecaps (Detroit Tigers affiliate). Before that, throughout April, Parkview Field is hosting 29 high school and college baseball games involving 46 different area schools.
Former Fort Wayne Players on 2021 MLB Opening Day Rosters
San Diego Padres
- C Luis Campusano (2018)
- RHP Dinelson Lamet* (2015)
- INF Tucupita Marcano (2019)
- LHP Adrian Morejon (2016)
- RHP Chris Paddack (2016)
- INF Fernando Tatis Jr. (2017)
Arizona Diamondbacks
- INF Josh VanMeter (2014-15)
- RHP Joakim Soria (2006)
San Francisco Giants
- RHP Matt Wisler (2012)
Chicago Cubs
- INF Eric Sogard (2007)
Milwaukee Brewers
- INF Luis Urías (2015)
- RHP Eric Yardley (2014)
Pittsburgh Pirates
- RHP David Bednar (2016-17)
St. Louis Cardinals
- RHP Miles Mikolas (2010)
Atlanta Braves
- LHP Max Fried (2013-14)
Miami Marlins
- RHP Anthony Bass (2009)
New York Mets
- LHP Joey Lucchesi (2016)
Philadelphia Phillies
- RHP Zach Eflin (2013)
- RHP Brandon Kintzler (2005)
Washington Nationals
- RHP Joe Ross (2012-13)
- INF Trea Turner (2014)
Seattle Mariners
- INF Ty France (2016)
- LHP Nick Margevicius (2018)
Chicago White Sox
- RHP José Ruiz (2015)
Cleveland Indians
- LHP Logan Allen (2016-17)
- OF Jake Bauers (2014)
- C Austin Hedges (2012)
- RHP Phil Maton (2016)
- LHP Oliver Pérez (2001)
- RHP Cal Quantrill (2016)
- OF Franmil Reyes (2014-15)
Baltimore Orioles
- LHP Wade LeBlanc (2006)
Boston Red Sox
- OF Franchy Cordero (2014-15)
- OF Hunter Renfroe (2013)
New York Yankees
- RHP Corey Kluber (2008)
*On Injured List
Read more TinCaps posts on AroundFortWayne.
Related Images:
