After a week of Triple-A games, the full-fledged minor league Opening Day has finally arrived. All 120 full-season minor league teams are slated to play on Friday night, with Double-A on down getting their first official action of the season.
Opening Day, of course, means first looks at 90 more rosters and the intrigue of the MiLB assignments surrounding some of the prospects in each system. Here are 10 of the most eyebrow-raising places prospects are opening the 2024 season.
Under normal circumstances, a 17-year-old opening a season in High-A would be cause for celebration. With Salas, it’s slightly surprising. San Diego’s wunderkind catcher rocketed from signing his first pro contract on Jan. 15, 2023 to finishing the year in Double-A after just nine games with High-A Fort Wayne. Salas will open as the youngest player in the Midwest League, but it’s always a little noteworthy to see a player go back a level from where they closed the previous season.
2. Logan Evans, RHP, Mariners
Assignment: Double-A Arkansas
Pitchers opening their first full pro seasons at Double-A is not unprecedented in recent years. The Marlins sent Jake Eder and Max Meyer to the level after the sport emerged from the pandemic in 2021, and the Rangers dispatched Jack Leiter to Frisco at the outset of his pro career. Those three pitchers came with far more ballyhoo than Evans, however, who has gone from anonymous mid-round draft pick to one of the breakout stars of spring training. Evans has just 15 innings of pro experience and closed 2023 at Low-A Modesto. Now, he jumps over High-A Everett and heads straight to Arkansas.
3. Alfredo Duno, C, Reds
Assignment: Low-A Daytona
Young prospects skipping the complex league is always a bright red arrow pointing straight up. Nelson Rada, Ethan Salas and Josue De Paula all turned the trick in 2023, and each is among the brightest stars in his organization. Now, it’s Duno’s turn. The 17-year-old marauded his way through the Dominican Summer League in 2023 but was limited by injury to DH duties. Now, he’s back behind the plate and looked this spring like a potential star-level offensive player in the near future. His assignment to Low-A says that the Reds have high hopes for one of their youngest prospects.
4. Alexander Clemmey, LHP, Guardians
Assignment: Low-A Lynchburg
Clemmey is one of the youngest pitchers in the Cleveland…