With opening day here, these Delaware players are on MLB rosters or could be soon

Two players from Delaware will open the 2024 season in the major leagues with several others having First State ties poised for possible promotions.

Caravel Academy graduate Jake Fraley is an outfielder with the Cincinnati Reds, and Zach Gelof out of Cape Henlopen High is the Oakland Athletics’ second baseman after his stellar rookie debut late last summer.

These are Delaware players to keep an eye on as the MLB season commences:

Jake Fraley, OF, Cincinnati Reds

In his fifth big-league season last year, the left-handed-hitting Fraley cemented his spot as a heart-of-the-order weapon against right-handed pitching. He had career highs of 15 homers and 65 RBI while batting .256 with a .782 OPS. Fraley also stole a career-best 21 bases. But Fraley enters the 2024 season with bigger concerns than baseball. His and wife Angelica’s 5-year-old daughter Avery was diagnosed with leukemia last fall, according to MLB.com, but has responded well so far to treatment. The Reds visit the Phillies early next week.

Zack Gelof, 2B, Oakland Athletics

The 2021 second-round pick out of Virginia was a sensation after his June call-up last year. Gelof was American League Rookie of the Month in August. He batted .267 with 14 homers, 32 RBI, an .841 OPS and 14 stolen bases on the season. He was just the fifth A’s rookie to have 10 or more homers and stolen bases and did that in just 69 games. Gelof, a Rehoboth Beach resident who was 2018 Delaware High School Player of the Year after sparking Cape Henlopen to its first state title, batted .288 in spring training. He is a centerpiece of the A’s attempts to become competitive again as a possible future move to Las Vegas looms.

These Delaware players begin the season in Double-A or Triple-A hoping to earn a call-up:

Mason Fluharty, P, Toronto Blue Jays

The Cape Henlopen High grad was the Blue Jays' fifth-round 2022 draft pick out of Liberty University and is off to a promising pro start. He was in spring camp with the Blue Jays, getting 12 strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings. He opens the season at Double-A New Hampshire, where he finished last season. Fluharty is 4-6 with a 3.33 ERA in 58 minor-league appearances, all in relief, with 96 strikeouts in 73 innings.

Chad Kuhl, P, Chicago White Sox

As he expected, Kuhl will start the season at Triple-A Charlotte after having a promising spring in his return to the mound. Kuhl missed the second half of last season to support wife Amanda during cancer treatment after he was released by the Washington Nationals. Kuhl whiffed 11 in nine spring innings. His experience makes him someone the White Sox can call on when needed as a fifth starter or long reliever, though he is not presently on the 40-man roster. Kuhl, a former Middletown and Delaware ace, is 31-45 in seven MLB seasons with a 4.98 ERA in 143 games, 116 of them starts.

Ron Marinaccio, P, New York Yankees

Marinaccio has been a regular on the shuttle the last two years between Yankee Stadium and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, though his numbers have been better in the big leagues. He begins this season at Triple-A after posting a 7.56 ERA in 8 1/3 spring innings. The right-hander out of the University of Delaware has appeared in 85 games in relief for the Yankees the past two seasons, going 5-5 with a 3.05 ERA and two saves with 112 strikeouts in 91 1/3 innings. With numbers like those, Marinaccio, who is on the Yankees’ 40-man roster, is very likely to be summoned again soon.

James Meeker, P, Milwaukee Brewers

Meeker was converted from infielder to pitcher as a Delaware junior and later showed his stuff in independent minor leagues before being spotted by the Brewers. He has gone 13-10 with a 2.72 ERA in 92 games with 10 starts while striking out 160 in 1 75 1/3 innings at four levels since 2021. Meeker reached Triple-A last last season and begins 2024 there with the Nashville Sounds.

Colin Peluse, P, Oakland Athletics

The Middletown grad who starred at Wake Forest gets another stint with the A’s Triple-A Las Vegas club, hoping to raise his stock. The right-hander settled mainly into a relief role for the first time last year, coming out of the bullpen in all but five of his 42 games. Peluse was 1-1 with two saves and a 6.78 ERA. He struck out 52 and walked 38 in 65 innings but gave up 84 hits.

Billy Sullivan, P, Oakland Athletics

As part of the Oakland system, Sullivan is in a good place to have an opportunity to be rewarded for pitching well. He is back with the Triple-A Las Vegas Aviators, where Sullivan went 8-2 last year in 48 games, all in relief, with two saves. He did strike out 54 in 57 1/3 innings but walked 52, so improving his control will continue to be key for the former Saint Mark’s and Delaware ace. Sullivan had a positive spring with the major-league club, working 3 1/3 innings in five games with five strikeouts, two walks and a save.

Brandon Walter, P, Boston Red Sox

The former Hodgson Vo-Tech and Blue Hens lefty was summoned several times to the Red Sox from Triple-A Worcester last season. Walter demonstrated he could be a reliable reliever, appearing in nine games while finishing four and saving one. In 23 innings, he did allow 32 hits while striking out 16 and walking seven and had a 6.26 ERA. Walter will begin the season back at Worcester, where he’ll likely start while trying to show he could help the big-league club. He is on the Red Sox 40-man roster and had a 1.93 ERA in 4 1/3 spring innings with the Red Sox.

Contact Kevin Tresolini at ktresolini@delawareonline.com and follow on Twitter @kevintresolini. Support local journalism by subscribing to delawareonline.com and our DE Game Day newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Jake Fraley, Zack Gelof lead Delaware players on MLB, MiLB rosters