Following a near four-month delay due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, the much anticipated return of Major League Baseball became a reality when all 30 MLB teams opened their seasons last weekend.  This year's shortened MLB schedule consists of a 60-game sprint over the course of 66 days. 

Teams opened the year with 40-man rosters, with an additional 20 players listed as non-roster invitees, allowing teams to expand their rosters to 60-man player pools.  The rule permits teams to list of up to 60 players from which they can construct their Major league squads for the shortened season.

With baseball opening over the weekend, DBU landed nine players on Major League rosters to open the 2020 season.  Listed below are the Patriots who began the season either on their respective team's 40-man roster, or have earned a spot on the expanded 60-man roster with the possibility of being called up to the Big League club.

Chance Adams (Kansas City Royals: 40-man)
Adams was traded from the New York Yankees to the Kansas City Royals during the offseason.  A fifth- round pick out of DBU in 2015, Adams was tabbed one of the top 100 prospects in baseball heading into the 2018 season.  Adams spent a short stint at the Major League level in both 2018 and 2019, making 16 appearances over the course of two years in Yankee pinstripes.

Bryce Ball (Atlanta Braves: 60-man)
Ball is just one year removed from being in a Patriot uniform when he earned All-American honors after hitting 18 home runs.  The six-foot six, two-hundred forty-pound slugger is rated the No. 21 prospect in the Atlanta Braves' farm system after hitting .329 with 17 home runs between the Rookie and Class A levels last year.  With the new designated hitter rule in the National League, Ball could find time in Atlanta's lineup as the Braves' DH, as well as at first base.
 
Burl Carraway (Chicago Cubs: 60-man)
Carraway became the third highest draft pick in school history when he was selected by the Cubs in the second round of this year's draft.  The power arm lefty fashions a fastball that topped out at 100 miles per hour in 2020 and counters with a hammer curveball.  With teams relying on a bevy of arms in this year's fast-paced season, Carraway may very well get a shot to pitch in the Big Leagues in his rookie season of professional baseball.
 
Seth Elledge (St. Louis Cardinals: 60-man)
The all-time leader in saves in DBU Baseball history, Elledge is rated the No. 23 prospect in the St. Louis Cardinals' farm system.  A fourth-round pick of the Seattle Mariners in 2017, Elledge was traded to the Cardinals one year later for Major League Sam Tuivailala, which indicates that St. Louis believes that Elledge will one day pitch for the Redbirds.  That time may be just around the corner after the hard-throwing righty spent the majority of last year at the Triple-A level.
 
Ryan Goins (Chicago White Sox: 60-man)
Goins is the most seasoned veteran among the nine Patriots on Major League rosters heading into the 2020 season.  The slick-fielding infielder broke into the Bigs in 2013 with the Toronto Blue Jays and spent five years in Toronto before signing with the Kansas City Royals in 2018.  One year later, Goins was acquired by the White Sox.  This year will mark Goins' eighth year in the Big Leagues if he earns a call-up from the Sox.
 
Austin Listi (Philadelphia Phillies: 60-man)
Listi etched his name in DBU Baseball history when he became the program's all-time home run leader in 2017.  In three seasons in the Phillies' Minor League system, Listi has belted 44 home runs and racked up 195 RBI.  Last year, Listi reached Triple-A where he smashed 12 home runs in 71 games. 
 
Colin Poche (Tampa Bay Rays: 40-man)
Poche made his Major League debut last year for Tampa Bay and was a signature piece of the Rays' bullpen, making 51 relief appearances.  Poche broke training camp on the team's 40-man roster, but was lost for the season on July 22 when he tore his UCL.
 
Drew Smith (New York Mets: 40-man)
Smith returns to the mound in 2020 after missing last year with Tommy John surgery.  A third-round pick out of DBU in 2015, Smith broke into the Majors in 2018 with the Mets and made 27 relief appearances in his rookie season.  Smith made his return to the mound on Saturday at Citi Field versus the Atlanta Braves when he retired the two batters he faced and notched one strikeout.
 
Cy Sneed (Houston Astros: 40-man)
Sneed was a third-round selection of the Milwaukee Brewers in 2014 and was traded to the Astros one year later for Big Leaguer Jonathan Villar.  Sneed's journey to the Major Leagues saw him break in with the Astros in 2019, where he made eight appearances in relief.  Sneed pitched on Saturday against the Seattle Mariners and struck out the side in his one scoreless inning out of the pen.