Carmona, Sabathia, Izturis Among Major League Starters

At the start of another Major League Baseball season, 10 players who started their professional careers in Burlington are on active Major League rosters, and several more are waiting in the wings on 40-man rosters. All 10 current Major Leaguers played in Burlington during the 1990s and early 2000s, when Burlington housed a Cleveland Indians affiliate.

Many of the former Burlington Indians enter the 2011 season as mainstays in the Majors, including two surefire Hall of Famers. DH Jim Thome begins his 21st season in the big leagues and second with the Minnesota Twins. Thome, who played in Burlington in 1990, heads into the season 11 home runs from the 600-mark, a stat that only seven others have achieved.

11-time All-Star Manny Ramirez, a 1991 Burlington alum, got a change of scenery in the offseason, and will take cuts for the rebuilding Tampa Bay Rays. Ramirez and Thome are two of the top three active home run hitters in all of baseball.

In addition to the seasoned veterans, a host of young arms will look to prove themselves as Major Leaguers. 2003 Burlington Indians Rafael Perez, Edward Mujica, and Aaron Laffey have all made big league pitching staffs. Below is the full list of former Burlington players on active rosters as of Opening Day.

Player (Year in Burlington), 2011 Team, Major League Stats

• DH Jim Thome (1990), MIN, 5x All-Star, 589 HRs
• OF Manny Ramirez (1991), TB, 11x All-Star, 555 HRs
• 1B Russell Branyan (1994), ARI, 189 HRs, 453 RBI
• RHP Bartolo Colon (1994), NYY, 2005 AL Cy Young, 153 W
• LHP CC Sabathia (1998), NYY, 2007 AL Cy Young, 157 W
• IF Maicer Izturis (1998), LAA, .275 BA, 65 SB
• RHP Fausto Carmona (2002), CLE, 2010 All-Star, 46 W
• LHP Rafael Perez (2003), CLE, 15 W, 3.80 ERA
• RHP Edward Mujica (2003), FLA, 8 W, 4.47 ERA
• LHP Aaron Laffey (2003), SEA, 18 W, 4.41 ERA

Several other former Burlington players are inching toward the Major Leagues, including OF David Lough, who will begin with the Royals Triple-A affiliate in Omaha. Lough is the first player under the Royals affiliation to make a Major League 40-man roster. LHP John Lamb and C Wil Myers are among the other Royals farmhands making a steady push toward Kansas City.