Jed Lowrie made his debut on April 15th for the Red Sox. He started at third base in place of the injured Mike Lowell and went 1-4 with 3 RBIs that tied a 61 year old record for most RBIs in a Red Sox debut. Baseball America listed Lowrie as the 5th top prospect in the Red Sox organization for 2008. Although he started at third base in his debut, he typically plays shortstop, which is where he got his second start.

Alex Serrano debuted on April 16th for the Angels in the top of the 9th inning of a 2-3 game. He allowed 1 hit and struck out 1 in a scoreless inning. In AAA last season, Serrano struck out 46 batters and only walked 10 in 69+ innings of work.

German Duran got the start at third base in his debut for the Rangers on April 17th. He had 3 plate appearances and struck out in all of them. He was called up to fill a roster spot for the injured Marlon Byrd. John Sickels over at Minor League Ball projects Duran will have a long career as a “really good bench guy“.

David Purcey made his first major league start for the Blue Jays and allowed just 2 hits and 1 run in 4.1 innings of work. He also allowed an uncharacteristically high 7 walks. In AA last year, he allowed just 16 walks in 62+ innings of work. The Mockingbird did a full writeup on his Pitchf/x data and uncovered a mid 90′s fastball with good movement.

Jeffrey Niemann was the only player to make his debut yesterday. He picked up the win for the Rays by throwing 6 innings with 5 strikeouts and allowing just a single run. Niemann, the fourth overall pick the 2004 draft, was listed as Baseball America’s 99th best prospect this year. At 6 feet and 9 inches tall, he holds the distinction of being the tallest player in Rays history.

Evan Longoria made his long awaited debut last night by singling in a run, and taking a walk in 4 plate appearances. Hardball Times fantasy writer, Derek Carty, suggest that first year expectations for Longoria should be tempered even though he’s listed as a top 5 prospect on pretty much every single list available. He was called up due to Willy Aybar‘s trip to the DL, although for financial reasons the Rays might have wanted to wait a bit longer to roster Longoria.

John Bowker had a monster debut for the Giants. He hit a three-run home run and singled in three plate appearances. Despite the Giants taking a 5-0 lead, much in part to Bowker’s efforts, they lost anyway. Apparently, he had trouble containing his glee even though his team had suffered a tough loss.

Hernan Iribarren pinch hit and singled in his first major league at-bat. He’s a high-average, low power hitter who takes a good amount of walks, leading to a pretty solid OBP. Irabarren was called up to replace the DL bound Tony Gwynn Jr.

Jesse Carlson made his first appearance in relief on April 10th. He entered the game with 2 outs and the bases loaded with his team, the Blue Jays, down 1-3 in the top of the 12th. He got Daric Barton to strike out on three pitches and called it a day. Bluebird Banter recently did a full piece on him covering pretty much everything you’d want to know, including his abrupt release from the Tigers organization nearly 5 years ago.

Burke Heinrich Badenhop got to finish off the Nationals in his big league debut with his team, the Marlins, up 10-4. He pitched a perfect ninth with one strikeout. Badenhop was one of the prospects the Marlins acquired from the Tigers in return for Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera. He was called up to fill in for Rick Vanden Hurk‘s demotion to the minors.

Fernando Hernandez pitched the bottom of the 8th inning for the A’s and picked up his first win as a reliever in his debut. He allowed no runs with 2 walks and a strikeout in the one inning he pitched. He was an A’s Rule 5 Draft pick from the White Sox, after having pitched quite well in AA last year. He had 84/23 K/BB ratio and allowed just 4 home runs in 85-plus innings of work.

Gregory Smith also made his debut for the A’s as the starting pitcher. He threw 6 innings of two hit ball, while striking out 5 and also walking 5. He had pretty solid control in the minors, so perhaps his nerves got the better of him. Smith, who was acquired by the A’s in the Dan Haren trade, got the call when Justin Duchscherer was placed on the disabled list.

Clay Timpner was the only player to make his debut last night. He pinch hit and struck out in his only at-bat and then continued on in the outfield. Timpner bat just over .300 in AAA last year for the Giants. He doesn’t appear to have much power, but his OBP of .361 was pretty good. Honestly, I had a bit of trouble finding information on Timpner except that he still has a strong following at the University of Central Florida, and Baseball America thought he was one of the best defensive outfield prospects way back in 2005.

Brian Bixler pinch hit and struck out in the top of the 9th with his team, the Pirates, ahead 9-2. He failed to make the opening day roster after a horrible spring, but was called up after an shortstop Jack Wilson landed on the DL. Baseball America named Bixler the 8th best prospect in the Pirates system this season.

Denard Span got the his first start in right field for the Twins and batted 9th. He went 0-2 on the day with 1 walk and played the entire game. He was called up from AAA, where he was batting .333 on the season, to replace the injured Michael Cuddyer. Span spent his off-season listening to cassette tapes of Maury Willis to improve his base running skills.

Hiroki Kuroda had a winning debut as the Dodgers starting pitcher last Friday where he struck out 4 and allowed just a single run in 7 innings of work. Kuroda who is now 33 years old, pitched 1700 innings in Japan over his 11 year career. He signed a 35.3 million dollar contract with the Dodgers this past off-season.

Stephen Holm got his first at-bat in the top of the 8th inning with his team, the Giants, down 13-4. He flied out to left and then continued on as the catcher for the final inning. Though Holm had never played above AA before, he earned the backup catcher job by beating out Eliezer Alfonzo and Guillermo Rodriguez as a nonroster invitee.

Elliot Johnson got the start as the DH for the Rays and went 1-4 in his debut. He was also caught stealing on his first major league stolen base attempt. Johnson taught a class on how to play baseball the right way for $50 dollars an hour while playing for the Rays AAA Affiliate, the Durham Bulls.

Randy Wells pitched 9th inning mop-up duty for the Blue Jays in his debut. He faced four batters and walked one. Last season in AAA for the Cubs he struck out 101 batters in 95 innings of work. He was initially drafted as a catcher but was converted to a pitcher due to his strong arm and poor hitting skills.

Yasuhiko Yabuta pitched one inning for the Royals and allowed just one hit in his debut. Yabuta pitched 12 years for the Chiba Lotte Marines and signed a 2 year, 6 million dollar contract with the Royals this off-season. He struck out Alex Rodriguez, Derrek Lee and Johnny Damon in the 2006 World Baseball Classic.

There was one player other than Johnny Cueto to make his big league debut yesterday and it was none other than Callix Crabbe.

Crabbe pinch hit for the Padres to start of the bottom of the 7th. He got to see two major league pitches and then flied out to left field. Crabbe, who plays second base, showed adequate power (9 home runs) and a decent ability to get on base with a 12.8% walk rate in AAA. He was also the 2007 “Applebee’s Home Team Hero” for the Brewers’ AAA affiliate, the Nashville Sounds.

Cueto struck out 10 while walking none in 7 innings of work and I already wrote about him here. He looked very good and I suggest you see him for yourself next time he’s on the mound.

Almost exactly a year ago, Daisuke Matsuzaka made his big league debut, striking out 10 batters in 7 innings of work. Today, Johnny Cueto made his debut for the Reds and threw 7 innings of one hit ball and also struck out 10 batters in what was the first double digit strikeout performance this season by any pitcher.

During the game they flashed a graphic of pitchers who had struck out 10 in their major league debuts since 1980. Only Steve Woodard and Tim Hudson had struck out more in their debuts with 12 and 11 strikeouts respectively.

Cueto has dominated all levels of competition he’s played in the past two years with his high strikeout rate and minuscule walk rate. He’s made numerous 2008 top prospect lists including Baseball America (#34), Baseball Prospectus (#41), John Sickels (#21), and MiLB.com (#48).

Dusty Baker (destroyer of arms) let him throw just 92 pitches and hopefully they’ll continue to keep his pitch counts reasonable.

Tomorrow we’ll get to see the other Reds spring training standout, Edinson Volquez make his season debut. It’s been two big days for the Reds, maybe they can make it three.

Masa Kobayashi was one of four players to make their big league debut yesterday. He struck out 1 and allowed 2 hits before getting yanked for Rafael Perez. After playing in Japan for 10 years and saving over 200 games, he signed a 6.25 million dollar, 2 year contract with the Indians. He had a decent, yet unspectacular spring and it will be interesting to see how he fares as the year goes on.

Evan Meek pitched less than an inning of relief for the Pirates and allowed a two run homer to Yunel Escobar. Meek needs to pitch the entire season for the Pirates or else he’ll be offered back to the Devil Rays. His 69 strikeouts in 67 innings in AA are a good sign, but he still needs to cut down on his walks quite a bit. I guess he’ll be learning on the job if the Pirates want to keep him.

Randor Bierd who pitched himself into the bullpen with a strong spring training, threw 2 innings and allowed only a single hit in his debut for the Orioles. Like Meek, his strikeout ability is enticing, but unlike Meek, he already has his walk rate under control. Last year in AA he walked a mere 24 batters in 53 innings and struck out 40.

Alex Romero was the sole batter to make his debut. He had a successful sacrifice bunt for the Diamondbacks in his only plate appearance and then headed back to the bench. Romero hit .339 this spring which enabled him to beat out Trot Nixon for a roster spot.

A whopping seven players made their major league debut yesterday. During the 2007 season, 211 players made their major league debut and this season we’ve already seen 16 new additions to the major leagues.

Christopher Tolbert got his first at-bat in the bottom of the 8th inning in a game that was already considerably out of hand. He grounded out and called it a day. Tolbert just made Aaron Gleeman’s list of top 40 Twins prospects and Gleeman believes he’s best suited as a utility man.

Brian Bass also made his debut with the Twins and struggled in the process allowing 3 hits and 2 runs including a home run in just 1.1 innings. He had some success in AAA last year as a starter and exhibited good control with 2.1 BB/9. He also appears to induce groundballs at a fairly high rate, which certainly doesn’t hurt.

Brian Barton pinch hit in the bottom of the 7th and singled in his only at-bat of the game. Barton was excellent this spring batting .351 with 2 home runs and 5 extra base hits. Future Redbirds did an excellent piece on him recently which has everything you would ever want to know about him, including his aerospace engineering degree.

Kyle McClellan pitched his first inning for the Cardinals in the top of the 6th and it was a perfect inning to boot. McClellan had an admirable spring striking out 12 in 13 innings of work while walking just 2. He was dominant in AA last year, so it will be interesting to see how he does in the majors. He’s someone to keep an eye on.

Rico Washington also made his debut with the Cardinals where he pinch hit in the bottom of the 5th. He performed quite will in AAA last year with an OPS of .914 and batting .333 this spring earned him his roster spot.

Jayson Nix got the start at second base for the Rockies and went hitless with two walks. Nix spent the past two seasons in AAA and showed decent power for a second-baseman with a .159 ISO. He won the starting job over Jeff Baker, Clint Barmes, Marcus Giles, and Ian Stewart with his solid defense and adequate plate skills.

Last but not least, Ramon Troncoso pitched two-thirds innings for the Dodgers last night in his first major league appearance. He only faced one batter and got him to ground into a double play. Troncoso displayed excellent strikeout abilities in high-A where he struck out 30 batters in 26 innings while only issuing 3 walks. His AA numbers were a bit more sobering, but he still performed pretty well.

This year opening day had 8 major league debuts, which is down from 11 debuts in 2007.

Kosuke Fukudome entered the league with a bang by going 3-3 with 1 walk and just a triple shy of hitting for the cycle. The former Central League MVP is projected to bat about .290 with around 15 home runs. He currently leads all major league players with a 3.333 OPS. You couldn’t ask for a better start.

Kazuo Fukumori didn’t get off to quite the same start as his fellow countryman, as he gave up 3 runs in one-thirds inning of work with 2 wild pitches. Fukumori did have an excellent spring allowing no runs in 9 innings while striking out 8 batters so it will be interesting to see what happens next time he takes the mound. Word is, he’s a bit inconsistent.

Darren O’Day got into action in the bottom of the 8th inning with his team, the Angels, trailing 3-2 to the Twins. He proceeded to load the bases, but worked out the jam to keep the game close. O’Day earned a roster spot with his strong play in spring training and is currently replacing the injured Chris Bootcheck.

Clete Thomas got his first shot as the leadoff batter in the bottom of the 11th with his team down 4-5. He did his part by doubling to center, but no one was able to drive him home. Then he retired.

Brian Bocock, a defensive whiz with questionable batting skills, got the start at shortstop for the Giants while filling in for the injured Omar Vizquel. He walked twice and was caught stealing once. He bat an abysmal .183 this spring with his strikeout rate last year in high-A eclipsing the 30% mark. He’ll likely be sent back down to the minors when Vizquel returns.

After playing seven years in Cuba, Alexei Ramirez got his first start Major League start in center field. He struck out 3 times and walked once in 5 plate appearances. He had a very solid spring, batting .323 with 8 extra base hits include 2 home runs.

Wesley Wright entered the game in the bottom of the 7th to face Brian Giles and got him to ground out. It appears as though Wright has a knack for walking batters. In AAA last year he walked 18 batters in 16.2 innings. His spring wasn’t a whole lot better where he walked 8 batters in 11 innings.

Finally, Blake Dewitt got the start at third base for the injured Nomar Garciaparra, Andy Laroche, and Tony Abreu. He had 1 hit with 2 walks and a run. It’s a nice story for the young third-baseman.

Gregor Blanco made his major league debut last night as a pinch runner. He replaced Brayan Pena as the runner at first in the top of the 8th and did not return to field in the bottom of the inning. Blanco had a good spring by batting .326/.464/.442 which impressed enough to win him a roster spot as a potential outfielder. Last year in the International League (AAA) he had the 10th best OBP among qualified players.

Not exactly a player, but Nationals Park needs to be welcomed to the majors as well. I was in attendance during last night’s game and have to say the stadium is really nice. It reminds me a bit of Citizen’s Bank Park, which happens to be one of my favorite ball parks. Security was extremely tight including mandatory metal detectors due to President Bush’s attendance.

Much to my surprise, getting to the game was a cinch by Metro. I expected to have considerable wait times between transfers, but there was zero wait time and relatively short lines. Without a parking spot, I guess I’ll get to see if Metro can continue this level of competence all season long.