ATHENS – The Georgia Bulldogs have five former players on Major League Baseball rosters as Thursday marks Opening Day.

The list includes three with the Los Angeles Dodgers in pitchers Alex Wood and Josh Fields along with catcher/infielder Kyle Farmer plus pitcher Justin Grimm (Kansas City Royals). Additionally, Derek Lilliquist serves as the pitching coach of the Washington Nationals.

Grimm is in his seventh year in the Major Leagues and first with the Royals. He has appeared in 295 games and owns a 19-20 record, a 4.70 ERA and four saves. Wood and Fields are in their sixth year in the Major Leagues. Wood earned All-Star honors last year, going 16-3 with a 2.72 ERA in 25 starts. For his career, Wood is 43-33 with a 3.20 ERA. Wood is slated to start game two of the season for the Dodgers Friday against San Francisco.

Fields posted one of his best seasons in 2017, tallying a 5-0 mark, a 2.84 ERA and two saves in 57 relief appearances for Los Angeles. For his career, Fields is 15-10 with a 3.98 ERA and 11 saves.

Farmer begins his second year in the Major Leagues after making the Dodgers 25-man roster. In 20 games last year with Los Angeles, he batted .300 with two RBI.

Former Bulldog Gordon Beckham went to Spring Training with the Seattle Mariners and recently signed a minor league contract to remain with their organization. The 31-year-old spent most of the 2017 season in Tacoma with Seattle’s Triple-A affiliate. He was called up during the final month of the regular season and appeared in 11 games. Beckham has played nine seasons in the Major Leagues.