61MAJORSWHERE BIG LEAGUERS
COME FROM
Collegians more frequently become major leaguers
at the majority of positionsby KYLE GLASERT
he draft is over. Now comes the hard part.
Fewer than 20 percent of players drafted each year reach the big leagues, and
only about 5 percent have long big league careers.
The odds are stacked against major league success for all but a few players, but
it is worth noting that select demographics have higher success rates than others. Looking
at the players who are in the major leagues today, certain trends emerge and provide guid-
ance for where teams can expect their future players to come from.
We examined the 40 most frequently used players at each position this season through
May 31 as well as the 150 most frequently used starting pitchers and sorted where they
originated, whether college (also includes junior college), high school or international.
While high school and international players who sign as teenagers are perceived to
have higher upside, the results indicate that fortune favors the collegians.CATCHER
The best catchers tend to come from college
(Buster Posey, Yasmani Grandal, Jonathan
Lucroy) or outside the continental U.S. (Yadier
Molina, Willson Contreras, Gary Sanchez).
The top catchers from high schools are J.T.
Realmuto, who was drafted as a shortstop, and
Brian McCann, who was drafted in 2002.
Sticking to the college or international ranks
for catchers is much wiser than drafting a U.S.
high schooler.FIRST BASE
Lefthanded-hitting high schoolers (Anthony
Rizzo, Freddie Freeman, Eric Hosmer, Matt
Olson) and players who converted from otherGordon, Ryan Braun). Standout future left
fielders can be found in both high school
(McCutchen, Michael Brantley, Tommy
Pham, David Dahl, Joc Pederson) and college
(Benintendi, Braun, Schwarber, Gordon). The
international crop is rapidly improving with a
wave of young stars (Ronald Acuña Jr., Juan
Soto, Eloy Jimenez).
Talented left fielders can be found any-
where, but they will likely be playing a differ-
ent position at the time they sign.CENTER FIELD
Center field is far and away the position
with the most late-round draft picks who are
major leaguers. Lorenzo Cain (14th round),
Kevin Kiermaier (31st round), Kevin Pillar
(32nd) and Jarrod Dyson (50th) highlight the
group. The best center fielders are almost
exclusively domestic players (Mike Trout,
George Springer, Cain). Starling Marte and
Ketel Marte are the best of the international
center fielders. All in all, the best center field-
ers overwhelmingly come out of the draft.RIGHT FIELD
Right field is the position where players
drafted from junior colleges or small schools
are most prevalent. Bryce Harper, J.D.
Martinez, Nick Markakis and Josh Reddick
headline the JC/small college crop, while
Aaron Judge and Mitch Haniger were draft-
ed out of mid-major colleges. Mookie Betts,
Cody Bellinger and Christian Yelich are three
of the best players in the game and were all
drafted as high school infielders.
When it comes to looking at smaller col-
leges for un-mined talent, right field is the
place to look.STARTING PITCHER
Half of starting pitchers in MLB came
from college, and it’s not just depth starters
either. The best starting pitchers in the game
right now (Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander,
Chris Sale, Corey Kluber, Jacob deGrom
and Gerrit Cole) were largely drafted from
four-year schools. Exceptions include high
schoolers Zack Greinke, Blake Snell and
Noah Syndergaard and international signees
German Marquez, Carlos Carrasco and Luis
Severino. nCollegians like Max Scherzer
comprise half of all major league
starting pitchers. It’s not all vol-
ume, either. Scherzer and fellow
college arms like Jacob deGrom,
Corey Kluber, David Price and
Justin Verlander have won eight
Cy Young Awards between them.JAYNE KAMIN-ONCEA/GETTY IMAGESHigh
Pos College School International
C 15 13 12
1B 20 10 10
2B 17 6 17
3B 20 4 16
SS 14 9 17
LF 13 16 11
CF 18 11 11
RF 18 12 10
SP 75 46 29international signees (Ozzie Albies, Jonathan
Schoop, Cesar Hernandez).
Major league second basemen mostly play
other positions at the start of their pro careers.THIRD BASE
The best major league third basemen are
overwhelmingly college draftees, headed by
Kris Bryant, Alex Bregman, Anthony Rendon,
Matt Chapman and Josh Donaldson. Nolan
Arenado is the main prep exception. There is
a rising tide of international stars at the hot
corner, led by Jose Ramirez, Rafael Devers,
Eugenio Suarez, Yoan Moncada and Vladimir
Guerrero Jr.
Amateurs capable of being third basemen in
the majors often reveal themselves prominent-
ly—even if they are playing a different position
at the time—and go early in the draft.SHORTSTOP
While most shortstops are internation-
al signees (Xander Bogaerts, Adalberto
Mondesi, Jorge Polanco), the best tend to be
high school draftees (Francisco Lindor, Carlos
Correa, Javier Baez, Corey Seager, Trevor
Story). Quality shortstops can be found in the
college ranks as well (Andrelton Simmons,
Brandon Crawford, Paul DeJong and Marcus
Semien).
The top major league shortstops are more
likely to be signed as teenagers—internation-
ally or out of high school—than they are to be
drafted out of college.LEFT FIELD
Most left fielders are position converts,
largely from center field (Andrew McCutchen,
Andrew Benintendi) but also catcher (Kyle
Schwarber, Wil Myers) and third base (Alexpositions (Josh Bell, Carlos Santana, Edwin
Encarnacion) make up most of the top first
basemen in the majors today.
Righthanded-hitting college first basemen
are having more success than they used to, e.g.
Paul Goldschmidt, C.J. Cron, Rhys Hoskins
and Pete Alonso.SECOND BASE
Jose Altuve and Robinson Cano are exam-
ples of amateur second basemen who became
stars at the position, but they are exceptions.
About three quarters of major league second
basemen started at other positions, some-
thing true of both domestic draftees (Derek
Dietrich, Whit Merrifield, DJ LeMahieu) and