Current Pro Baseball Players from Pennsylvania (MLB 2023)
Baseball Players, and athletes of all sports really, take pride in where they’re from. Whether it’s the state, city or area code – you always notice players wanting to rep their home area.
Fans tend to do the same thing. It’s always more fun to pull for a player when they’re from your home state (or even your hometown), especially when that player also happens to be playing on your favorite team.
With all that in mind, we went through MLB.com and pulled every player’s home state (or country) on the 40-man rosters for each team.
We found 21 players from the state of Pennsylvania on major league rosters. That’s an impressive number that ranks Pennsylvania tied for the 7th most of any state (tied with Virginia).
As far as individual cities, Pittsburgh is the most well-represented city with 5 players in the majors. Lancaster and Scranton are the only other cities with more than one (two each).
MLB Players from Pennsylvania
Here are the 21 guys representing the state of Pennsylvania on MLB Rosters at the start of the 2023 season including what town he’s from and what team he plays for.
| Name | City | Team |
|---|---|---|
| AJ Alexy | Honey Brook | White Sox |
| Alex Kirilloff | Pittsburgh | Twins |
| Cam Gallagher | Lancaster | Guardians |
| Chas McCormick | West Chester | Astros |
| Christian Walker | Norristown | Diamondbacks |
| David Bednar | Pittsburgh | Pirates |
| Derek Law | Pittsburgh | Reds |
| Ian Happ | Pittsburgh | Cubs |
| Jake McCarthy | Scranton | Diamondbacks |
| JJ Bleday | Danville | As |
| Levi Stoudt | Pottstown | Reds |
| Lou Trivino | Green Lane | Yankees |
| Mason Miller | Pittsburgh | As |
| Max Kranick | Scranton | Pirates |
| Michael Siani | Glenside | Reds |
| Nolan Jones | Langhorne | Rockies |
| Ross Stripling | Bluebell | Giants |
| Scott McGough | Monroeville | Diamondbacks |
| Tim Mayza | Allentown | Blue Jays |
| TJ Friedl | Sewickley | Reds |
| Travis Jankowski | Lancaster | Rangers |
Player Bios
Here is a little more background info on a few of the standout players from the state of Pennsylvania:
Travis Jankowski
Travis Jankowski, born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, attended Lancaster Catholic High School in Lancaster, PA. He further honed his baseball skills at the State University of New York at Stony Brook (Stony Brook, NY), where he became one of the top collegiate players.
Jankowski was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 1st round (44th) of the 2012 MLB June Amateur Draft. In the MLB, Jankowski has played for teams including the San Diego Padres, Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, Seattle Mariners, and Texas Rangers, primarily as a centerfielder, left fielder, and right fielder.
Ian Happ
Ian Happ, a native of the Pittsburgh area, established himself as a significant baseball talent early in his career. He played college baseball at the University of Cincinnati, where he was a standout player for the Bearcats.
Happ’s performance in college led to him being a first-round draft pick (ninth overall) by the Chicago Cubs in the 2015 MLB Draft. In his rookie season with the Cubs, Happ quickly made an impact by hitting his twentieth home run during his eighty-ninth career game, setting a record as the fastest player in Cubs’ history to reach that milestone.
Happ has since continued to be a key player for the Cubs, known for his hitting ability and versatility on the field.
Christian Walker
Christian Walker was born on March 28, 1991, in Norristown, Pennsylvania, where he attended Kennedy-Kenrick Catholic High School. After high school, Walker was initially drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 49th round of the 2009 MLB June Amateur Draft but did not sign.
He then played college baseball at the University of South Carolina, where he was part of the national championship-winning team. Walker’s strong college performance led to him being drafted again, this time by the Baltimore Orioles in the 4th round of the 2012 MLB June Amateur Draft.
In the MLB, Walker has played primarily as a first baseman for the Arizona Diamondbacks, known for his defensive abilities highlighted by two Gold Glove awards.
Hall of Fame Players from Pennsylvania
In addition to the current players from Pennsylvania, we compiled a list of all players that have gone on to make it into the Baseball Hall of Fame:
| Name | City | Induction Year |
|---|---|---|
| Mike Mussina | Williamsport | 2019 |
| Mike Piazza | Norristown | 2016 |
| Ken Griffey Jr. | Donora | 2016 |
| Bruce Sutter | Lancaster | 2006 |
| Cum Posey | Homestead | 2006 |
| Effa Manley | Philadelphia | 2006 |
| Nestor Chylak | Olyphant | 1999 |
| Tommy Lasorda | Norristown | 1997 |
| Nellie Fox | St. Thomas Township | 1997 |
| Reggie Jackson | Abington Township | 1993 |
| Hack Wilson | Ellwood City | 1979 |
| Stan Musial | Donora | 1969 |
| Stan Coveleski | Shamokin | 1969 |
| Roy Campanella | Philadelphia | 1969 |
| John Montgomery Ward | Bellefonte | 1964 |
| Bill McKechnie | Wilkinsburg | 1962 |
| Joe McCarthy | Philadelphia | 1957 |
| Bobby Wallace | Pittsburgh | 1953 |
| Herb Pennock | Kennett Square | 1948 |
| Ed Walsh | Plains Township | 1946 |
| Rube Waddell | Bradford | 1946 |
| Eddie Plank | Gettysburg | 1946 |
| Hugh Jennings | Pittston | 1945 |
| Honus Wagner | Chartiers Borough | 1936 |
| Christy Mathewson | Factoryville | 1936 |
Baseball Hometown Fun Facts
California, by far, has the most current MLB players of any state with 189.
The second most was the state of Florida with 89, followed by Texas (78), Georgia (40) and New York (38).
The Dominican Republic has 120 players currently in major league baseball which is incredibly impressive considering the country has a total population of only 11 million people. By comparison, the state of California has a population of 39 million and the state of Florida has a population of almost 22 million.
Other States
We are slowly but surely getting all the states published from the data we collected. Here are a few of the other states we currently have available.
