3 Idaho players made an MLB Opening Day roster. 15 more are chasing the pro dream
The path from Idaho to a Major League Baseball roster remains anything but well traveled. Only 55 Idaho natives have made it to the majors, less than 0.003% of the 20,000 players to wear a big league uniform.
But one Idaho native and a pair of Idaho college products made an Opening Day roster this season. Catch up with that decorated trio, and 15 more Idahoans fighting to make it to the top.
All stats are through Wednesday.
Kyle Manzardo
Club: Guardians
Position: DH/First base
Level: MLB
Age: 25
Idaho tie: Lake City High (2018 grad)
The lefty cleanup hitter made himself a regular in his first full professional season in Cleveland last year, hitting .234 with 27 home runs and 70 RBIs. He put on 14 pounds and dedicated his offseason to working on his defensive skills at first base. He’s struggled out of the gate this spring, hitting .086 with no extra-base hits through 12 games. But The Sporting News noted he’s the unluckiest hitter thus far in the majors based on advanced metrics.
Riley O’Brien
Club: Cardinals
Position: Relief pitcher
Level: MLB
Age: 31
Idaho tie: College of Idaho
The right-hander put together a breakout 2025 season, flashing a 100 mph fastball and serving as St. Louis’ closer down the stretch to make 42 appearances with a 2.06 ERA and six saves. A calf strain this spring kept him from making the South Korea roster during the World Baseball Classic. The Cardinals have not declared a closer this spring. But O’Brien remains the leading candidate since returning to the mound, recording three saves through a scoreless 7 ⅓ innings thus far.
Connor Brogdon
Club: Guardians
Position: Relief pitcher
Level: MLB
Age: 31
Idaho tie: Lewis-Clark State
After missing nearly the entire 2024 season to plantar fasciitis, the right-hander proved his Major League bona fides by making 43 appearances with a 5.55 ERA for the Angels last summer. The club didn’t re-sign the journeyman in the offseason, leading him to sign a one-year, $900,000 deal with the Guardians, his fourth club. He’s settled into a regular role with a rebuilt bullpen in Cleveland, posting a 3.38 ERA through his first five appearances.
Seth Brown
Club: Yankees
Position: OF
Level: Triple-A
Age: 33
Idaho tie: Lewis-Clark State
He was the longest-tenured member of the A’s until the club cut him loose after an injury last June. The Diamondbacks quickly scooped him up, and he hit .352 across a pair of Triple-A teams to trigger an upward mobility clause that allowed any team to add him to their 40-man roster. None bit, and he signed a minor-league deal with the Yankees in January. He didn’t make the MLB club out of spring training and started the year with the Yankees’ Triple-A club outside the 40-man roster.
Zach Penrod
Club: Nationals
Position: Relief pitcher
Level: Triple-A
Age: 28
Idaho tie: Columbia High (2015 grad), Northwest Nazarene
His Hollywood story took a turn last year when an elbow injury kept the former independent-league star from making the Red Sox’s Opening Day roster. Boston traded him to the Dodgers in June, but he never found his footing after the injury, posting an 8.65 ERA across 19 appearances in Triple-A to lose a spot on the 40-man roster. He signed a minor-league deal with Washington in January and started the year with its Triple-A club in Rochester, New York, where a rough outing Wednesday left him with a 10.38 ERA in his first three appearances.
Michael Stefanic
Club: Athletics
Position: Utility infield
Level: Triple-A
Age: 30
Idaho tie: Timberline High (2014 grad)
After playing in just nine games with Toronto last season, Stefanic elected to try his hand in the open market and signed a minor-league deal with the Athletics in December. He hit .500 during 20 spring training games and narrowly missed out on making the A’s Opening Day roster as one of the last cuts. He started the year outside the 40-man roster in Triple-A again, a level where he holds a career .330 batting average across 436 games. But he’s yet to prove he can consistently hit Major League Baseball pitching, recording a .227 average across 99 games.
Jackson Cluff
Club: Mets
Position: Shortstop
Level: Triple-A
Age: 29
Idaho tie: Rocky Mountain High (2015 grad)
Known for his glove, Cluff put together his best offensive season for the Nationals’ Triple-A club last summer, hitting .242 with 12 home runs and 40 RBIs. He never could crack the Washington lineup, though, and he signed with the Mets in the offseason as defensive depth. He competed for a backup role this spring, but his position outside the 40-man roster and .167 average during spring training kept him in the minors. He cranked a walk-off home run on Easter and is hitting .222 for the Mets’ Triple-A club.
Gabriel Hughes
Club: Rockies
Position: Starting pitcher
Level: Triple-A
Age: 24
Idaho tie: Rocky Mountain/Renaissance High grad (2019)
The former 10th overall pick returned in full last summer after Tommy John surgery, making it back to Triple-A. He posted a 5.11 ERA in 14 starts in Albuquerque, and Colorado added him to its 40-man roster in November, making a big-league promotion easier. He even held his own during a spring training appearance against the U.S. World Baseball Classic roster, striking out Aaron Judge. So far this spring, he sports a 2.61 ERA through two appearances and tied a career high with eight strikeouts in five innings in his season debut.
Josh Trentadue
Club: Rangers
Position: Starting pitcher
Level: Double-A
Age: 24
Idaho tie: College of Southern Idaho
The lefty made quite an impression last summer, flashing a 97 mph fastball and earning an all-star nod from the High-A South Atlantic League after posting a 1.15 ERA and 71 strikeouts in 54 ⅔ innings. That earned him a late-season promotion to Double-A and a spring training invite. Texas’ No. 23 prospect returned to Double-A Frisco, Texas, this spring looking to prove he can continue to mow down hitters at the higher level.
Tyler Burch
Club: Mets
Position: Relief pitcher
Level: Double-A
Age: 28
Idaho tie: Lewis-Clark State
Health remains the top priority for the right-hander. He missed most of the 2024 season and the entirety of the 2025 campaign after elbow surgery. That didn’t scare off the Mets, who signed him to a two-year deal in December and invited him to spring training. He started the season in Double-A but has yet to make an appearance and remains on the 60-day injured list.
Trent Sellers
Club: Yankees
Position: Starting pitcher
Level: Double-A
Age: 26
Idaho tie: Lewis-Clark State
Considered one of the Yankees’ breakout prospects in 2024, the undrafted free agent continued to shine last season, going 2-4 with a 3.92 ERA and 10.4 strikeouts per nine innings in 22 starts for the team’s Double-A affiliate. He returned to Somerset, New Jersey, again this season and made his debut Wednesday, giving up six earned runs in four innings.
Chase Adkison
Club: Cardinals
Position: Catcher/First base
Level: Double-A
Age: 25
Idaho tie: Grangeville High (2019 grad), Boise State
Catchers who can rake are worth their weight in gold for minor league teams. And Adkison continues to prove he can hit professional pitching, posting a .298 batting average with a .452 on-base percentage in High-A last season. That earned him a promotion to Double-A this spring, but he started the season on the development list, a five-year-old tool clubs use to stash healthy players with a club outside the active roster.
Casey Anderson
Club: Diamondbacks
Position: Relief pitcher
Level: Double-A
Age: 25
Idaho tie: College of Southern Idaho
The right-hander appeared for every Arizona affiliate above the rookie leagues last season. But he saw his most success in Double-A, recording a 2.88 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 25 innings. He returned to Amarillo, Texas, after earning a spring training invite and getting a long look from the big-league club with seven appearances.
Liam Paddack
Club: White Sox
Position: Relief pitcher
Level: High-A
Age: 22
Idaho tie: Coeur d’Alene High grad (2021)
The 6-foot-4 lefty proved he can miss bats in his pro debut. He racked up 55 strikeouts and 4.50 ERA in the Low-A Carolina League. He also issued 37 walks, but the White Sox saw enough promising signs to promote him to the High-A South Atlantic League.
Drake George
Club: Giants
Position: Starting pitcher
Level: Low-A
Age: 24
Idaho tie: Lewis-Clark State
A 13th-round pick in 2024, he didn’t make his pro debut until 2025. He was off to a promising start in the Low-A California League, posting a 3.20 ERA with 62 strikeouts in 56 ⅓ innings. But he went on the 60-day injured list in August and has yet to return to the field.
Jack Barker
Club: Phillies
Position: Outfield
Level: Low-A
Age: 20
Idaho tie: Mountain View High grad (2023), College of Southern Idaho
Philadelphia took the record-setting CSI prospect in the 13th round last summer. He struggled in his first at-bats vs. professionals, going 4-for-29 (.138) in a brief stint in the Low-A Florida State League. He returned to the circuit for more seasoning this spring.
Merit Jones
Club: Twins
Position: Starting pitcher
Level: Low-A
Age: 22
Idaho tie: Idaho Falls High grad (2022)
Minnesota drafted the former Idaho all-class Gatorade player of the year in both 2024 and ‘25. It convinced the 6-foot-4 right-hander to sign last season as a 14th-round pick, and he made a scoreless two-inning debut in his only outing in the Low-A Florida State League. He returned to Fort Myers for his first full season.
Jadon Williamson
Club: Marlins
Position: Relief pitcher
Level: Low-A
Age: 23
Idaho tie: Lewis-Clark State
The 6-foot-5 right-hander led the Cascade Conference in ERA, opposing batting average and strikeouts as a senior, convincing the Marlins to spend an 11th-round draft pick on him. Williamson made a brief appearance in the Low-A Florida State League after signing last season. It will serve as his home again this spring.
This story was originally published April 9, 2026 at 3:25 PM.
