Think Idaho isn’t a baseball state? These 17 Idaho players start the year as pros
Last summer marked a banner year for Idaho baseball with six former in-state players appearing in a Major League game.
How many will make it to the bigs this season?
Well, two are already on MLB rosters. One Cinderella story is working his way back from an injury. And four more remain just a phone call away in Triple-A.
All told, 17 players with Idaho ties start the season in a Major League organization. Below is a list of all of them and updates on their climb up the professional ladder.
Kyle Manzardo
Club: Guardians
Position: DH/First base
Level: MLB
Age: 24
Idaho tie: Lake City High (2018 grad)
The lefty slugger struggled in his first trip to the Majors last spring, getting sent down to the minors for more seasoning. But he stuck with Cleveland after getting recalled in September and served as a key bat during the Guardians’ run to the American League Championship Series, going 6-for-19 (.316) with a home run in nine playoff games. A strong spring training earned him a spot in the heart of Cleveland’s lineup, where he’s hitting .176 with four home runs and 11 RBIs in 16 games.
Seth Brown
Club: Athletics
Position: Outfield
Level: MLB
Age: 32
Idaho tie: Lewis-Clark State
After leading Lewis-Clark State to the 2015 NAIA World Series title, Brown enters his seventh season in the big leagues. He briefly lost his spot on the 40-man roster last summer after early-season struggles. But the A’s brought him back, and he hit .271 with nine home runs in 61 games during his second stint to earn a new one-year contract. He largely has served as a platoon option vs. right-handed pitchers this year, going 3-for-17 (.176) in his first 11 games.
Zach Penrod
Club: Red Sox
Position: Relief pitcher
Level: MLB
Age: 27
Idaho tie: Columbia High (2015 grad), Northwest Nazarene
The lefty reached the mountain top last September, making his Major League debut at Yankee Stadium and finishing the season with a 2.25 ERA in seven appearances. But Penrod’s feel-good story, which included three seasons in the independent Pioneer League, hit a sour note when he landed on the 60-day injury list in spring training with an elbow sprain. He remains on Boston’s 40-man roster as Red Sox manager Alex Cora said in February an MRI didn’t show any structural damage and shouldn’t require surgery.
Riley O’Brien
Club: Cardinals
Position: Relief pitcher
Level: Triple-A
Age: 30
Idaho tie: College of Idaho
He forced his way onto the Opening Day roster last year after a strong spring training, but he only made one appearance before landing on the 60-day injury list with a forearm injury. It took him five months to make it back to the Majors, and he finished the year with an 11.25 ERA in eight appearances. After a separate elbow issue derailed his spring training, he starts in Triple-A Memphis, where he holds a 5.40 ERA in five innings thus far. He remains part of the Cardinals’ 40-man roster, meaning he could get called up at any time.
Connor Brogdon
Club: Angels
Position: Relief pitcher
Level: Triple-A
Age: 30
Idaho tie: Lewis-Clark State
A foot injury limited the right-hander to a single game last season after the Dodgers acquired him in a trade with the Phillies. He did make 14 appearances in the minors as he tried to work his way into the World Series champs’ plans. But after the Dodgers dropped him from their 40-man roster in November, he signed a minor-league deal with the Angels in January. He starts the season in Triple-A Salt Lake City, where he owns a 25.41 ERA over six appearances.
Michael Stefanic
Club: Blue Jays
Position: Utility infield
Level: Triple-A
Age: 29
Idaho tie: Timberline High (2014 grad)
The Angels cut ties with Stefanic in November after he hit .232 in 90 big-league games over three seasons, and Toronto signed him to a minor-league deal a month later. The former undrafted free agent who sent a homemade highlight reel to all 30 MLB teams hit .269 in spring training, but he starts the season in Triple-A Buffalo, where he’s hitting .324. He will need the Blue Jays to add him to their 40-man roster before returning to the majors.
Jackson Cluff
Club: Nationals
Position: Shortstop
Level: Triple-A
Age: 28
Idaho tie: Rocky Mountain High (2015 grad)
Long known for his glove, not his bat, Cluff hit .225 in his first full season in Triple-A last year. That marks a career high for any club for which he played more than 25 games. He made a brief appearance in spring training with the big-league club but returns to Rochester, New York, for more seasoning.
Gabriel Hughes
Club: Rockies
Position: Starting pitcher
Level: Double-A
Age: 22
Idaho tie: Rocky Mountain/Renaissance High grad (2019)
The 10th overall pick in the 2022 draft lost the 2024 season to Tommy John surgery. But he’s quickly showing why the Rockies invested so much in him, making three appearances with the big-league club in spring training and throwing 6 ⅓ scoreless innings. He starts his first full season after surgery back in Double-A Hartford, Connecticut, where he threw four perfect innings as the Yard Goats’ opening day starter.
Tyler Burch
Club: Rockies
Position: Relief pitcher
Level: Double-A
Age: 27
Idaho tie: Lewis-Clark State
A former undrafted free agent, the Rockies picked up the right-hander from the Orioles in the Rule 5 draft in December. He spent most of last season on the injured list but owns a 3.71 ERA across 114 minor-league games in five seasons for the Phillies and Orioles. Colorado shipped him to Double-A Hartford alongside Hughes, where he remains on the injured list.
Trent Sellers
Club: Yankees
Position: Starting pitcher
Level: Double-A
Age: 25
Idaho tie: Lewis-Clark State
The right-hander played two seasons in Lewiston before finishing his college career at Oregon State. No team drafted him in 2023, but the Yankees signed him as a free agent and he was one of their system’s breakout players last summer. He went 6-3 with a 2.96 ERA in 82 innings for the Yankees’ High-A affiliate last summer — including an 0.39 ERA across his final 14 appearances — and was named a league all-star. He starts the season in Double-A Somerset, New Jersey.
Ike Buxton
Club: Marlins
Position: Starting pitcher
Level: High-A
Age: 24
Idaho tie: Wood River High (2018 grad), Boise State
Ranked the Marlins’ No. 26 prospect last season, the right-hander fell out of the top 30 this year after a rough season in the High-A Midwest League. He went 2-8 last summer with a 5.35 ERA in 19 starts in the circuit. The Marlins assigned him back to Beloit, Wisconsin, where he started the year on the seven-day injured list.
Jake Pfennigs
Club: Athletics
Position: Pitcher
Level: High-A
Age: 25
Idaho tie: Post Falls High (2018 grad)
An injury meant the North Idaho native didn’t make his season debut last summer until July 16. The former Idaho Gatorade boys basketball player of the year still posted a 4.87 ERA in eight appearances in the Low-A California League, earning himself a promotion to the Midwest League this spring. He’s adjusted well so far, starting the season with 2 ⅔ scoreless innings in three appearances.
Chase Adkison
Club: Cardinals
Position: Catcher
Level: High-A
Age: 24
Idaho tie: Grangeville High (2019 grad), Boise State
Another Idaho native who started his pro career as an undrafted free agent, Adkison hit .269 and threw out 12-of-42 base stealers in 51 games last summer in the Low-A Florida State League. That earned him a late-season promotion to the High-A Midwest League, where he returns this spring.
Josh Trentadue
Club: Rangers
Position: Starting pitcher
Level: High-A
Age: 23
Idaho tie: College of Southern Idaho
A 14th-round pick in 2023, the lefty ran into his first struggles last summer, going 3-5 with a 5.35 ERA in 24 appearances in the Low-A Carolina League. But he struck out 92 and walked just 29 in 70 ⅔ innings, showing the Rangers enough potential to earn a promotion this spring. He threw four scoreless, no-hit innings in his season debut April 9.
Drake George
Club: Giants
Position: Pitcher
Level: Low-A
Age: 23
Idaho tie: Lewis-Clark State
The Giants selected the right-hander in the 13th round last summer, making him the first Lewis-Clark State player drafted since 2018. He didn’t make a professional appearance last year but starts the season in the Low-A California League, where he hasn’t allowed an earned run in seven innings thus far.
Liam Paddack
Club: White Sox
Position: Pitcher
Level: Low-A
Age: 21
Idaho tie: Coeur d’Alene High grad (2021)
An 18th-round pick last year, the 6-4 lefty started his college career at Spokane Falls Community College before spending a single season at Gonzaga. He made his professional debut April 6 and owns a 9.00 ERA with two holds in three innings for the White Sox’s Low-A affiliate in the Carolina League.
Casey Anderson
Club: Diamondbacks
Position: Starting pitcher
Level: Short-season A
Age: 24
Idaho tie: College of Southern Idaho
The right-hander struggled in the Low-A California League last year, going 6-8 with a 6.37 ERA in 21 starts. He started the season back in the same circuit, posting a 2.16 ERA across 8 ⅓ innings over two appearances. But the Diamondbacks sent him down to the Northwest League on Tuesday.
This story was originally published April 16, 2025 at 4:42 PM.
