With the final stretch run of the 2019 season on the horizon and MLB award debates heating up, we decided to find out who the best active player is from each state. With so much talent reigning from Florida, Texas, Georgia, among other highly populated states, our choices for the best of the best may surprise.
In an effort to remove subjectivity, each player was determined as the "best of their state" by the amount of Wins Above Replacement (WAR) they have accumulated this season. For instance, the state of California is home to many of the best players in the game (i.e. Cole Hamels, Nolan Arenado), but only the player with the highest WAR (from baseball-reference) in 2019 will be chosen to represent their state.
Also noteworthy, we understand many players later moved on to play youth and high school baseball in other states and, in some cases, other countries. For simplicity reasons, our list is based on each respective player's birth state.
Keep in mind, all 50 states will not be listed due to the fact that not every state has (or has had) an active representative play in 2019. The following are the only states without an active big league player: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont.
Enough rules, here are the best active players in each state.
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
Snubs and top states
- Biggest snubs: Walker Buehler for Kentucky (1.3 WAR), Mookie Betts for Tennessee (5.0 WAR)
- Other notable players from California: CC Sabathia, Cole Hamels, Giancarlo Stanton, Freddie Freeman, Nolan Arenado, Matt Chapman, Stephen Strasburg, Gerrit Cole, DJ LeMaheiu, Aaron Judge
- Other notable players from Florida: Trea Turner, Chris Sale, Anthony Rizzo, Andrew McCutchen, J.D. Martinez, Manny Machado, Zack Greinke, Pete Alonso, Josh Donaldson
- Other notable players from Georgia: Will Smith, Buster Posey, Matt Olson, Lorenzo Cain
- Other notable players from Texas: Clayton Kershaw, Anthony Rendon, Charlie Blackmon, Noah Syndergaard, Josh Bell