Each year, hundreds of the world’s top baseball players earn the call to the big leagues as part of the MLB Draft, and in 2021, nearly 30 of the Top 75 selections got their start on the Little League® field.
Below are the 29 former Little Leaguers® who were selected among the first 75 picks in the 2021 MLB Draft:
Pick | MLB Club | Player Name | Little League |
2 | Texas Rangers | Jack Leiter | Weston Area (Fla.) LL |
7 | Kansas City Royals | Frank Mozzicato | Ellington (Conn.) LL |
8 | Colorado Rockies | Benny Montgomery | Central Columbia LL (Bloomsburg, Pa.) |
17 | Cincinnati Reds | Matt McClain | Tustin (Calif.) Eastern LL |
18 | St. Louis Cardinals | Michael McGreevy | San Clemente (Calif.) LL |
19 | Toronto Blue Jays | Gunnar Hoglund | Greater Hudson (Fla.) LL |
22 | Chicago White Sox | Colson Montgomery | Huntingburg (Ind.) LL |
23 | Cleveland Indians | Gavin Williams | FCPR Zone 2 LL (Fayetteville, N.C.) |
24 | Atlanta Braves | Ryan Cusick | LS Youth Baseball LL (Sudbury, Mass.) |
26 | Minnesota Twins | Chase Petty | Millville (N.J.) American LL |
28 | Tampa Bay Rays | Carson Williams | Del Mar LL (San Diego, Calif.) |
30 | Cincinnati Reds | Jay Allen II | Fort Pierce (Fla.) LL |
37 | Pittsburgh Pirates | Anthony Solometo | Erial (N.J.) LL |
38 | Texas Rangers | Aaron Zavala | Keizer (Ore.) LL |
39 | Detroit Tigers | Izaac Pacheco | Friendswood (Texas) LL |
41 | Baltimore Orioles | Connor Norby | Brooklyn Center (Minn.) LL |
45 | Los Angeles Angels | Ky Bush | Dixie LL (St. George, Utah) |
56 | Chicago Cubs | James Triantos | McClean (Va.) National LL |
57 | Chicago White Sox | Wes Kath | McDowell Mountain LL (Scottsdale, Ariz.) |
58 | Cleveland Indians | Doug Nikhazy | Windermere (Fla.) National LL |
59 | Atlanta Braves | Spencer Schwellenbach | North Saginaw Township (Mich.) LL |
60 | Oakland Athletics | Zach Gelof | Rehoboth Beach (Del.) LL |
61 | Minnesota Twins | Steven Hajjar | North Andover (Mass.) LL |
63 | Tampa Bay Rays | Kyle Manzardo | Coeur D’Alene (Idaho) LL |
64 | Pittsburgh Pirates | Lonnie White Jr. | Caln Township (Pa.) LL |
69 | Cleveland Indians | Tommy Mace | Citrus Park (Fla.) LL |
70 | St. Louis Cardinals | Ryan Holgate | Davis (Calif.) American LL |
71 | San Diego Padres | Robert Gasser | El Dorado Hills (Calif.) LL |
74 | Detroit Tigers | Dylan Smith | Missouri City (Texas) LL |
In addition to the nearly 30 Little League alumni who were picked among the Top 75, a former Little League Baseball® World Series participant also earned the call in this year’s event. Alex Garbrick, a member of Keystone Little League’s memorable World Series run in 2011, was drafted in the 17th round (505 overall) by the Philadelphia Phillies.
To learn more about former Little Leaguers who have gone on to major league careers, including a list of active MLB alumni, visit LittleLeague.org/Alumni.
NOTE: If you know of a Little League graduate that would fit into any of these categories and is not listed, please complete the Little League Alumni Submission form.