James Shields

Santa Clarita continues to grow, and with that growth comes an increase in the number of former Santa Clarita baseball players that go on to play in professional baseball.

Currently there are four Major League pitchers who played baseball in the Santa Clarita Valley as well as five Triple-A players and a host of Double-A and below players.

Below is a list of current major leaguers and known minor leaguers:

Major League Baseball

James Shields – San Diego Padres (NL West)

Shields started opening day for the Padres against the LA Dodgers going head to head with Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw. Shields was strong, throwing six innings of six hit baseball while allowing two runs in a no decision. Shields is expected to go through the season as the Padres staff ace after previously stellar seasons with Kansas City and Tampa Bay

Tommy Milone – Minnesota Twins (AL Central)

Milone squeezed into the opening day roster as the fifth starter in the Twins rotation. Last season Milone was servicable for Oakland before being traded and sent to AAA Rochester.

Trevor Bauer – Cleveland Indians (AL Central)

Bauer started the third game of the young season for the Indians throwing six innings of no hit baseball. Bauer started 26 games for the Indians last season going 5-8 with a 4.18 ERA, his best major league season to date. He is expected to stick as the third starter in the Indians rotation.

Zach Britton – Baltimore Orioles (AL East)

Britton appeared in 71 games last season for the O’s, his first season in the bullpen after three as a starter in which he compiled a 18-17 record. Britton was fourth in the AL in Saves last season with 37 in 41 opportunities. He will take up the closing role once again this season for the AL East contenders.

Triple-A

Buck Britton – Oklahoma City Dodgers (Los Angeles Dodgers)

Britton is the older brother of Oriels closer Zach Britton. He signed with the Dodgers on a minor league tryout contract and spend the entire spring with the big club. He just missed out on the 40-man roster after showing great versatility playing nearly every field position. He is expected to play third base for the OKC Dodgers in the Pacific Coast League.

Danny Worth – Reno Aces (Arizona Diamondbacks)

Worth will start his 2015 season in the minors after spending the majority of his career bouncing between AAA Toledo and the Detroit Tigers. Worth is a career .230 hitter in the majors.

Mike Montgomery – Tacoma Rainiers (Seattle)

Montgomery was traded to the Mariners organization during spring training. He is currently on the Seattle 40 man roster but management feels he needs to spend time in the minors to continue to hone his craft.

Chris Valaika – Iowa Cubs (Chicago Cubs)

Valaika has been up and down between the minors and majors multiple times in his nearly ten year career. Valaika is a career .238 hitter in the majors with Cincinnati, Miami and the Cubs

Dana Eveland – Pawtucket Red Sox (Boston Red Sox)

Eveland found a new home in the off season after spending parts of last season with the New York Mets. Eveland will start the season in AAA but don’t be shocked to see him called up if the Red Sox need to add an arm throughout the season.

Double-A

Tyler Glasnow – Altoona Curv (Pittsburgh Pirates)

Pat Valaika – New Brittain Rock Cats (Colorado Rockies)

Chipper Smith – Jacksonville Suns (Miami Marlins)

Brian Hernandez – Arkansas Travelers (Los Angeles Angels)

Class-A Advanced

Troy Neiman – Modesto Nut (Colorado Rockies)

Scott Barlow – Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (Los Angeles Dodgers)

Christian Lopez – Dunedin Blue Jays (Toronto Blue Jays)

Timmy Lopes – Bakersfield Blaze (Seattle Mariners)

Casey McCarthy – Jupiter Hammerheads (Miami Marlins)

Cory Jones – Palm Beach Cardinals (St. Louis Cardinals)

Class-A, Class-A Short Season, Rookie

Shane Zeile – West Michigan Whitecaps (Detroit Tigers)

Steven Farnworth – Batavia Muckdogs (Miami Marlins)

Kyle Hooper – Great Lakes Loons (Los Angeles Dodgers)

Cody Harris – GCL Marlins (Miami Marlins)

Brennan Bernardino – Dayton Dragons (Cincinnati Reds)

If you know of a player that is not included on this list please email SCVTV Sports Director Matt Robinson at mrobinson@scvtv.com.