The sports buzz in Tempe has been consumed in recent weeks by the football transfer portal. Who's coming? Who's leaving? Does loyalty rest anywhere in college athletics in the NIL era?
Baseball made a push for time in the sun in this very busy news cycle when the Arizona Diamondbacks made a trade to acquire Nolan Arenado and cash considerations for former ASU pitcher Jack Martinez.
Diamondbacks reportedly acquire 3B Nolan Arenado from the Cardinals, per multiple reports including MLB's @Feinsand. pic.twitter.com/YXQIPiDdOD
— MLB (@MLB) January 13, 2026
You may find yourself asking what this trade has to do with Arizona State outside of Jack Martinez packing his bags for St. Louis. It may surprise you to learn that Arenado was recruited by Pat Murphy and was committed to play for Arizona State before the Rockies selected him 59th overall in the 2009 MLB Draft. That got me thinking; how many other MLB stars nearly called Tempe home if not for being drafted out of high school?
Turns out you can in fact build a starting lineup of these near misses for the Sun Devils. Some positions are stronger than others, but most positions have strong name recognition for even the most casual of MLB fans.
Pitchers:
Jim Palmer
Starting the list off with the 1990 Hall of Fame inductee, Palmer was recruited by Bobby Winkles and committed to Arizona State after graduating from Scottsdale High School in 1963, choosing the Sun Devils over offers from USC, UCLA, and Stanford. Winkles sent him to South Dakota to play for the Winner Pheasants of the Basin League to get some experience before his freshman season, where he caught the eye of Baltimore Orioles scout Jim Russo, who signed Palmer for a $50,000 bonus after the summer season ended. Palmer went on to become a key member of the Orioles, winning three Cy Young Awards, posting eight 20-win seasons in his 268 win career, and winning three World Series titles (1966, 1970, 1983). He was inducted into Cooperstown in 1990 in his first year of eligibility, receiving 92.6% of votes from the BBWAA.
Jon Lester
A product of Bellarmine Preparatory School in Tacoma, WA, Lester was nearly collegiate teammates with his future Red Sox teammate in Dustin Pedroia. The Red Sox lured him away by making him the 57th pick in the 2002 MLB Draft and offering him a $1 million signing bonus, the highest bonus offered to any player drafted after the first round. After nearly being involved in the trade that would have sent Alex Rodriguez to Boston in the 2003-04 offseason, Lester made his MLB debut in 2006 before missing almost a full calendar year while undergoing treatment for Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. He would throw the 18th no-hitter in Red Sox history in 2008, becoming a mainstay of the rotation until the 2014 trade deadline. He would finish his 16-year career with exactly 200 wins, five All-Star Game selections, and three World Series rings (2007, 2013, 2016). Lester will be eligible for Hall of Fame election for the first time in 2027.
Catcher
Kyle Skipworth
Catchers who skipped (if I may use a poorly crafted pun) on Arizona State are thin, as the other notable name in my research is Nick Montgomery, currently with the Augusta GreenJackets after being selected in the 5th round of the 2024 MLB Draft. Kyle Skipworth was another Pat Murphy recruit set to arrive on campus in the same class as Eric Hosmer (more on him later), but was selected 6th overall by the Florida Marlins in the 2008 MLB Draft. The move backfired for Skipworth, playing 700 career games in the minor leagues and only reaching the majors for 4 games in 2013, reaching base just once that season with the Marlins. He retired from professional baseball after the 2016 season, and currently resides in Chandler where he is a firefighter for Chandler Fire.
First Baseman
Prince Fielder
The son of former major leaguer Cecil Fielder, Prince was part of a highly touted recruiting class brought in by Pat Murphy for the 2003 season that included Jon Lester. Fielder was selected 7th overall in the 2002 MLB Draft by the Milwaukee Brewers, signing for a slot value of $2.375 million. Though his career ended in 2016 due to neck herniations, he was as fearsome a power hitter as anyone would see in the post-steroid era. He became the youngest player in National League history to hit 50 home runs in a season, joining Cecil as the only father-son duo to record a 50 home run season.
His 319 career home runs were the exact same total as his father, hitting 30 or more home runs in 6 of his 12 seasons. A 6-time All-Star, Prince won the Home Run Derby twice, remaining the only player to win once in each league after his 2012 win representing the Detroit Tigers (2009 with Milwaukee). His injury-shortened career hurt his Hall of Fame candidacy, receiving only two votes from writers in his only season on the ballot in 2022.
Middle Infield
Robin Yount
Middle infielders can often play either second base or shortstop interchangeably (see Dustin Pedroia, SS at Arizona State and career second baseman for the Boston Red Sox), but since neither of my selections have a body of work at second base, I'll list them both here.
Leading off with Robin Yount, the future Hall of Famer signed his letter of intent to play for Jim Brock before being drafted 3rd overall by the Milwaukee Brewers in 1973. A two-time American League MVP (1982, 1989), Yount became the 17th member of the 3,000-hit club in 1992, and would finish his career with 3,142 hits. Yount would have his number retired by the Brewers in 1994, and was elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1999 with 77.5% of the vote. Yount stayed active after his playing days as a coach, serving as third base and bench coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks from 2002-2004 and returned to Milwaukee to assume the bench coach role for the Brewers in 2005. Since 2014, Yount has served as a special instructor in spring training for the Brewers.
Jimmy Rollins
A member of the 1996 American Baseball Coaches Association All-America Second Team, Rollins was recruited in Pat Murphy's early days out of Encinal High School in Alameda, CA. After high praise from Bay Area scout Bob Poole, the Phillies made Rollins their 2nd round pick in the 1996 MLB Draft. Five years of minor league development later, he made his debut during the 2000 season and never looked back. A fixture at the top of the order for the Phillies in their revival in the 2000's, Rollins finished third in the Rookie of the Year voting in 2001, laying the groundwork for future stardom that would peak with being voted the National League's most valuable player in 2007.
A speedster on the basepaths, he compiled 470 stolen bases in his 17 year career, including 10 seasons with 30 or more steals. A World Series champion in 2008, Rollins would play for another title in 2009, losing in six games to the New York Yankees. a four-time Gold Glove winner, Rollins will be on the Hall of Fame ballot for the 5th time in 2026 after receiving 18% of the vote (75% required for enshrinement) in 2025.
Third Baseman
Nolan Arenado
The inspiration for this article, Arenado has been a potent bat in his 13-year career to date. Recruited as a shortstop by Pat Murphy, his choice to sign with the Rockies out of high school leaves the biggest "What If?" for Sun Devil baseball history, as he would have been a freshman on the 2010 team that went 52-10 and arrived in Omaha as the No. 1 overall team in the NCAA tournament before getting eliminated by eventual national champion South Carolina.
The accolades have not stopped coming for Arenado; 8 times an All-Star, 10-time Gold Glove winner, 5-time Silver Slugger, the only accolades that have eluded him are a World Series ring and an MVP awards, though he has finished in the top-5 of the voting four times in his career. Entering his Age-35 season here in the desert, he brings 353 career home runs and hopes to prove there's more in the tank.
Outfielders
Dale Murphy
Another potential recruit under Jim Brock, Murphy was selected 5th overall by the Atlanta Braves in the 1974 MLB Draft, signing with the Braves instead of accepting the scholarship offer from Arizona State. Playing in the "launching pad" of Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, Murphy established himself as a formidable power hitter, hitting 398 home runs in his 18 year career with the Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, and Colorado Rockies. He and Mike Schmidt would go toe-to-toe in the 1980's for power hitting supremacy, with Murphy's 308 home runs in the decade second only to Schmidt.
Playing for notoriously poor Braves teams, Murphy is one of only four outfielders in MLB history to win back-to-back MVP awards, winning in 1982 and 1983. His 1983 campaign saw him become just the 6th player in MLB history to record a 30-30 season (30 HRs and 30 stolen bases), and his 740 consecutive games played streak from 1981-1986 ranked 11th at the time of his retirement, currently 14th.
Denied Hall of Fame enshrinement in his 15 years on the BBWAA ballot, Murphy is the only one of the top-10 home run hitters at the time of his retirement who has not earned admission to Cooperstown. He has since been denied by Veterans Committee votes in 2018, 2020, 2023 and 2026, and will be eligible for consideration again in 2029.
Ryan Klesko
A true butcher with the bat if ever there was one, Klesko committed to Arizona State out of Westminster High School before signing with the Atlanta Braves as a 5th round pick in the 1989 MLB Draft. A hulking left-handed threat, Klesko posted somewhat pedestrian numbers for the power era of the 1990's, surpassing 25 home runs in just four of his 16 seasons. What can be considered the signature moment of his career, he hit home runs in three consecutive games for the Braves during the 1995 World Series against the Cleveland Indians, a Series that the Braves would win 4 games to 2. His only All-Star appearance came in 2001, a season that saw him hit 30 home runs and drive in 113 runs for the San Diego Padres.
Since retiring after the 2007 season, Klesko has been a special assistant with Perfect Game since 2024, and has served as an occasional studio analyst for the Braves on FanDuel Sports Network since 2025.
Alex Verdugo
A product of Sahuaro High School in Tucson, Verdugo spurned the Wildcats to commit to Arizona State in 2013 before being selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2nd round of the 2014 MLB Draft. His 9 year career has been somewhat unremarkable, known most for being the centerpiece of the Mookie Betts trade between the Dodgers and Boston Red Sox in early 2020. He's proven to be a solid hitter for average, holding a career .270 average with a .326 on-base percentage in 856 career games with the Dodgers, Red Sox, New York Yankees, and Atlanta Braves.
Designated Hitter/Utility
Eric Hosmer
The 3rd overall pick by the Kansas City Royals in 2008, Hosmer chose to forego his scholarship when he signed for a $6 million bonus slot. Debuting for the moribund Royals in 2011, Hosmer finished third in the Rookie of the Year voting that season and established himself as an above-average defender, winning 4 Gold Glove awards in his 7 seasons with the team. He was at the core of the Royals revival in the mid-2010's helping the team to back-to-back American League pennants in 2014 and 2015, winning his only World Series ring over the Mets in 2015. His production declined after signing with the San Diego Padres in 2018, but his impact on the Royals cannot be overlooked. His career would end after spending the 2023 season with the Chicago Cubs, and he will be eligible for Hall of Fame consideration by the BBWAA in 2029.
Honorable Mention
Glenallen Hill Sr. / Glenallen Hill Jr.
Glenallen Hill is a staple of my baseball card collection, but I found the fun family connection with both he and his son foregoing their commitments to play baseball for Arizona State. Glenallen the Elder signed with the Toronto Blue Jays after being selected in the 9th round in 1983, enjoying a 13 year career as a journeyman that saw him play for the Cleveland Indians, Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees, and Anaheim Angels. Fast forward to the 2019 recruiting class, and Glenallen the Younger dots the list of recruits that also features Nick Wallerstedt, son of Sun Devil linebacker Brett Wallerstedt. Glenallen Jr. would also forego his Arizona State commitment, signing with the Arizona Diamondbacks after being selected in the 4th round of the 2019 MLB Draft, and most recently played for the Spokane Indians, high-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies in the Northwest League.