As the BluGrass Baseball audience continues to expand I thought I’d embark on a project to better examine what qualifies a major league or minor league player to be mentioned on the site and where those players play. We also cover the Kentucky colleges, high schools and minor league teams, but one primary element of the site is the Kentucky major and minor leaguers. To qualify for this list a player must have (a) been born in Kentucky or (b) attended a Kentucky high school or college. These players are listed on the Kentucky minor league and major league pages above. Here’s a more in depth breakdown of where those 92 94 (Ben Paxton and Tyler Blandford have signed professional contracts but haven’t played yet) players spent 2009.

• The only franchises without an eligible Kentucky major or minor leaguer are Tampa Bay, Kansas City and Houston. (Commenter points out Astros signed WKU alum Ben Paxton in November).
• Boston’s only eligible player in 2009 was Paul Byrd who is undecided on a 2010 return.
• The Cardinals, Marlins and Tigers each have six Kentucky major or minor leaguers.
• Arizona leads all teams with two Kentucky natives on its major league roster.
• UK has 21 alumni in the major or minor leauges; UofL has 13; WKU has 9; EKU and NKU each have four; Morehead and Murray State each have two
• Two professional Kentucky high school alumni attended Mississippi State and two attended Wake Forest.
• Seven current professional Kentucky high school alumni went straight to the pros after high school.
• Fifteen current professionals were born in Louisville; 11 in Lexington,Five in Bowling Green, Four in Owensboro and three in Elizabethtown.
• Nine alumni of Kentucky high schools or colleges were selected in the first round of the draft.
• There are nine current Kentucky professionals who were not drafted at all.