California is top producer of major league players

Major league players represent all 50 states and 14 countries, but some much more than others.

California, Florida and Texas are traditional powerhouses when it comes to producing top-quality baseball players in the United States. Now Georgia is making a bid to be a part of that list.

The Peach State had 83 natives selected in Major League Baseball’s 2010 amateur draft, including a state-record seven in the first round. Three of those first-round picks were by the Angels.

“The area has gotten a lot better,” Angels scouting director Eddie Bane said. “It’s not as good as Southern California yet, or probably won’t be, but it’s really up there with Texas and Florida. You have to include Georgia now.”

Bane said the growth could be attributed to the Atlanta Braves’ resurgence in the early 1990s.

“Kids kind of emulate what the pro team does,” he said.

California remains the top producer of big league talent. As of July 7, 148 Californians (23.23% of American players) appeared on major league rosters and disabled lists. The next highest were Texas with 71 (11.15%) and Florida with 55 (8.63%), according to MLB.

Those numbers are similar to the demographics of the 2010 draft. California yielded 20.4% of all Americans selected, 11.3% came from Texas and 12.9% from Florida.

The Dominican Republic and Venezuela led foreign countries with 86 and 58 major league players, respectively, on opening-day rosters and disabled lists.

As of April 5, 27.7% of major league players were born outside the U.S. However, 48% of minor league players were born abroad.

Several factors could contribute to the disparity, including a lack of infrastructure and a younger signing age, said Logan White, assistant general manager of the Dodgers, who have players from seven countries.

“We have leagues, T-ball, coach-pitch, club ball — we have all of the leagues for kids to play in, receive coaching, and everything else,” he said.

However, one-third of the players on this year’s All-Star rosters were born in other countries, which is more than the overall proportion of foreign players.

“I think that we’re going to put guys in the major leagues and select them for All-Star teams regardless of where they came from,” White said.

laura.myers@latimes.com