Virginia: Justin Verlander
For one of the oldest, most historic states in the country, Virginia is sorely lacking when it comes to MLB talent. Granted, outside of the D.C. area, most of the state is rural and mountainous. Still, with a constant flow of government and military types, you would think the state would have yielded more than 285 players.
While its history as a baseball state may not be long and illustrious, Virginia is rising in prominence. A number of current MLB stars came out of the Virginia Beach area, including David Wright, Justin and Melvin Upton, Michael Cuddyer, and Ryan Zimmerman.
The best of the current bunch of Virginians in the big leagues is Justin Verlander, who was born in the rural town of Goochland. He also attended college in the state at Old Dominion University. Verlander won the Cy Young and MVP award in 2011 after winning 24 games, the most in the league in quite some time.
The big, power-pitching right-hander battled injuries and the loss of velocity from his heater during the 2014 and 2015 seasons, but came back strong in 2016. He should have won the Cy Young (especially if you ask the future Mrs. Verlander), and appears to have found a way to re-invent himself without peak velocity. That’s good, because the Tigers could be paying him for another four seasons.