More than 200 players have debuted in the Major Leagues this year, and all of them beat the odds to do so.
Major League Baseball is an exclusive club that fewer than 24,000 players have joined in more than 150 years. Appearing in a single game means overcoming a massive statistical improbability.
With that said, some players have smoother paths than others. High-round picks, top prospects and fast learners can breeze through the Minor Leagues on their way to the Show.
Then there are those with less linear routes, whose debuts come after numerous personal and/or professional setbacks. That’s the group we’re examining here as we look at 14 players who took unconventional journeys to achieving ultimate success by debuting in 2025.
Drew Avans, OF, Brewers
Debut: May 27 at Astros (with Athletics)
Avans was drafted in 2018 by the Dodgers in a round -- the 33rd -- that doesn’t exist anymore. If he were first eligible to be selected just two years later, in the five-round Draft of the 2020 shortened season due to COVID, Avans might still be looking for a professional baseball opportunity. Nobody who has debuted in 2025 was drafted later.
But after four years at Southeastern Louisiana and seven seasons in the Dodgers organization, Avans finally got a chance 17 days before his 29th birthday. Picked up by the Athletics in the offseason, Avans got the call on May 27 and singled in his first at-bat one night later. Now with the Brewers, Avans has batted .289 with two Triple-A teams in 2025.
Alex Carrillo, RP, Mets
Debut: July 8 at Orioles
Carrillo was released during Spring Training in 2024 -- not by an MLB organization but by Tigres de Quintana Roo of the Mexican League, where he had an ERA over 8.00 in two seasons. Once a Rookie-ball pitcher for Texas, Carrillo headed back to the independent Frontier League in 2024 for the second time in four years. That’s where Carrillo began to harness an elite fastball.
After going from the NAIA to Rookie ball to the independent leagues and Mexico, Carrillo nearly retired after his 2024 release. But he blossomed at the perfect time, reaching triple-digit velocity. Carrillo’s agent directed him to the Venezuelan Winter League, where the Mets found him. He struggled in a three-game stint in the bullpen in July, but has 51 strikeouts in 32 2/3 Minor League innings this season.
Dugan Darnell, RP, Rockies
Debut: Aug. 1 vs. Pirates
Darnell’s bio on the Adrian (Mich.) College baseball website in 2019 said that the senior “could see action on the pitching mound.” And boy, did he. A third baseman up to that point, Darnell’s hitting ability got him to Division III. After appearing in 20 games with a 0.37 ERA that year, Dugan’s pitching talent got him a professional opportunity.
His road to the Major Leagues included stops in the independent United Shore Professional Baseball League and the American Association. He signed with the Rockies after a dedicated email campaign in 2021 and finally solved Triple-A this season after two previous attempts.
Darnell, 28, made his debut with Colorado by pitching the final two innings of the Rockies’ 16-15 comeback win over the Pirates and earning the win. He’s now on the 60-day injured list with left hip inflammation.
Nic Enright, RP, Guardians
Debut: May 25 at Tigers
Even among these MLB debuts that stand out among the crowd, Enright’s is set apart. The 28-year-old right-hander was diagnosed with Stage 2 nodular lymphocyte predominant Hodgkin’s lymphoma in December 2022, just over two weeks after he was selected by the Marlins from Cleveland in the Rule 5 Draft.
Eventually returned to the Guardians, Enright continued to pitch while receiving immunotherapy treatments, which he’s scheduled to complete with one more round in November. Enright was on track to debut in 2024, but missed much of the season with a shoulder injury.
Enright had a storybook beginning, striking out the first batter he faced as a big leaguer. He remains an important cog in Cleveland’s bullpen, with a 2.08 ERA in 26 appearances.
J.C. Escarra, utility, Yankees
Debut: March 29 vs. Brewers
With money running low and a patient wife encouraging both his dream and financial practicality, Escarra figured he had four months in 2022 to secure a future that included baseball or walk away from the game.
So he hustled, not just on the field, but as an Uber driver, contractor, substitute teacher, delivery driver and youth baseball coach -- all while keeping the baseball dream alive with stops in the Mexican League, American Association, Atlantic League and winter ball in Puerto Rico.
A 15th-round pick in 2017 by the Orioles who reached Triple-A with Baltimore in '21, Escarra finally got another chance when he signed a Minor League deal with the Yankees in 2024. This year, he made the Opening Day roster as a 29-year-old third-string catcher. He’s in Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre now, but remains on the Yankees’ 40-man roster.
Ryan Fitzgerald, IF, Twins
Debut: May 16 at Brewers
The oldest position player to debut in 2025 by nearly a year, the 31-year-old Fitzgerald reached Triple-A with three organizations, including the Twins, before debuting with Minnesota in May.
Fitzgerald was undrafted out of Creighton and made his professional debut with Gary (Ind.) of the American Association, where he batted .239 before being signed by the Red Sox in 2018. In their system, Fitzgerald began to find a power stroke, knocking at least 12 home runs every year from 2021-24.
Fitzgerald made two appearances with the Twins in May while shortstop Carlos Correa was on the concussion IL, and he has been with them as a bench bat and versatile infielder since Aug. 3.
Paul Gervase, RP, Dodgers
Debut: June 21 vs. Tigers (with Rays)
You can’t miss Gervase: Nine pitchers 6-foot-10 or taller have stepped on a Major League mound, and Gervase (6-foot-10) is one of them. College baseball programs missed him, though -- he didn’t receive a single scholarship offer after high school. In spite of an imposing presence, Gervase’s fastball struggled to reach the mid-80s.
But Gervase was still growing -- literally and figuratively. His repertoire improved and he grew three more inches. And after working his way through Division III Pfeiffer University and two junior colleges by serving at a pair of Olive Garden restaurants, Gervase eventually became undeniable.
A 12th-round pick of the Mets in 2022, Gervase blossomed as a reliever in '25. After debuting with the Rays, he was traded to the Dodgers at the Deadline.
Ryan Gusto, SP, Marlins
Debut: March 31 vs. Giants (with Astros)
Gusto was set to make his MLB debut last October before rain washed out Houston’s regular-season finale against Cleveland. No matter -- Gusto has faced much greater adversity.
First cut from his high school team in North Carolina, Gusto walked on at a Florida junior college and barely made the roster. In 2017, his sister, Marissa, died suddenly. So Gusto immersed himself in baseball, gaining velocity on his fastball and becoming an 11th-round pick of the Astros in 2019.
There was one more setback -- Gusto tore his UCL in 2021 and underwent Tommy John surgery. He persevered and made the Astros’ Opening Day roster and finally debuted in 2025. Gusto was traded to the Marlins in July.
Yaramil Hiraldo, RP, Orioles
Debut: May 27 vs. Cardinals
The first step on Hiraldo’s journey to MLB may be the most puzzling. He was signed by the Diamondbacks as a free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2018 when he was 22 – about six years older than most players signed out of the Caribbean country.
There aren’t many details on why Hiraldo signed at such an advanced age, but his time with Arizona didn’t last. He was released in 2022 and went to independent ball, where he toiled for three years before signing a Minor League deal with Baltimore in 2024. He’s made 12 appearances for the Orioles and is back in the Minors, remaining on their 40-man roster.
David Morgan, RP, Padres
Debut: May 26 vs. Marlins
Morgan had been passed over in the Draft after two seasons at Orange Coast College in California and had seemingly stagnated at Hope International University, an NAIA school. So while at Hope, Morgan was convinced to switch from hitting to pitching. And boy, did it pay off.
Morgan wasn’t drafted out of Hope in 2022, but he signed with the Padres as a free agent and was called up in May despite a 4.77 career Minor League ERA. Morgan has been unlocked in San Diego as a key member of one of the league’s best bullpens. He has a 2.95 ERA and 39 strikeouts in 39 2/3 innings for the team he grew up loving.
Joel Peguero, RP, Giants
Debut: Aug. 21 at Padres
If you visit Peguero’s Baseball-Reference page, you’ll first be met with the fact that he’s appeared in three games for the Giants in 2025. That doesn’t tell much of a story. Expand it to include his previous stops, though, and Peguero’s journey comes into focus.
The 28-year-old reliever started with the Rays back in 2016, about a year after he signed out of the Dominican Republic. After seven seasons with Tampa Bay, Peguero’s road became winding as he made stops to pitch in the Minors for the Rockies, Nationals, Tigers and, in 2025, the Giants.
Peguero hit 101 mph in his first bullpen session for the Giants and his fate was sealed. He overcame a knee injury and Triple-A struggles to debut this month, 10 years after he signed with the Rays. Peguero has not allowed a run in his first 5 2/3 innings.
Jayvien Sandridge, RP, Yankees
Debut: July 5 at Mets
Sandridge was drafted by the Orioles in the 32nd round out of high school in 2018 and it didn’t work out. So he did what many others in his position would do -- he tried to continue his career elsewhere.
Only Sandridge didn’t do it by going the independent-ball route or hooking on with a different organization. He took advantage of a little-known and little-used rule that allowed him to play college baseball. He pitched four games for Lynn University in 2021, then signed with the Reds.
It didn’t work out in Cincinnati, either. Or with the Padres. Sandridge got his shot with the Yankees this year, pitching one game in the Subway Series. He’s back in the Minors now with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Brandon Young, SP, Orioles
Debut: April 19 vs. Reds
Young has already made a name for himself during his short time in the Majors, just missing a perfect game against the Astros earlier this month. That was a culmination of five years of Young overcoming setbacks.
The first happened when Young underwent Tommy John surgery as a senior in high school. After a four-year college career, Young was undrafted in the five-round 2020 MLB Draft, signing with the Orioles as a free agent. Two years later, he had Tommy John surgery again.
He wasn’t derailed, though. Young breezed through Triple-A this year and, with 12 games under his belt, Young already owns one of the season’s most memorable outings.