Where every 2021 MLB Opening Day starting pitcher went to high school

With Opening Day of the 2021 MLB season set for Thursday, it's always fun to look back at where all of the starting pitchers went to high school. California has bragging rights this season as seven of the 30 projected starters finished their high school career playing in the Golden State.

In fact, three came from the same school, which is more than any state outside of California.

Jack Flaherty, Lucas Giolito and Max Fried all graduated from Harvard-Westlake. Giolito and Fried were both first-round selections in the 2012 MLB Draft while Flaherty was selected in the first round two years later.

Gerrit Cole, Kyle Hendricks, Shane Bieber and Tyler Glasnow are the other four Opening Day starters from California.

Colorado, Florida and Texas were the only other states with at least two pitchers featured.

In total, 15 states are represented along with the Dominican Republic, Japan, South Korea and Venezuela.

American League East

Didn't have any Division 1 offers coming out of high school but was selected in the 46th round of the 2011 MLB draft. Means elected to go to Fort Scott Community College before transferring to West Virginia a year later. He played his junior and senior year of high school with the Kansas City Royals' Bubba Starling, who was selected fifth overall in the 2011 MLB Draft.

After missing his junior season because of Tommy John surgery, he came back his senior year and went 12-1 with a 1.66 ERA. He added three saves and posted 72 strikeouts in 70.2 innings. Eovaldi was selected in the 11th round of the 2008 MLB Draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers and helped the Red Sox to a World Series championship in 2018.

Went 8-2 during his senior year posting a 0.47 ERA to go with 121 strikeouts in 75 innings. The Yankees selected Cole with the 28th overall pick in 2008 but he elected to go to UCLA and after a three-year career with the Bruins he was taken first overall in the 2011 MLB Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

He became the seventh player to graduate from Hart that has played in the World Series joining Bob Walk, Kevin Millar, James Shields, Mike Montgomery, Todd Zeile and Trevor Bauer. He only had one offer coming out of high school and was selected in the fifth round of the 2011 MLB Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

A year before signing with the Hanwha Eagles of the Korean Baseball Organization in 2006 he played for his high school team in the Blue Dragon Open National Championship and did not allow a run throwing 22 consecutive scoreless innings and batted .389. After a seven-year career in the KBO, he has posted a 2.95 ERA in the Majors during his first eight seasons.

The first of three Harvard-Westlake graduates featured who will be starting on Opening Day. He finished his high school career with a 12-2 record and 1.51 ERA and suffered an elbow injury during his senior year that resulted in Tommy John surgery. He struck out 106 batters in 97.2 innings. Giolito was selected 16th overall by the Washington Nationals in the 2012 MLB Draft.

The reigning American League Cy Young award winner went 8-4 during his senior year posting a 1.40 ERA. After a three-year career at UC Santa Barbara, he was selected in the fourth round of the 2016 draft by Cleveland.

Went 7-2 during his senior year striking out 91 batters in 58 innings while posting a 0.84 ERA. The season before he was 7-0 with a 0.71 ERA to go with 58 strikeouts in 39.2 innings.

Entered his senior year of high school with no offers or any interest from the Majors but in a regular season matchup against Clint Frazier and Loganville (Ga.) everything changed. He struck out Frazier during his first two at-bats and the interest picked up after that game from MLB scouts. Keller was selected in the eighth round of the 2013 draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Maeda was selected by the Hiroshima Toyo Carp's in the 2006 Nippon Professional Baseball league draft out of PL Gakuen Senior High School. He pitched in the NPB from 2008 until 2015 before signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He has gone 53-36 with a 3.75 ERA during his first five years in the Majors.

Named the 2002 Gatorade Player of the Year after going 9-2 during his senior year, posting a 0.55 earned run average to go with 118 strikeouts in 63 innings. The 2009 American League Cy Young winner finished his high school career with 31 home runs.

The only Opening Day starter to be named the Gatorade Athlete of the Year. He took home the award in 2011 and the only other two baseball players to claim this honor since 2003 are MacKenzie Gore (2017) and Bobby Witt Jr. (2019). During his senior year, he went 11-0 and had a 0.25 ERA to go with 158 strikeouts in 71 innings. Bundy was named the Oklahoma Gatorade Player of the Year in each of his final three years of high school and was selected fourth overall in the 2011 MLB Draft by the Baltimore Orioles.

Bassitt posted a 1.56 ERA during his senior year and struck out 65 batters in 56 innings. He was also a standout basketball player and was named to the all-league team in both sports.

Gonzales won a state title every year during his high school career. He went 11-0 during his senior season and posted a 2.20 ERA to go with 87 strikeouts in 54 innings. Named the Colorado Gatorade Player of the Year that season and also batted .486 to go with seven home runs and 36 RBI. 

Went 15-8 during his two years pitching for the Cougars while posting a 1.19 ERA to go with 251 strikeouts. He was selected in the 36th round of the 2006 draft by the Philadelphia Phillies but elected to go to the University of Missouri instead.

Only played his senior year at Harvard-Westlake after transferring from Montclair Prep (Van Nuys) after it shut down the baseball program. Fried went 8-2 with a 2.02 ERA to go with 105 strikeouts in 66 innings during his senior season and was selected seventh overall by the San Diego Padres in the 2012 MLB Draft.

Pitched professionally in the Dominican Republic and was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals in 2013 as an international free agent.

In high school, one of the best pitchers currently in baseball was barely noticed. He attended a school that had roughly 400 students from kindergarten to 12th grade and went undrafted during the 2007 draft. Shortstop was his primary position and he might of been an even better basketball player in high school. Played third base and shortstop during his first two years of college at Stetson University before pitching in 17 games during his junior season. The Mets selected deGrom in the ninth round of the 2010 MLB Draft.

Finished his high school career 21-2 and had 214 strikeouts in 152 innings. Nola posted a sub-1.85 ERA in each of his final three years and was named the Class 5A State Player of the Year by the Louisiana Sportswriters Association in 2011. He helped lead the Bears to a 5A state title during his junior season.

The three-time Cy Young award winner played baseball and basketball all four years of high school and started at quarterback as a freshman for the football team. During his final game as a high school pitcher he threw a five-inning no-hitter while striking out 13 batters. Scherzer was selected in the 43rd round of the 2003 draft by the St. Louis Cardinals but elected to go to the University of Missouri. After a three-year career with the Tigers, he was selected 11th overall in the 2006 MLB Draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Went 8-2 during his senior year and posted a 0.93 ERA while striking out 65 batters in 75 innings. The Angels selected Hendricks in the 39th round in 2008 but he elected to go Dartmouth and was taken by the Texas Rangers in the eighth round three years later.

Pitched professionally in the Dominican Republic and was signed by the San Francisco Giants in 2011 as an international free agent.

Led the Eagles with a .618 average and three home runs during his senior season and posted a 1.62 ERA en route to being an all-state selection. As a junior, he went 5-3 with a 2.98 ERA while striking out 100 batters in 49.1 innings to go with a .534 average and five home runs. As a sophomore, he had 46 strikeouts in 18 innings and posted a 1.20 ERA to go with a .565 batting average, nine home runs and 31 RBI.

He comes from the same high school as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Chris Godwin and was named the state's Player of the Year in 2010 by the Delaware Baseball Coaches Association after going 9-2 while posting a 1.47 ERA. He was also an all-state selection as a first baseman after batting .433 with eight home runs.

The year after Giolito and Fried graduated, Flaherty, then a junior, led the Wolverines to a CIF Southern Section Division 1 title. He pitched a complete-game shutout and drove in the lone run in a 1-0 win against Marina (Huntington Beach) at Dodger Stadium. Flaherty went 23-0 during his final two years of high school and posted a 0.63 ERA to go with 237 strikeouts in 167 innings. He was named the California Gatorade Player of the Year in 2014.

The 2014 World Series MVP went 11-2 during his senior year and had a 1.05 ERA to go with 143 strikeouts in 86 innings. He hit .424 with 11 home runs and 38 RBI while leading the Spartans to a 4A state championship. Bumgarner was named the North Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year and was selected 10th overall in 2007 by the San Francisco Giants.

Pitched professionally in Venezuela before signing an international deal with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2011. 

The three-time National League Cy Young award winner went 13-0 and posted a 0.77 ERA during his senior season. He added 139 strikeouts in 64 innings and was selected seventh overall in the 2006 MLB Draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Kershaw was named the Gatorade National Player of the Year in 2006.

Darvish was 7-3 in his final year for Tohoku High School and despite being heavily scouted, chose to play professionally in Japan for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. After a seven-year career in Japan, he signed with the Texas Rangers in 2012 and has a career 3.47 ERA in nine seasons.

Went 5-3 with a 4.41 ERA and had 76 strikeouts in 52.1 innings and batted .371 during his senior season to go with three home runs and 27 RBI. The Los Angeles Dodgers selected him in the sixth round of the 2010 MLB Draft but elected to go to LSU and was taken fourth overall two years later by the Baltimore Orioles after going 12-2 with a 2.77 ERA during his sophomore season for the Tigers.