- February 25, 2026
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Nearby ballparks are bustling once more. Major League Baseball spring training has returned with the Baltimore Orioles back at Ed Smith Stadium, Pittsburgh Pirates at LECOM Park and Atlanta Braves at CoolToday Park.
In years past, some local athletes have received invites to these camps and fought for full-time roster spots. A select few even made it to the bigs.
All-time, there have been 19 players from Sarasota who reached the majors, per The Baseball Cube. Thirteen made their respective debuts this century.
Here are the three athletes born in Sarasota or who graduated from Sarasota High who most recently appeared in the majors:
Of all the dreamers out there, few become elite athletes. Even fewer have the luxury of choosing between two sports while exceptionally skilled at both.
That's the decision Casey Kelly faced when he graduated Sarasota High in 2008.
The former quarterback walked back his commitment to Tennessee football and pursued baseball instead. He was promptly selected in the first round of that year's MLB Draft at pick No. 30 overall by the Boston Red Sox.
Now 36 years old — nearly two decades later — the right-hander has become a true journeyman on the mound, largely spending his time in the minors and with the Korea Baseball Organization.
Following his MLB debut Aug. 27, 2012, with the San Diego Padres, Kelly missed the 2013 season with Tommy John surgery. He had posted a 6.21 ERA across six starts as a rookie.
He successfully returned to the bigs in 2015, but made sparse appearances for the Padres, Braves and San Francisco Giants in subsequent seasons.
So Kelly went overseas and joined the KBO's LG Twins — a move that sparked a career renaissance.
From 2019 through 2023, he posted a 73-46 record with a 3.25 ERA abroad, making enough of an impression to earn another shot at the majors. He appeared in two games apiece for the Cincinnati Reds in 2024 and Arizona Diamondbacks in 2025.
Last season, Kelly hurled 115.0 innings en route to a 5.63 ERA with the Reno Aces of Triple-A. He was a free agent entering the start of spring training.
Just one name on this shortlist is under contract for the season ahead.
That would be Ryan Miller.
Back on Jan. 9, the 29-year-old right-hander signed a minor league deal with the Colorado Rockies organization.
He was born in Sarasota, but attended Venice High in 2010-14 before taking his talents to the State College of Florida. He then leveraged his JUCO success into a scholarship with Clemson for the 2017 and 2018 seasons.
Scouts put Miller on their radar during that latter year as a Tiger.
The then-senior posted a 7-1 record and 2.51 ERA across 71.2 innings pitched. His ERA ranked third-lowest among all pitchers in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
That was enough to attract the Arizona Diamondbacks — they selected him in the sixth round of the 2018 MLB Draft with pick No. 189 overall. In the following years, he spent stints with the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox organizations.
It was out west with the Los Angeles Angels, though, where Miller had his moment.
He got the call Aug. 27, 2024, and wound up throwing 13.0 innings for the Angels that year across 13 appearances, recording a 4.15 ERA. It just wasn't enough for the team to keep him.
Miller appeared in 37 games last season for the Toledo Mud Hens of Triple-A and posted a 4.32 ERA. When Opening Day rolls around, he'll likely be assigned to the Rockies' own Triple-A affiliate, the Albuquerque Isotopes.
It was just a couple years ago when Dalton Guthrie was oh-so close to appearing on the biggest stage in baseball.
He was one of the Philadelphia Phillies' six outfielders for both the NLDS and NLCS during the 2022 postseason. But he didn't make the 26-man World Series roster.
Still, that was a landmark year in the now-30-year-old left fielder's career. He had spent over four seasons in the minors before being summoned to the majors on Sept. 6, 2022.
Born in Sarasota, he played for Venice High in 2010-14, making the journey step-by-step alongside Miller. Both of them contributed to back-to-back FHSAA Class 7A state championships for the program as sophomores and juniors.
Success didn't stop there for Guthrie. Life on the diamond only got better.
He won the 2017 NCAA title with Florida, and he didn't just contribute. He led the team with 69 hits as a junior. In the College World Series, he batted a team-high .286 to power the Gators at the plate.
The Phillies selected him in the sixth round of the 2017 MLB Draft at pick No. 173 overall. He worked his way through their farm system and produced a .302 batting average, 52 RBIs and 102 hits in 2022 with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs of Triple-A.
That earned him his MLB debut. Although he fell short of the World Series, the Phillies named him to their Opening Day roster the following season.
Guthrie played a total of 37 games in 2022-23 for the team, batting .244 with five RBIs across 45 at-bats. He didn't appear in the majors or minors in 2025.
