The diversity of MLB rosters is as strong as ever, and the effects of the league¡¯s efforts to improve its percentage of Black players at the highest level are making an impact.
Those are the takeaways from an analysis of Opening Day rosters, which showed the highest overall diversity since 2019 and the first year-over-year increase in the percentage of Black players since 2018.
Overall, 40.8% of players who appeared on Opening Day rosters came from diverse backgrounds. That group of players included the following backgrounds:
Latino: 28.6%
Internationally born: 27.8%
Black: 6.2%
Asian: 3.1%
Pacific Islander: 0.3%
Native American: 0.2%
The 6.2% total for Black players was a rise from 6.0% one year ago. A total of 59 Black players appeared on Opening Day active and inactive lists, with an additional 18 Black players in the Minor Leagues on MLB 40-man rosters. (Of those 18 players, three have already been recalled and were in the Major Leagues as of this writing.)
This percentage is important to track given MLB¡¯s stated intent of improving its reach in the Black community and its many developmental programs aimed at that goal. Of those 59 Black players on Opening Day rosters, 17 were alumni of MLB Develops programs, including the MLB Youth Academy, the Breakthrough Series, the DREAM Series, the Nike RBI program and the Hank Aaron Invitational. These programs create a network of promising prospects who speak openly about how the experiences at these events have shaped them.
¡°The community has this kind of support; it¡¯s wonderful, it¡¯s amazing,¡± said RJ Cope, a class 2026 commit to Vanderbilt, at the DREAM Series this past January. ¡°I¡¯ve known these guys for four to five years, and it¡¯s just a blessing to be able to know these guys for this long and create a relationship with them and play baseball beside them. Everybody wants to see each other get better, and that¡¯s why I love coming out here every year.¡±
The data from the Minor Leagues and amateur levels points to the potential for future increases in Black participation at the highest level. MLB Pipeline¡¯s top prospects lists feature a significantly higher percentage of Black players than the current MLB percentage, including 17% of the current Top 100 Prospects list. Ten of the 56 players (17.9%) selected for last year¡¯s Futures Game were Black, as are 16% of MLB Pipeline¡¯s Top 100 Draft Prospects for the 2025 MLB Draft. Additionally, 35 of the players on the 2025 Spring Breakout rosters participated in MLB Develops programs.
In last year¡¯s Draft, 30% of the players taken in the opening round were Black, matching the 2022 Draft for most by total (nine) and percentage since 1992.
Beyond the MLB Develops programs, MLB¡¯s efforts to increase overall participation in the sport among all children are also bearing fruit. According to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association¡¯s annual report released in March, casual baseball participation, which is the primary focus of the Play Ball program, for ages 6-plus has increased 123% since 2014, the year prior to the program¡¯s implementation. Baseball participation among 6- to 17-year-olds is at 8.49 million, the highest mark on record and an increase of 27% when compared to 2014. The 26.5 million participants in baseball and softball in the U.S. marks an increase of 17% in that same time period.