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Meet the nine desert high schoolers to have played Major League Baseball

With Palm Desert grad Travis Adams joining the ranks, there are now nine players who started in the desert and made it to the big leagues.

After eight successful seasons with the Los Angeles Angels, Shadow Hills graduate Taylor Ward has been traded to the Baltimore Orioles.

The trade was announced Tuesday night as Ward, the most prolific desert product to ever play in the Major Leagues, was shipped to Baltimore for starting pitcher Grayson Rodriguez.

Ward, the 31-year-old outfielder who was drafted by the Angels as a catcher in the first round back in 2015, made his Angels debut in 2018 and has been a reliable mainstay with the team ever since.

His Angels career spanned 704 games, and saw him rack up 113 homers, 359 runs and 345 RBIs while hitting .247. He just finished his best statistical year.

In 2025, Ward hit 36 home runs and racked up 103 RBIs, both of which led the team.

Ward has had by far the most illustrious career of any of the nine players from desert high schools to play in the major leagues.

The 26-year-old right-handed pitcher Rodriguez coming back to the Angels missed the entire 2025 season after having surgery to remove bone spurs in his right elbow. He was solid in 2024, posting a 3.86 ERA with 130 strikeouts, 36 walks and 15 homers allowed in 116 2/3 innings over 20 starts.

Desert Major Leaguers

These are the nine players who have graduated from a desert high school and gone on to play in the major leagues (in order of number of games played through the 2025 season): 

Taylor Ward (704 games): Shadow Hills grad, outfielder with Los Angeles Angels 2018-presentJeremiah Estrada (156 games): Palm Desert grad, pitcher with the Cubs 2022-2023, Padres 2024-presentBrian Serven (101 games): Palm Desert grad, catcher with the Colorado Rockies 2022-2023, Blue Jays 2024.Tyson Miller (74 games): Shadow Hills grad, pitcher with the Cubs in 2020, Rangers in 2022, Brewers, Dodgers and Mets in 2023, Mariners and Cubs in 2024-currentChris Clapinski (70 games): Palm Desert grad, infielder with the Marlins 1999-2000Tony Perezchica (69 games): Palm Springs grad, infielder with the Giants and Indians 1988-1992Brooks Kriske (36 games): Palm Desert grad, pitcher with the Yankees 2020-21, Orioles in 2021 and Royals in 2023 and Twins in 2025Travis Adams (18 games): Palm Desert grad, pitcher with Twins in 2025Anthony Claggett (3 games): Palm Springs grad, pitcher with the Yankees and Pirates in 2009