INLAND FIELDHOUSE

1. Ricky Nolasco, SP, Florida Marlins — When the 28-year-old struck out a franchise-record 16 batters on Sept. 16, 2009, he catapulted to the top of this list. He’s been there ever since. Born in Corona (Ca.), Nolasco was an all-Citrus League MVP at Rialto HS, and has carved a nice big league career thus far. He’s 54-39 in five seasons in South Beach, with 638 strikeouts in 732 innings.
UPDATE: Nolasco, the Marlins No. 2 starter, will make his first start of the season on April 2, 2011, against New York Mets.

2. Chad Cordero, RP, Toronto Blue Jays — The 29-year-old reliever saved the second most number of games (113) from 2005-07, behind only future Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman. Born in Upland (Ca.) and a Chino Don Lugo HS alum, Cordero was an NL All Star in ’05 but has bounced around before signing with Toronto before this season.
UPDATE: Cordero was optioned to Triple-A by the Blue Jays on Sunday, March 27, 2009, as he continues to rehabilitate from right shoulder surgery to repair a labrum injury.

3. Reed Johnson, OF, Chicago Cubs — The 34-year-old outfielder has 781 hits in 2,783 ABs, compiling a .281 BA in eight big league seasons. Born in Riverside (Ca.) and a Temecula Valley HS alum, Reed was 10th in the American League in batting in ’06 (.316) while with the Toronto Blue Jays. He played last season with the L.A. Dodgers but signed with Chicago before this season.
UPDATE: Johnson was named to the Cubs Opening Day roster on Thursday, March 24, 2011.

4. Jo-Jo Reyes, SP, Toronto Blue Jays — The 26-year-old may just be 5-15 in four seasons, but to his credit (and perhaps his benefit) he has fewer than 200 big league innings. Born is West Covina (Ca.) and a Riverside Poly HS alum, Reyes was with Atlanta until this offseason, playing through the end of the Bobby Cox era in Atlanta.
UPDATE: Reyes was named the Blue Jays No. 4 starter on Saturday, March 26, 2011, and will make his first start on April 4, 2011, against the Oakland Athletics.

AND MORE: Marc Rzepczynski (Riverside), P, Toronto Blue Jays; Greg Dobbs (Riverside), INF, Florida Marlins; Rod Barajas (Ontario), C, L.A. Dodgers; Mark Teahen (Redlands), INF, Chicago White Sox; Adam Kennedy (Riverside), INF, Seattle Mariners; Lucas Duda (Riverside), 1B/OF, New York ; Jesse Chavez (Fontana), P, Kansas City Royals.

CANNOT FORGET: Prince Fielder, 1B, Milwaukee Brewers — The two-time National League All Star was born in Ontario (Ca.) but was drafted out of Eau Gallie HS in Mebourne, Florida. He’s clearly the most prolific active player with ties to the Inland Area. FOMB’s criteria states that the player must have PLAYED in the Inland Area at some point.