Birthplaces · Europe · 2005–2026
🇩🇪MLB Players from Germany
Every major leaguer born in Germany who took a plate appearance or threw a pitch in a published season, with what they have done since 2005 — and who is playing now.
- Players
- 9 2005–2026
- Active in 2026
- 2
- Total dbWAR
- 49.1
- Home runs
- 322
- Strikeouts
- 1,814 2,278.1 IP
- Batters / pitchers
- 5 / 4
Notable
Superlatives over the seasons published here, not over whole careers.
Edwin Jackson2005–2019Most home runs181
Max Kepler4,870 PAMost strikeouts1,473Edwin Jackson1,913.1 IPBest season3.3 WAR
Brendan Donovan2025First to the majors2000
Will OhmanHardest-hit ball115.4 mphMax Kepler2016Youngest in 202629Brendan DonovanMost seasons here15Edwin Jackson2005–2019The All-German Team
The best player born in Germany at each position since 2005, by the dbWAR he produced there. Positions nobody has filled are left open.
Bruce Maxwell0.6dbWAR1B
Jeff Baker1.0dbWAR2BBrendan Donovan8.2dbWARMax Kepler12.3dbWARAnd on the mound
How this is picked. Each player is filed at the one position he appeared at most often — so a shortstop who spent two years at third is a shortstop, and cannot hold both slots — and the spot goes to whoever produced the most dbWAR there. The figure on a card is therefore the value at that position rather than the career total shown elsewhere on this page: they differ for anyone who moved. Starting and relieving are counted separately for the same reason, on the share of each season's appearances that were starts. A slot needs 100 plate appearances or 20 innings to be claimed at all, which keeps a September call-up from becoming a first baseman. 5 position players are eligible here, with 1 starters and 1 relievers.
In the majors now
2 German-born players were on a major-league roster in 2026. Every column sorts.
| Brendan Donovan | SEA | 3B | 29 | 39 | 159 | 3 | 15 | 1 | .277 | .371 | .409 | 128 | 1.0 |
| Max Kepler | AZ | LF | 33 | 41 | 145 | 2 | 15 | 0 | .205 | .262 | .303 | 53 | -0.5 |
The full 2026 leaderboards filter by birthplace too: batting · pitching — pick several countries at once there.
Since 2005
Career totals over the published seasons, ranked by dbWAR.
| Brendan Donovan | 2022–2026 | 5 | 2,165 | 536 | 43 | 217 | 16 | .282 | 12.4 |
| Max Kepler | 2015–2026 | 12 | 4,870 | 1,010 | 181 | 575 | 38 | .234 | 12.1 |
| Jeff Baker | 2005–2015 | 11 | 1,958 | 474 | 54 | 235 | 14 | .264 | 4.5 |
| Aaron Altherr | 2014–2019 | 6 | 1,156 | 222 | 37 | 150 | 21 | .218 | 1.2 |
| Bruce Maxwell | 2016–2018 | 3 | 412 | 88 | 5 | 42 | 0 | .240 | 0.6 |
| Edwin Jackson | 2005–2019 | 15 | 1,913.1 | 103 | 1 | 1,473 | 4.77 | 15.6 |
| Will Ohman | 2005–2012 | 8 | 338.0 | 11 | 3 | 322 | 4.13 | 2.3 |
| Phoenix Sanders | 2022 | 1 | 14.2 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 3.07 | 0.4 |
| Tobi Stoner | 2009–2010 | 2 | 11.1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3.97 | -0.1 |
By season
How many were in the majors each year, and what they produced.
| Season | Players | Batters | Pitchers | PA | HR | IP | SO | dbWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 304 | 5 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.5 |
| 2025 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 989 | 28 | 0.0 | 0 | 3.7 |
| 2024 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1,051 | 22 | 0.0 | 0 | 3.7 |
| 2023 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 862 | 35 | 0.0 | 0 | 3.9 |
| 2022 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 914 | 14 | 14.2 | 12 | 4.6 |
| 2021 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 490 | 19 | 0.0 | 0 | 1.3 |
| 2020 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 196 | 9 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.7 |
| 2019 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 665 | 37 | 68.2 | 54 | 0.8 |
| 2018 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 956 | 29 | 92.0 | 68 | 1.1 |
| 2017 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1,254 | 41 | 76.0 | 60 | 2.7 |
| 2016 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 802 | 22 | 84.0 | 61 | 0.9 |
| 2015 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 249 | 8 | 55.2 | 40 | 1.3 |
| 2014 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 274 | 3 | 140.2 | 123 | 0.5 |
| 2013 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 234 | 12 | 175.1 | 135 | 3.6 |
| 2012 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 266 | 4 | 216.1 | 181 | 2.3 |
| 2011 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 246 | 3 | 253.0 | 202 | 3.6 |
| 2010 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 267 | 5 | 253.2 | 224 | 4.2 |
| 2009 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 255 | 4 | 235.1 | 173 | 2.9 |
| 2008 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 339 | 12 | 242.0 | 161 | 3.3 |
| 2007 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 161 | 4 | 197.1 | 161 | 0.9 |
| 2006 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 59 | 5 | 101.2 | 101 | 2.1 |
| 2005 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 54 | 1 | 72.0 | 58 | 0.4 |
Where in Germany
Birth cities with more than one major leaguer, most first.
About this page
9 major-league players born in Germany appear in this archive, between 2005 and 2026. 2 of them were on a major-league roster in 2026, down from 3 in 2005. Together they are worth 49.1 dbWAR, on 322 home runs and 1,814 strikeouts thrown.
The most valuable of them by our own measure is Edwin Jackson, worth 15.6 dbWAR across 2005–2019. The best single season belongs to Brendan Donovan, 3.3 WAR in 2025. Will Ohman has been in the majors longest of anyone here, since 2000.
Max Kepler has hit the most home runs, 181. Edwin Jackson has thrown the most strikeouts, 1,473. The hardest ball anyone from here has struck came off Max Kepler's bat at 115.4 mph, in 2016. These are totals over the seasons published here rather than whole careers: a player who debuted before 2005 arrives mid-career, and his numbers start where the archive does.
Landstuhl has produced 2 of them, more than anywhere else in Germany. In 2026 they are spread across 2 clubs, one each — among them Arizona Diamondbacks.
Country here means country of birth, taken from each player's biographical record. It is not nationality and not who a player has represented internationally — the three disagree often enough to matter, and birthplace is the one this data actually holds. Every rate statistic and every dbWAR figure is computed from play-by-play using constants measured from each season's own data, so the numbers are era-correct without being copied from anywhere. See the derivation →
Every birthplace · 2026 batting leaders · 2026 pitching leaders · every player · every club · the 2026 standings.