Zack Greinke, starting pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, did not start pitching until his later high school years. In his senior year in high school, he had a 9-2 record, 0.55 ERA, and 118 strikeouts in 63 innings pitched.
Clayton Kershaw, starting pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, was a star player in high school before being drafted by the Dodgers in 2006. His high school record was 13 wins to 0 losses, a 0.77 ERA, and 139 strikeouts in 64 innings pitched.
Andre Ethier, right fielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers, was first drafted by the Oakland A's in 2001. However, he opted for a college education first and, after 2 years at Arizona State University, he was again drafted by the A's. After two years of playing in the minor leagues for the Athletics, they traded him to the Dodgers in December, 2005.
Adrian Gonzalez, first baseman for the Los Angeles Dodgers, began his major league career in 2004 with the Texas Rangers. He was with the Rangers for two years, playing in 16 games in 2004 and 43 games in 2005. He was only a fair player in those first two years, ending with a .238 batting average in 2004 and an even poorer .227 in 2005. However, once he was traded to the San Diego Padres after the 2005 season, Gonzalez began to improve considerably. However, in December, 2010, he was traded by the Padres to the Boston Red Sox.
Don Mattingly, manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, had a 14 year stellar career as a first baseman with the New York Yankees from 1982 through 1995. He was already a star player in high school and the Yankees drafted him while he was still a teenager. Mattingly started in the minor leagues for the Yankees, batting .349 in 1979, .358 in 1980 and .316 in 1981. In 1982, he played most of the season in the minors, coming up to the Yankees in September, playing just 7 games for them that season.