The Commonwealth of Virginia has long been fertile ground for MLB scouts

We recently reported on Bill Buck, a long-time resident of Northern Virginia who covered the Mid-Atlantic region as a professional baseball scout for the Detroit Tigers before retiring in 2015.

While with the Houston Astros, he played a role in the scouting and drafting of Hall of Famer Billy Wagner out of Ferrum in the spring of 1993. Then with the Tigers, Buck was the key scout who followed right-handed starting pitcher Justin Verlander before Detroit took the Goochland High product out of ODU with the second overall pick in 2004.

That got us to thinking of the many pro baseball scouts with roots in Virginia who have helped sign future Major Leaguers over the past several decades.

Among the new generation of scouts is former Arlington resident Danny Sader, who signed Logan Driscoll out of George Mason University. Driscoll broke into the Majors with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2024, missed last year with an injury and made it back to Triple-A Durham this year. Sader wrote to the AFP early this month that he has also signed big-leaguers Jackson Merrill, a Maryland high school product was an All-Star outfielder with San Diego in 2024, and two West Virginia University products: Jackson Wolf and Ryan Bergert.

Sader noted in the recent draft the Padres selected catcher Robbie Lavey, who is from Oakton in Northern Virginia, out of George Washington University in the fourth round, and second baseman Joe Tiroly in the seventh round out of Virginia. “I’m just very excited, relieved and very happy,” Tiroly told a Philadelphia-area newspaper.

The role of the professional scout is changing drastically, with new technology. Here is a look at some of them with Virginia ties – not a complete list – in alphabetical order:

• Dick Bowie (deceased) Bowie was from Stafford and was a scout for several years for the Baltimore Orioles. Among the players he signed were Staunton native Larry Sheets, the Orioles MVP in 1987, and center fielder Al Bumbry, a former Virginia State basketball and baseball star who helped the Orioles win the World Series in 1983.
• Joe Branzell (deceased) While he was born in Washington, D.C., and lived most of his life there, Branzell was a fixture in Virginia as a scout for the Washington Senators/Texas Rangers. Among the future MLB players he signed for Texas were JMU outfielder and Salem product Billy Sample and Curtis Wilkerson, an infielder from Dinwiddie County High. He also signed outfielder Clint Curry, a third-round pick by Texas out of Turner Ashby High in 1982. Curry, who reached Single-A, is the veteran softball coach for the Knights.
• Wayne Britton A veteran scout who lived several years in Waynesboro, Britton signed several future big-leaguers. That includes pitcher Daryl Irvine, a Harrisonburg native and standout at Spotwood High and Ferrum. Irvine pitched for the Boston Red Sox from 1990-1992. Britton, who in the Valley League Hall of Fame, also signed for the Red Sox Nomar Garciaparra, Trot Nixon and Mo Vaughn, per baseballreference.com. Lefty slugger Vaughn, from Seton Hall, played for the Harrisonburg Turks in the Valley League.
• Jeff Brookens (deceased) He signed lefty pitcher Andrew Abbott, from Halifax County, out of Virginia in 2021 for the Cincinnati Reds. Brookens, who passed the following year, was cousins with Tom Brookens, who played in the Valley League and in the Majors, and related to Casey Brookens, who pitched at JMU and in the minors for the Chicago Cubs from 1996-1998.
• Ty Brown (deceased) The son of former Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Joe Brown, the younger Brown lived for several years in Ruther Glen, in Caroline County. He was a scout for the Orioles and the Florida Marlins. His father helped mold world champion teams in Pittsburgh in 1960 and 1971.
• Tom Burns While from Harrisburg, Pa., he was on hand to scout Verlander in Norfolk in 2004. He went into the Professional Baseball Scouts Hall of Fame in 2009. Burns spent several years as a scout for the Toronto Blue Jays, as well as the San Diego Padres, Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Angels. He told com in 2020 of scouting Verlander: “I remember I went down there in January to do my visit with him, and I was impressed with how professional he was. He’s the only player who ever met me wearing a tie.”
• TC Calhoun With Abingdon roots, he has been a scout for the Louis Cardinals, per Baseball America. He went to Virginia Intermont College, per his LinkedIn bio. The native of Wytheville is a former assistant coach at Emory & Henry and was a standout player at VIC, per mlb.com.
• Ken Califano A long time of resident of Stafford County before moving to Maryland, the former minor leaguer has been a scout for Tampa Bay and Houston. “We have to report on everybody (in the minors), whether they are the best player or the worst player,” Califano told this reporter. “When you make trades, you go through reports and there will be multiple scouts seeing each player.” He pitched in the minors for the Orioles, Oakland and Angels.
• Roy Clark (deceased) A native of Martinsville, Clark was key in the success of the Atlanta Braves. Among the players he helped to sign were Freddie Freeman, Craig Kimbrel, Jason Heyward, Austin Riley and Jeff Francoeur. He also scouted for the Cleveland Guardians, Washington Nationals, Los Angeles Dodgers and Kansas City Royals. “He was instrumental in the success of the Braves,” former Staunton Braves and Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker told mlb.com when Clark passed in 2025. “The record speaks for itself on who he signed,” former George Mason player Dayton Moore, then with the Texas Rangers, told mlb.com. (Country singer Roy Clark – no relation – was born in Meherrin, south of Farmville, and passed in 2018).
• Mike Cubbage (deceased) The Charlottesville native and Lane High graduate was a scout for the Washington Nationals when the club won the World Series in 2019. The former University of Virginia and MLB star is in that school’s Hall of Fame, as well as the Valley League Hall of Fame. He scouted for Tampa Bay before joining Washington. Cubbage passed in South Carolina in 2024.
• Tony DeMacio He lived in Virginia at one point in his career, which included scouting for Atlanta, Cleveland, the Cubs, Orioles, Pirates and Braves. He is in the Valley League Hall of Fame.
• Billy Emerson He was a part-time scout with the Astros and Tigers before becoming the head coach at Paul VI High in Northern Virginia. Former Paul VI pitcher Kevin Kelly starred at JMU and is now a reliever with Tampa Bay.
• Jim Farr The former baseball coach at William & Mary and ODU assistant was also a scout with the Royals. Among those he signed was Noah Murdock out of Virginia in 2019. The right-hander made his MLB debut in 2025 with Oakland.
• Lonnie Goldberg A former player at George Mason University and in the minors with Texas and Colorado, Goldberg was a scout for the Atlanta Braves before joining the front office of the Kansas City Royals. He played high school ball in Northern Virginia. He worked under former Kansas City general manager Moore, who also is in the Valley League Hall of Fame. Former Mason player J. Picollo played in the minors for the Reds, was an assistant at Mason and a scout for the Braves and became the Kansas City GM in 2021. From New Jersey, he signed future MLB pitcher Dan Meyer out of JMU in 2002 for the Braves.
• Tony Guzzo (deceased) The former VCU and ODU coach was briefly a scout with the Red Sox. As a football player at East Carolina, he made a game-winning field goal to beat Marshall. Hours later, most of the Marshall players died in a plane crash on the way back to West Virginia in 1970.
• Mark Harris A native of Bristol and long-time resident of Gainesville, he was a part-time scout for the Rangers and Phillies then spent several years in player development with the Nationals.
• Bill Leatherman The former Bridgewater College men’s basketball coach was a “bird dog” scout for MLB teams. A former assistant hoop coach at JMU, he grew up in Charlottesville and has written several books about baseball. His son, Jeff, played baseball at Harrisonburg High, Auburn and in the minors.
• Howard McCullough He signed pitcher Reggie Harris out of Waynesboro High for the Boston Red Sox in 1987. While with the Arizona Diamondbacks, he signed Mark Reynolds out of the University of Virginia. McCullough went into the Professional Baseball Scouts Hall of Fame in 2009. Harris pitched in 86 games in the Majors for several teams.
• Rich Morales He was based in the Roanoke area when he scouted and drafted Brenan Hanifee out of Turner Ashby High for the Baltimore Orioles in 2016 in the fourth round. Hanifee has pitched in the majors for the Detroit Tigers since 2023.
• Rob Mummau A former JMU infielder and minor league player, Mummau has been a scout for the Seattle Mariners for several years, based most of that time in Florida. He is in the Valley League Hall of Fame, as he played for the New Market Rebels and Winchester Royals before reaching Triple-A in the Toronto system.
• Bobby Myrick He lived in Colonial Heights while working for the Giants and Nationals. One of the players that he signed was catcher Matt Suggs out of UNC Wilmington. “Right after the draft, he called me up and offered me and it was right what I was looking for,” Suggs told this reporter when he signed in 2022. Suggs retired in early August at the age of 26 after climbing as high as Double-A with the Harrisburg Senators.
• Steve Nagy The former JMU student and 2020 graduate, among a new generation in the field, has been a scout for the Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees. “He really knows the game inside and out,” said former JMU pitching coach Jimmy Jackson, now at Maryland. Nagy is a potential MLB general manager, Jackson said.
• Bobby St. Pierre The former University of Richmond star, who pitched in the minors for the Yankees and Cleveland, has been a scout for the Houston Astros.
• Alex Smith With roots in Maryland, Smith was the scout that helped sign Ryan Zimmerman out of the University of Virginia in 2005 for the Nationals.
• Billy Swoope A former standout player at Norfolk Catholic, Swoope played in the minors for the Los Angeles Dodgers. After coaching at Virginia Wesleyan, VCU as an assistant and Virginia State, he began a long run with the Chicago Cubs and helped sign future big-leaguers Jason Dubois (VCU), Brandon Guyer (Virginia) and Sean Marshall (VCU), among others. He was the Cubs’ scout of the year in 2020 and this year the team drafted former Page County High and William Monroe High pitcher Lance Williams out of the University of Maryland and pitcher Luke McGrath from JMU.
• Syd Thrift (deceased) A native of Locust Hill in Middlesex County who played at Randolph-Macon in Ashland, Thrift was the scouting director for the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1960s and was later the general manager of the Orioles. Among the players he signed was Staunton native and North River High grad Jerry May, with the Pirates in 1961 out of high school. May was a catcher in the majors for the Pirates, Kansas City Royals and New York Mets.
• Mike Toomey While he grew up in Maryland, Toomey has several ties to Virginia. He was the manager of the Alexandria Dukes in the minor leagues and as a scout signed several future big-leaguers, including Mike Venafro out of JMU for the Texas Rangers. Toomey was an assistant to general manager Moore when Kansas City won the World Series. Venafro has been a scout for the Padres.
• Bo Trumbo A member of the Bridgewater College Hall of Fame, Trumbo was a scout for several years for the Cincinnati Reds. He is still a fixture at local games, including when the Miller School of Albemarle played at TA in March and for games at EMU in Harrisonburg. Trumbo played for New Market and is in the Valley League Hall of Fame, and he also scouted for the New York Mets, Boston Red Sox, Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves and Seattle Mariners, as well as the MLB Scouting Bureau.
• Melvin Upton He was a part-time scout in the Tidewater area for Kansas City, and two of his sons are Norfolk natives who played in the majors: Justin Upton, who hit 325 homers, and J. Upton, who collected 300 steals and 164 homers.
• Lou Wieben The scout from New Jersey signed non-drafted pitcher Tyler Zombro out of George Mason University in 2017 for Tampa Bay. Zombro was born in Harrisonburg, went to Staunton High and reached Triple-A in the Tampa Bay system after pitching for the Staunton Braves. He is now a pitching coach specialist with the Cubs.
• Jeff Zona A former minor league pitcher, Zona is from the Richmond area and has scouted for several MLB teams, including the Boston Red Sox and Nationals. His son, Nick, was an infielder at JMU and played in the minors for Seattle. The older Zona played at VCU and among his signings are big-leaguers Daniel Bard, who pitched at North Carolina, and pitcher Cla Meredith, a Richmond native who also played at VCU.

Did we miss anyone? If so, write to [email protected].