This is a list of baseball players who went directly to the major leagues. They are distinguished as a group by the fact that they made their North American professional debut with a Major League Baseball franchise without previously having played at the professional level, such as minor league affiliates of major league teams, the Negro Leagues, Japanese professional leagues, or independent professional teams.
After their major league debuts, many of these players actually, at one time or another, played in professional leagues other than Major League Baseball for reasons such as demotions due to poor performance, injury rehabilitation, lack of room on their team's major league roster, or simply the need of a job.[citation needed]
Included are the Bonus Babies, who joined major league rosters from 1947 to 1957 and from 1962 to 1965 under the Bonus Rule.
- Key
| * | Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame primarily as a player |
| + | Bonus babies |
