By Mark Tennis, ESPNRISE.com Deputy Editor
Contributing: Paul Muyskens

Arkansas is not exactly a baseball hotbed, but in this year's World Series there are two prominent starting pitchers from the state, showing once again that if you are a promising prospect no matter where you're from that baseball scouts will find you.

The two Arkansas prep products in this year's World Series are Cy Young Award winner Cliff Lee of the Philadelphia Phillies and key starter A.J. Burnett of the New York Yankees.

While the state has produced some prominent Hall of Famers, such as pitchers Dizzy and Daffy Dean and third baseman Brooks Robinson, there were only a handful of current major league players from the state on any rosters heading into Opening Day of 2009.

Both Lee and Burnett also epitomize two traits that every aspiring young athlete should possess: 1. No injury can be overcome; 2. When an opportunity arises, be quick and confident to take advantage.

For Lee, his senior season at Benton High (Benton, Ark.) in 1997 was looking special in the early portions of it. After six starts, he had a 1.90 ERA and had thrown two no-hitters. Unfortunately, Lee then went down with a shoulder injury and had to miss the rest of his senior season. He did continue to hit and play in the outfield – he ended up with five homers and 20 RBIs – but the injury clearly caused his stock to fall in the 1997 amateur draft.

Instead of perhaps going in the top four or five rounds of the draft that year, Lee slid down into the eighth round. He still could have signed, but instead played at Meridian Community College for two seasons and then one season at the University of Arkansas. He had no reoccurrence of the shoulder problem and was a fourth-round pick by the Montreal Expos in 2000.

For Burnett, he didn't even pitch until he was a junior in 1994 at Central Arkansas Christian (Little Rock, Ark.) and was still a total unknown to scouts and media scribes until he was asked to pitch in a state semifinal playoff game against Russellville due to injuries to other pitchers. Burnett took the mound and mesmerized with a one-hitter.

Several scouts were present for that playoff game. One of them from the New York Mets persuaded his club to take Burnett in the eighth round of the 1995 draft.

Slugger Ryan Howard of the Phillies wasn't exactly a household name as a prep player, either. Despite hitting two homers and driving in seven runs in his first varsity game for Lafayette (Ballwin, Mo.) and being regarded as one of the top players in the St. Louis metro area, Howard went undrafted after his senior year. He continued to develop, however, at Southwest Missouri State and by the 2001 draft he became a fifth-round pick by the Phillies.

Here is this year's complete list of World Series alumni (listed in a state-by-state format):

Alabama
David Robertson P (Central, Tuscaloosa) Yankees

Arkansas
A.J. Burnett P (Central Arkansas Christian, North Little Rock) Yankees
Cliff Lee P (Benton) Phillies

California
Phil Coke P (Sonora) Yankees
Greg Dobbs INF (Canyon Springs, Moreno Valley) Phillies
Ben Francisco OF (Servite, Anaheim) Phillies
Cole Hamels P (Rancho Bernardo, San Diego) Phillies
Phil Hughes P (Foothill, Santa Ana) Yankees
Ryan Madson P (Valley View, Moreno Valley) Phillies
Jimmy Rollins INF (Encinal, Alameda) Phillies
C.C. Sabathia P (Vallejo) Yankees
Chase Utley INF (Poly, Long Beach) Phillies

Colorado
Brad Lidge P (Cherry Creek, Englewood) Phillies

Florida
Johnny Damon OF (Dr. Phillips, Orlando) Yankees
Raul Ibanez OF (Miami Sunset, Miami) Phillies
Alex Rodriguez INF (Westminster Christian, Miami) Yankees

Hawaii
Shane Victorino OF (St. Anthony's, Wailuku) Phillies

Illinois
Jerry Hairston INF (Naperville North, Naperville) Yankees
J.A. Happ P (St. Bede Academy, Peru) Phillies
Jayson Werth OF (Glenwood, Chatham) Phillies

Indiana
Eric Bruntlett INF (Harrison, West Lafayette)

Kentucky
Joe Blanton P (Franklin Simpson, Franklin) Phillies

Louisiana
Paul Bako C (Lafayette) Phillies
Chad Durbin P (Woodlawn, Baton Rouge) Yankees
Chad Gaudin P (Crescent City Baptist, Harahan) Yankees

Maryland
Mark Teixeira INF (Mount Saint Joseph, Baltimore) Yankees

Michigan
Derek Jeter INF (Kalamazoo Central, Kalamazoo) Yankees

Missouri
Ryan Howard INF (Lafayette, Ballwin) Phillies

Nebraska
Joba Chamberlain P (Northeast, Lincoln) Yankees

South Carolina
Brett Gardner OF (Holly Hill) Phillies

Texas
Andy Pettitte P (Deer Park) Yankees

Utah
Scott Eyre P (Cypress, Magna) Phillies

West Virginia
Nick Swisher OF (Parkersburg)

International

Canada
Matt Stairs OF Phillies

Dominican Republic
Antonio Bastardo P Phillies
Melky Cabrera OF Yankees
Robinson Cano INF Yankees
Pedro Feliz INF Phillies
Freddy Guzman OF Yankees
Damaso Marte P Yankees
Pedro Martinez P Phillies

Japan
Hideki Matsui OF Yankees

Mexico
Alfredo Aceves P Yankees

Panama
Mariano Rivera P Yankees
Carlos Ruiz C Phillies

Puerto Rico
Jose Molina C Yankees
Jorge Posada C Yankees

South Korea
Chan Ho Park P Phillies

Venezuela
Miguel Cairo INF Phillies
Francisco Cervelli C Yankees