Legends Inductees

From the Field: Luis Castro, if, Staten Island FerryHawks
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Infielder Luis Castro had a fantastic season in the independent Atlantic League in 2024. The 29-year-old Castro hit .356 with a .449 OBP and 1.085 OPS, hitting 24 HR. He would end the season with the league batting crown. Castro has been around–this is his third season in Indy ball and 11th season of pro ball, but he has been a solid hitter just about everywhere he went, though has yet to get past AAA-ball. He’s had some highlights, though: in 2019 while playing in the Rockies organization with their high-A affiliate, he hit .317/.425/.584 with 25 HR was selected to the California League All-Star team, and was both the league regular and post-season MVP.

From the Field: Pan Wen-Hui, p, Philadelphia Phillies
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In 2023 the Phillies signed 20-year old pitcher pitcher Pan Wen-Hui out of Taiwan. Pan was both a starter and reliever in Taiwan and has remained a swingman since coming to the States. He didn’t pitch too much in 2024 because of a broken finger, but when he did he was good: over 29.1 innings he only allowed 22 hits and struck out 35. He ended the season pitching with the Phillies high-A club and should open the 2025 season there. Pan is pitching in the 2024 Arizona Fall League to make up for the lost innings and is likely the best prospect for the player they sent. I’m very fond of Taiwan players, so I’m hoping all the best for him on his path to the majors.

From the Field: Kaden Anderson, p/of, Baldwin Bears
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This past weekend was the PBR Hawaii Showcase. It was rough. The weather, which was nice all week, did not hold and the event’s final two days were plagued by rain. So much rain that they were forced to cancel the first day of gameplay and change fields for the second. I also was on a time crunch, since my wife is out of town and I had a weekend of Halloween events to attend with my son. But I still managed to get a couple of the players I wanted. So, it was a win.
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Near the top of my list was Baldwin Bears Kaden Anderson (Maui, 2026). This past season Anderson hit a solid .300 over 40 at-bats. But he shined in the post-season when he was the (surprise) starting pitcher against powerhouse Kamehameha in the semi-finals. He went five innings, struck out five, and got the win, knocking Kamehameha out of the playoffs. Baldwin would go on to be co-state champions along with Maui (again, thanks weather!), and Anderson would be awarded co-Most Outstanding Player of the championships. Anderson is one of the best players in the islands, and his name is starting to pop up on some of the 2026 Hawaii rankings. And that says something. 2026 is shaping up to be one of the strongest Hawaii prep classes, with players like Judah Ota, Kahanu Martinez, Alika Ahu, and Zayne Ho’okala, who are all D1 prospects who might very well get drafted before they step foot on campus. So he is in good company. While he hasn’t committed to a college yet, I assume it’s only a matter of time–there is no way he is not being followed by plenty of D1 and MLB teams.

New Arrival: Matt Wilkinson, sp, Cleveland Guardians
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It feels like it’s been a long time since a Cleveland minor league season ended and I was happy with the development of the prospects. But here we are. It’s refreshing to have some optimism about the talent coming up through the system.
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One of the players to feel good about is pitcher Matt Wilkinson. In his first full season of affiliate ball, he pitched 118.2 innings between Low and High-A, only allowing 71 hits while striking out 174. Good for a 0.910 WHIP. While his success is a pleasant surprise, it shouldn’t be too shocking. He was a 10th-round pick out of the 2023 draft, and Cleveland is known for its daft development of pitchers.

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Wilkinson will enter the 2025 season as one of the teams Top 30 prospects. It’s still a question of whether his stuff will play in the high minors. But if it does, you can expect him in Cleveland by 2026.

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Jose Ramirez had another great season in 2024, with a 143 OPS+ and a sixth All-Star selection. He nearly ended the season by joining the 40/40 club, but would fall one homerun short.

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Ramirez has not performed quite as well in the playoffs, hitting .188 with a .350 OBP. This isn’t great. Cleveland’s line-up isn’t deep enough to have its best hitter go cold. Luckily for the Guards, several other players made up for it–Lane Thomas, Stephen Kwan, David Fry, and Brayan Rocchio. This probably isn’t sustainable, and hopefully, Ramirez and Josh Naylor show up against the Yankees. If not, there is a good chance they will be sitting at home in two weeks.

I’ve been a fan of Corbin Carroll since he was in low-A with the Hillsboro Hops. I was thrilled when he broke out in 2023, winning the National League Rookie of the Year award, made his first All-Star game, and ended 5th in MVP voting. He was a thrilling player, with pop (25 HR) and on-base skills (.362 OBP). I love this card in particular since the 1974 Topps set is one of my favorite out there.
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But this season has been nothing but a disaster. His numbers across the board have cratered. Last season he had a 135 OPS+. This season? 78. His power is gone. He is still getting on base, but at slower clip (.302 OBP). Injuries are the most likely culprit, and considering he is only 23 there is time for him to bounce back.

From the Field: Travis Fryman, if, Cleveland Baseball

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Travis Fryman. Years ago, when he was managing Cleveland’s low-A team in Mahoning Valley, I drove down there three nights in a row trying to get him. I assumed, as a manager, that he would not be difficult. He was. And considering it was an hour-plus drive each way, I was not thrilled. But that is how autographs work, I guess. If it was easy, everyone would do it.

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But hey I got some now. Cleveland traded for Travis Fryman in 1997, and he would man the hot corner for the next five seasons. And for the first three seasons, he was great, with a 112 OPS+ and an All-Star selection (in 2000, his last of five career selections). He struggled in 2001 and 2002 and retired before the 2003 season. All told he had a solid career (104 OPS+, 34.4 WAR, five all-star selections, one Gold Glove, and one Silver Slugger). Following his retirement, Cleveland didn’t have a long-term answer at third base until 2018, when Jose Ramirez became the starter.

This 2000 Fleer Tradition Jose Ortiz ranked #107 on Beckett’s 2005 All-Time Hot List. It’s also a personal favorite of mine.

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In 2001, the Oakland Athletics were in the middle of the Moneyball Era. Their top prospect coming into the season was infielder Jose Ortiz, who in 2000 was the AAA Pacific Coast League MVP. Not only was Ortiz the #1 prospect in the Oakland organization, but also one of the top 35 prospects in baseball. But a signature move during the Moneyball era was trading prospects for big league parts, and Ortiz was a major trading chip. At the trading deadline the A’s, looking to fortify their outfield, traded away Todd Belitz, Mario Encarnacion, and Jose Ortiz to the Rockies for outfielder Jermaine Dye. For the remainder of the season, Dye would be one of the best hitters for the 102-win club (139 OPS+).

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Despite the buzz, Jose Ortiz would struggle in the majors and only spend parts of three seasons in the big leagues. That said, he would remain in professional baseball until 2013 and found plenty of success playing foreign ball in Mexico and Japan.

Part of my collection is acquiring the first card–generally, the first minor league issued–of prominent Cleveland Guardians players. I was happy to add these two over the weekend. Mostly happy.
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2016 Choice Pulaski Yankees #12 Estevan Florial. Florial, a former top prospect for the New York Yankees, opened the season with Cleveland. While he had a decent first month, Florial struggled at the plate since and was dropped from the 26-man roster in May. He made it through waivers and is now playing at AAA-Columbus. This card has been tough to find, so when I saw this card pop up I jumped. I prefer these cards not autographed, but beggars can’t be choosers.

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2018 Grandstand Helena Brewers David Fry. Utility player David Fry was traded by the Brewers to the Guardians in 2022 in exchange for pitcher J.C. Mejia. In limited action this season, Fry has been one of the best hitters on team, with a 1.063 OPS (206 OPS+) as of early June. A former 7th round pick, he has some prospect pedigree along with a history of good minor-league numbers–so hopefully this isn’t just a scalding hot run. This card was impossible to find as a single, so I had to buy the set to get it–which was not cheap. But I worry that if I didn’t jump, it would become another hard-to-find MiLB card.