12 local athletes playing in Major/Minor League baseball this season.

Volume 2 Issue 13

Mar 26, 2023

As it stands today, there will be twelve athletes representing Northwest Ohio at the major and minor league level of professional baseball. They hail from ten different high schools and seven different counties.

There are currently two players who will be donning the major league uniform this season. Chris Bassitt of Genoa will be donning a Toronto Blue Jays uniform this year. After one season with the Mets, Bassitt elected for free agency. Bassitt and the Blue Jays are hoping for another All-Star year out of the right-hander as they are one of the best teams in the American League. He is the first local athlete to play for the Blue Jays since Toledo Woodward’s Stan Clarke in 1986.

Also playing in the majors this year will be Western Reserve’s Andrew Chafin. Chafin signed a one year deal with the Arizona Diamonbacks, whom he previously played for from 2014-2020. Chafin then split the 2021 season between the Cubs and Athletics before signing with the Tigers in 2022. Chafin opted out of his contract at the end of last season. Chafin looks to bolster a struggling bullpen that lost 88 games last year. He is the only local player to ever play for the Diamondbacks.

Two Bryan products will be taking the mound this season. Matt Wisler is currently projected to start play for the Toledo Mud Hens at the beginning of the year. Wisler spent last season with the Tampa Bay Rays before electing to become a free agent in September. The other Golden Bear taking the mound is Deylen Miley who will be pitching for the Single-A Fayetteville Woodpeckers. Last season Miley started 15 games for Fayetteville and posted a 4.64 ERA.

Napoleon also has two players suiting up this season. Zach Willeman will be pitching for the Triple-A Omaha Storm Chasers to start the year. Willeman pitched in 37.1 innings for the Storm Chasers last year tallying 38 strikeouts. Fellow Wildcat Art Warren signed a minor-league deal with the New York Yankees in the off-season. Warren will likely miss most of the season as he recovers from UCL surgery.

One of the top prospects in the Pirates organization hails from Toledo Central Catholic. Jase Bowen is one of the top players in the Pirates farm ssytem and will be playing for the High-A Greensboro Grasshoppers. Fellow TRAC alumnus Connor Curlis of Findlay will be starting out the year with the Chattanooga Lookouts for the third straight year.

Edison graduate Adam Wolf will again be playing for the Double-A Erie SeaWolves where he had a 2.72 ERA last season. Celina’s Seth Lonsway will be playing in his second year of Single-A ball with the San Jose Giants. Last year Lonsway had 9 wins and 120 strikeouts on the year. Ross Adolph of Van Buren will be suiting up again for the Double-A Corpus Christi Hooks, you can read more about him here. And the final player in professional baseball this year is Fort Recovery’s Nick Thwaits. Thwaits will again be playing for the High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps where he had 53 strikeouts in 62 innings pitched last season.

Baseball season is a long one. So over the thousands of games being played this season, try and make time to watch one of our fine local athletes showcase their talent.

Leading Updates

Storm Norton (Toledo/Whitmer) signed a one year deal for the New Orleans Saints.
Michael Deiter (Curtice/Genoa) signed a deal with the Houston Texans.
Jamiya Neal (Toledo/Rogers) has entered the transfer portal from Arizona State basketball.
Phil Hoskins (Toledo/Whitmer) has re-signed with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Notable Game Updates

On March 21st Zaiver Simpson (Lima/Lima Senior) had 16 points and 12 assists in a Lakeland loss to Long Island.
On March 22nd Dakota Mathias (Elida) had 21 points nad 7 rebounds in a Memphis Hustle win over the Ontario Clippers.
On March 23rd Zavier Simpson (Lima/Lima Senior) had 26 points in a Lakeland win over Long Island.
On March 24th Nigel Hayes-Davis (Toledo/Whitmer) had 19 points in a Fenerbahce win over Zalgiris.
On March 24th Marc Loving (Toledo/St. John’s) had 18 points and 11 rebounds in a Leicester loss to Sheffield.