Granillo is the 397th former Northwoods League player to debut in MLB
Rochester, Minn. – Former Mankato MoonDog Andre Granillo made his Major League debut on Thursday, June 12, 2025. Granillo is the 397th former Northwoods League player to reach the Major League level.
Granillo, who played collegiately at the University of California, Riverside, played for the MoonDogs in 2020. He was drafted in the 14th round of the 2021 MLB draft by the St. Louis Cardinals.
In 2020 with the MoonDogs, Granillo appeared in 10 games and was 1-1 with a 2.29 ERA. He had 34 strikeouts in 19.2 innings and had two saves.
Granillo started his professional career in 2021 with the Palm Beach Cardinals of the Low-A Southeast League. He pitched in 14 games and was 2-3 with a 1.50 ERA across 18.0 innings. He struck out 23, saved two games and walked nine batters.
In 2022 Granillo began the year in Palm Beach and then was promoted, after 10 games, to the Peoria Chiefs of the High-A Midwest League. He would pitch in 26 games in Peoria before another promotion, to end the season, to the Springfield Cardinals of the Double-A Texas League. For the year he pitched in a combined 39 games and was 4-6 with a 4.13 ERA. He struck out an amazing 82 batters in 52.1 innings and saved eight games.
Granillo started the 2023 season with Springfield and then moved up to the Memphis Redbirds after 44 games. He would pitch in nine games in Memphis to end the season. Overall, he was 3-4 with a 4.74 ERA in 68.1 innings. He struck out 89 and saved 14 games.
In 2024 Granillo started the year again in Springfield and then was promoted back to Memphis. Between the two clubs he pitched in 48 games and was 8-2 with a 3.88 ERA. He saved five games and struck out 80 in 65.0 innings.
Prior to his call-up to the Cardinals, Granillo was in Memphis where he had appeared in 18 games and was 4-0 with a 1.82 ERA. He had 46 strikeouts in 29.2 innings. In his Major League debut against the Milwaukee Brewers, Granillo entered the game in relief and pitched 2.2 innings allowing no runs on two hits.
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The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Now in its’ 32nd season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in history with 24 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires, and front office staff, nearly 2400 NWL alums have been drafted and over 395 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time All-Star and 2016 Roberto Clemente Award winner Curtis Granderson, three-time Cy Young Award winner and two-time World Series Champion Max Scherzer (TOR), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford and World Series Champion and Cy Young Award winner Chris Sale (ATL). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and 2019/2021 Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and 2023 World Series Champion, MLB All-Star, MLB Gold Glove, two-time Silver Slugger winner and two-time All-MLB first team shortstop Marcus Semien (TEX). League games are viewable live on Northwoods League+ (at watch.northwoodsleague.com), ESPN+, and the Northwoods League Network.