Klassen is the 415th NWL alum to debut in MLB
Rochester, Minn. – Former Lakeshore Chinook George Klassen made his Major League debut on Sunday, April 5, 2026. Klassen is the 415th former Northwoods League player to reach the Major League level.
Klassen, who played collegiately at the University of Minnesota, played for the Chinooks in 2022. He was drafted in the 6th round of the 2023 MLB draft by the Philadelphia Phillies.
In 2022 with the Chinooks, Klassen appeared in 14 games and struck out 42 batters in 28.2 innings and had one save.
Klassen began his professional career in 2024 with the Clearwater Threshers of the A Level Florida State League. After nine games he was promoted to the Jersey Shore BlueClaws of the High A South Atlantic League. In late June, the Angels acquired Klassen and Samuel Aldegheri from the Phillies in Exchange for closer Carlos Estevez. Klassen was sent to the Inland Empire 66ers of the A Level California League and pitched in one game before finishing his season in the Double A Southern League with the Rocket City Trash Pandas. Across the four clubs he appeared in 22 games and was 6-5 with a 3.10 ERA. He struck out 135 batters in 93.0 innings.
In 2025, he began the year with Rocket City and then moved up to the Salt Lake Bees of the Triple A Pacific Coast League. Between the two clubs he pitched in 25 games and was 4-12 with a 5.22 ERA. He continued his high strikeout rate with 134 in 108.2 innings.
Klassen began the 2026 season with Salt Lake and was 0-1 with a 1.93 ERA and five strikeouts in his one start before his promotion. In his Major League debut against the Seattle Mariners, he started the game and pitched 2.2 innings and allowed two runs on three hits while striking out four.
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The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Having completed its’ 32nd season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in history with 26 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 410 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 (BAL) 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 (NYM). League games are viewable live on FloSports.tv.