KALAMAZOO, MI., — Despite an abbreviated 2020 Major League Baseball Draft, The Kalamazoo Growlers had a league-high five former players selected. The five players span over the 2018 and 2019 Growlers rosters who both made the Northwoods League Playoffs in their respective seasons. 

 

LHP Sam Weatherly, 3rd Round (81st overall), Colorado Rockies

 

The Howell, Mich., native donned a Growlers uniform in 2018 after his freshman year at Clemson University. He started in all five of his appearances, while totaled 18.2 innings pitched. Weatherly struck out 19 and allowed 16 hits.

While at Clemson, Weatherly will finish his Tiger career with a 4-0 record in 33 appearances and a 3.48 ERA. He fanned 106 hitters over 72.1 innings and held opponents to a .195 batting average. In 2020, Weatherly held a 0.79 over four starts, and opponents only muster a 0.96 batting average. 

 

SS Anthony Walters, 3rd Round (91st overall), New York Mets

 

Walters was a member of last year’s team and played in two games for Cody Piechocki. He recorded one hit and an RBI at Traverse City and was perfect in the field.

He came to Kalamazoo from Mt. San Antonio College after hitting .374 with 10 home runs and 62 RBIs. This year, he moved to San Diego State University where he started in all 16 games for the Aztecs. He hit at a .271 clip with two doubles, a home run and eight RBIs.

 

OF Zach Daniels, 4th Round (131st overall), Houston Astros

 

Daniels was a more storied member of the 2018 Growlers who helped lead Kalamazoo to its first playoff appearance in franchise history. During that summer, he was selected for the Northwoods League All-Star Game. He played 62 games in a Growlers uniform, hitting .250 with 16 extra-base hits, 46 RBIs and 11 stolen bases.

In 2020, Daniels was hitting .357 over 17 games before the season was cut short due to COVID-19. He belted four home runs, a triple, eight doubles and had a career-high 18 RBIs. His doubles, RBIs, and .750 slugging percentage also led the Volunteers.

 

RHP Joe Boyle, 5th Round (143th overall), Cincinnati Reds

 

Boyle was rated in 2018 as the top prospect from the Northwoods League by D1Baseball, Baseball America and Perfect Game. He made seven relief appearances, throwing 7.1 innings with 14 strikeouts to just four walks. Boyle also recorded the first save in Growlers playoff history and holds the NWL record for hardest pitch recorded at 103.1 MPH.

The Notre Dame product will finish his career with 36.0 innings pitched, 57 strikeouts and only 21 hits allowed. He finished the 2020 season with a 1-1 record after six appearances and a 3.24 ERA.

 

OF Baron Radcliff, 5th Round (146th overall), Philadelphia Phillies

 

Radcliff sat on the opposite side of the outfield from Zach Daniels and played in 36 games for the Growlers in 2018. He held a .273 average with five doubles and home runs. 

He was drafted in 2017 in the 40th round by the Atlanta Braves but decided to attend Georgia Tech and hit .232 for his career. In 2018, he ranked third on the team in RBIs (44), slugging percentage (.503) and home runs (12). He also finished second on the team in walks (46). Radcliff started all 16 games this past season and led the Yellow Jackets with 16 extra-base hits, 17 RBIs and 13 walks.

 

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The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Currently in its’ 26thseason, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 22 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, over 200 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET) and Curtis Granderson (MIA). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. For more information, visit www.northwoodsleague.com or download the Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play.