Highlanders Excelling in the Minor Leagues Near and Far

With baseball season well underway, RadfordAthletics.com takes a look at the Radford Baseball alumni currently playing in the professional ranks. This year, the Highlanders boast a trio of alums currently playing for minor league organizations, as well as a host of former players playing independent ball both in the United States and abroad.

RADFORD ALUMS IN THE PROS
Headlining the group is Spencer Horwitz '19, who is starting the season for the Buffalo Bisons, the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Horwitz got off to a hot start in the 2023 campaign, collecting hits in six of his first seven games. The first baseman is currently ranked as the No. 18 prospect in the Blue Jays organization according to MLB Pipeline, and has an outside shot at making a major-league roster this season.

In the offseason, Horwitz competed for Team Israel in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

Also moving in the right direction through the MiLB system is Michael Boyle '15, who is pitching for the Double-A Wichita Wind Surge in the Minnesota Twins organization. Boyle has appeared in five games thus far, boasting a 3.86 ERA with four scoreless outings and one save. Catcher Straton Podaras '21 has ascended to the ranks of High-A with the Tri-City Dust Devils, the affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. Podaras has tallied three RBI in five games on the young season.

On the independent circuit, Greg Duncan '21 and Sean Cheeley '21 will be playing for the Quebec Capitales and Lake Erie Crushers of the Frontier League, respectively. Eddie Butler '12, who has previous major league experience, will be suiting up for the Charleston Dirty Birds in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.

One Highlander has also excelled on the foreign scene. That would be Austin Ross '18, who played for the Adelaide Giants of the Austrian Baseball League this past winter. Ross helped lead the Giants to a 2022-23 ABL championship, posting a 0.69 ERA across nine outings in the regular season. In the playoffs, Ross was lights-out, holding opponents scoreless across six innings.

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