Since he’s a fire-throwing left-handed pitcher, there was a possibility the Cleveland Guardians would shut down Rafe Schlesinger for the rest of the 2024 season after they drafted him in the fourth round last month.
But that changed earlier this week when he was assigned to their Single-A affiliate in Lynchburg, Virginia. The Sachem alum made his professional debut Thursday night, throwing two scoreless innings and striking out two batters for the Hillcats.
Schlesinger, who played at Sachem East and was drafted out of the University of Miami, allowed just one hit during his appearance and struck out the first batter he faced.
He is the first Sachem alum to play professional baseball since Sachem North’s Alec Sole, who logged nearly 1,000 minor league at-bats across four seasons and reached Triple-A with Tampa in 2017.
