Two former Midlands standouts get September major league call-ups
Two former Midlands baseball standouts got their call to the major leagues.
Tampa Bay called up Lexington’s Nick Ciuffo on Monday, while Spring Valley’s Taylor Guerreri made his Major League Baseball debut with the Toronto Blue Jay over the weekend. The two played in the same game against each other Monday in Toronto with Tampa winning, 7-1.
Ciuffo went 0-for-4, reached on a fielder’s choice and scored a run. Guerreri allowed one run in an inning of his relief during his second major league appearance.
Ciuffo is the Rays’ top catching prospect and ranked 25th overall in organization by MLB Pipeline. He hit .262 with five homers and 28 RBIs in 60 games in Triple-A Durham this year after missing the first 50 games because of a failed drug test.
“I’ve always slightly taken little steps forward,” Ciuffo told the Tampa Bay Times in February. “Now this is a big step back. I’ve got to earn back the trust of my teammates, I’ve got to earn back the trust of the coaching staff, the front office, everybody in the Rays organization.
“I understand that. I can apologize and I can have conversations as much as I want to, but it’s going to be my actions, the way I handle myself from here on out is going to determine their respect for me and their trust in me.”
The former 2013 first-round pick has a .250 average with 17 homers and 163 RBIs in 417 minor league games.
Ciuffo played his final two years in high school at Lexington and was part of the Wildcats’ 2013 state championship team. He was the S.C. Gatorade Player of the Year that season.
Guerreri, a pitcher, was called up Saturday and made his debut against the Miami Marlins by tossing two scoreless innings of relief. He was 2-2 this season at Triple-A Buffalo with a 5.18 ERA in 23 appearances.
Like Ciuffo, Guerreri transferred to the Midlands at the end of his high school career. He played at North Augusta his first three years before going to Spring Valley his senior season.
Tampa selected Guerreri in the first round of the 2011 draft. He spent six years in the organization before being released last year. The Blue Jays claimed him off waivers in November.
Guerreri was 27-15 with a 2.88 ERA in 104 minor league games.
This story was originally published September 3, 2018 at 4:27 PM.