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Another Major League Baseball season is upon us.
While fans have their various rooting interests when it comes to teams and players, many also enjoy keeping an eye on those who played high school and/or college baseball in Delaware.
With that in mind, these are players with Delaware ties who will start the season on big-league rosters or are bidding for a return, including one who pitched in the World Series last year and another who will miss the 2026 season:
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Mason Fluharty, P, Toronto Blue Jays
Fluharty, a Cape Henlopen grad and the Blue Jays’ fifth-round 2022 draft pick out of Liberty University, reached the majors in 2025 and was a key bullpen choice for the American League champs, who lost to the Dodgers in seven games in the World Series. The 24-year-old lefty appeared in 55 games last year, going 5-2 with a 4.14 ERA and one save. He then appeared in 11 postseason games but allowed nine hits and walked three in 6 1/3 innings and had a 5.68 ERA. But a 1.35 ERA in six spring outings was encouraging.
Jake Fraley, OF, Tampa Bay Rays
Caravel Academy grad Fraley is back with Tampa Bay, which chose him in the second round of the 2016 MLB Draft before trading him in 2018 to Seattle, where Fraley began his bog-league career in 2019. He’s expected to man right field for the Rays, at least when a right-hander is on the mound. He remains a multi-tooled threat, capable of hitting with power or stealing bases. Fraley played three years with the Mariners and 3½ with the Reds before being waived last August and picked up by Atlanta. Fraley had career highs of 15 homers and 65 RBI in 2023 and a career-best .277 batting average in 2024 before tailing off to .241 last year. Opportunity now awaits with Tampa Bay for Fraley, who has a .248/.333/,402 career slash line.
Zack Gelof, 2B-OF, Oakland Athletics
After three years with the big-league club playing second base when healthy, Gelof will begin the season in Triple-A as he transitions to being an outfielder. That added versatility should give the Cape Henlopen grad more opportunity to contribute as a utilityman. Gelof batted. 267 with 14 homers in 69 games after his 2023 call-up. But he slumped to a .211 average and AL-high 188 strikeouts in 2024 and .174 last year after beginning the season in Triple-A. A September shoulder dislocation while fielding a grounder for the Athletics ended his season and led to surgery. But Gelof had an encouraging spring.
Ron Marinaccio, P, San Diego Padres
After spending his first seven pro seasons in the Yankees system, former Blue Hen Marinaccio moved to the Padres last year. He spent much of the season in Triple-A but did make seven relief appearances for San Diego, logging an 0.84 ERA in 10 2/3 innings. Three appearances for Italy in the World Baseball Classic and a solid spring boost his chances to remain in the big leagues. The right-hander has 149 strikeouts in 125 1/3 MLB innings.
Brandon Walter, P, Houston Astros
The former Hodgson Vo-Tech and Blue Hens ace who missed 2024 with a shoulder strain will also not pitch in 2026 after having Tommy John surgery, which also interrupted his Delaware career. Walter was 1-3 but had a 3.35 ERA in nine starts with Houston last year before being shut down in July. An effective stint at Triple-A earned that opportunity. Walter also pitched 23 innings in nine games for the Red Sox in 2023 with a 6.26 ERA.
Contact Kevin Tresolini at [email protected] and follow on Twitter @kevintresolini. Support local journalism by subscribing to delawareonline.com and our DE Game Day newsletter.
