There’s a point every year where you don’t need a calendar to tell you baseball is back.

You can feel it.

The air shifts. The days stretch. The fields start to thaw. And in a city like Detroit—when the Detroit Tigers are playing meaningful baseball again—you can sense the energy building.

For anyone who’s played this game, this is the time of year that brings everything back.

And in Metro Detroit, that feeling showed up in full yesterday.

Brother Rice Sets the Tone on Opening Day

Brother Rice opened its season at Oakland University against one of the top teams in the state—and left no doubt about the standard they’re playing to early.

They took both games.

The first was tight. The second, more decisive. But both told the same story.

Game One — Winning Without Needing Volume

Brother Rice took game one 4–3, despite being out-hit.

They only collected three hits on the day—but found ways to manufacture runs early and control the game from there.

They struck first in the opening inning, capitalizing on situational execution—pushing across runs on a ground ball and a productive out. An inning later, plate discipline showed up, with a walk extending the lead to 3–0.

They added one more in the third on a sacrifice fly—again, not flashy, but effective.

And that was enough.

Cole Duhaime set the tone on the mound, going four innings, allowing just one run on five hits while striking out seven and walking none. The combo of him and Broder Katke is not fair for a high school baseball battery.

Offensively, contributions were spread out:

• Tristan Turner, Michael Stanton, and Broder Katke each recorded a hit

• F Beyer drove in a run

• The group drew six walks, showing early-season discipline

It wasn’t about overpowering St. Mary’s.

It was about playing clean baseball—and letting the game come to them.

Game Two — Letting the Offense Open Up

Game two flipped the script.

After falling behind early, Brother Rice responded immediately—and never looked back, winning 8–3.

They answered a three-run deficit with a steady, controlled offensive approach:

• Michael Stanton got things started early

• Tristan Turner delivered a game-tying hit in the second

• In the fourth, Maksim Neshov broke the game open with an RBI single

• Stanton followed with a double to extend the lead

From there, they kept pressure on.

Brother Rice finished with nine hits and applied constant stress on the defense:

• Stanton, Katke, and Beyer each collected two hits

• Turner, Stanton, and Katke all drove in two runs

• The team added five stolen bases, showing aggressiveness on the basepaths

On the mound, the group did enough early and let the offense take over. Grady Preston started the game, striking out 5 over 3 innings, and Ethan Reidy threw two hitless, shutout inning to get the save.

Two games. Two different styles.

Same result.

A Program Built to Sustain This

What you’re seeing at Brother Rice right now isn’t new.

It’s the result of a system.

Head coach Bob Riker has built one of the most respected high school programs in the country—not just by stacking talent, but by creating alignment.

Around 60 players are brought into the program each year. Not separated by labels, but connected through a standard.

That’s an important distinction.

Because what shows up on opening day isn’t built in a week. It’s built over years—through repetition, accountability, and consistency.

Talent That Reflects the Culture

The roster features some of the top players in the state, highlighted recently by Michigan Prep Baseball Report.

But what stands out isn’t just the talent.

It’s the way they carry themselves.

Junior Broder Katke (Vanderbilt commit), one of the top prospects in the country, plays with a presence that goes beyond his age. When he joined me on the Up & In Show, one thing came through clearly—he’s invested in the group.

He wants to win with these guys.

And that shows up on the field.

Paired with Duhaime, who leads more quietly but just as effectively, this team has something you can’t fake—players who genuinely play for each other.

That matters more than anything in March.

The Ecosystem Around It

Programs like this don’t operate in isolation.

What’s happening at Brother Rice is supported by a larger structure:

• DJ LeMahieu helping elevate resources and vision

• Daily development work at the Stevens Complex

• Paul Fry bringing a major league standard to strength and conditioning

• Integration with Warrior Baseball at the youth level

• Ongoing pitching development through Mike Steele

This is what a fully connected development system looks like.

And it’s starting to show.

From Youth to Varsity — The Next Layer

That connection is what this Warrior Report is built to track.

Because the varsity team isn’t the starting point.

It’s the current stage and the next group is already on its way.

The Warrior Baseball Club Orange 11U team moved to 25–0 this past weekend, winning a tournament and continuing one of the strongest starts you’ll see at that level.

Lucas Tocca, JJ Lupienski and Andrew Kives are leading the offensive charge. Tocca is batting .621 with 5 HR and 40 RBI, Lupienski is batting .552 with 4 HR and 25 RBI, while Andrew Kives is batting .465 with 4 HR and 29 RBI.

On the bump, Graeme Kisabeth is leading the way with a 0.00 ERA, but what impressed me the most…. his strike-out to walk ratio: 32:9. And the 32 K’s in 14.2 IP is very impressive, equating to a wile 19.6 K/9.

Kisabeth has also only allowed one hit so far in those 14+ innings, which means there are basically no base runners when he is on the bump!

For full team stats, check out their team GameChanger page.

These players are the players that are working with Mike Steele and myself weekly to instill the baseball habits needed to play every day, all while they are also learning how to compete now.

And in a few years, they’ll be stepping into environments like the Brother Rice program—playing meaningful games, in meaningful moments.

What Else This Could Be Building Toward

This is also bigger than a season.

What’s happening across Metro Detroit—at the youth level, at Brother Rice, and with summer experiences like the Leprechauns—is building toward something that hasn’t fully existed here before.

A complete pathway.

And eventually, it could lead to something like a Metro Detroit Development League.

A place where:

• high school players

• college players

• former pros

• and players still chasing opportunities

All share the same field with real at-bats, competition, and evaluation.

And when that happens, it won’t feel new.

Because the players, the stories, and the development will already be documented here.

Early Takeaway

It’s week one of the high school season.

But it’s a clear one.

Brother Rice didn’t just win on opening day.

They looked like a team—and a program—that understands what it takes to sustain success.

And as the weather continues to turn, and the season starts to unfold, that’s what we’ll be tracking here.

Not just results.

But development.

If you spend enough time around a baseball field at the Stevens Complex in Troy, MI, and all over Metro Detroit— you start to see the same thing over and over again.

Kids showing up early.
Parents investing time, energy, and belief.
Coaches trying to do things the right way.

There’s no shortage of effort.

What there hasn’t been is a consistent way to connect all of it—
to tell the story, to track the development, and to show how it all fits together.

That’s where this comes in.

What Metro Detroit Development Is

This section of the Substack is meant to be simple:

A weekly look into the baseball ecosystem here in Metro Detroit.

Not from a scouting lens.
Not from a rankings lens.

But from a development lens.

We’ll track what’s happening across:

• Youth baseball

• High school programs

• Summer league baseball (like the Royal Oak Leprechauns)

And we’ll do it in a way that’s accessible for families, players, and anyone who cares about the game.

Box scores.
Stat lines.
Observations.

And most importantly—context.

Because development isn’t just about performance.
It’s about progression.

The Leprechaun Report: The End Goal in Sight

If you’ve read the first two Leprechaun Reports, you’ve already seen a piece of this.

The Northwoods League is one of the most competitive summer leagues in the country. It’s where college players go to sharpen their tools, earn bigger roles, and put themselves on the radar.

For players in Metro Detroit, it represents something bigger:

A real, tangible next step.

You can sit in the stands in Royal Oak and watch players who:

• Are coming from major college programs

• Are preparing for the draft

• Are chasing professional baseball

That matters.

Because for a 12-year-old, or a high school freshman, it turns the dream into something visible.

Introducing: The Warrior Report

The next layer of this will be the Warrior Report.

This will focus on:

• Warrior Baseball (youth development)

• Brother Rice Warriors (high school program)

Not to evaluate. Not to rank.

But to highlight:

• Who’s showing up

• Who’s improving

• What’s being built underneath the surface

Because the truth is— the 10U team playing today? Those are the same kids who, in a few years, will be:

• Competing at the high school level

• Fighting for college opportunities

• And eventually trying to find their way into leagues like the Northwoods League

The Warrior Report is about documenting that journey while it’s happening.

Where This Is Going

This isn’t just content.

This is laying the foundation for something bigger: The Metro Detroit Development League.

The vision is simple, but powerful.

A space where:

• High school players

• College players

• Former professional players

• And players still fighting for opportunities

All share the same field.

Real at-bats.
Real competition.
Real development.

And when that launches, it won’t come out of nowhere.

Because we’ll already know the players.
We’ll already understand the landscape.
We’ll already be telling the story.

The kid you read about in a Warrior Report at 12 years old…

Might be stepping into the box in that league at 16 or 17, facing a former pro while he prepares for the MLB Draft or his freshman year of D1 baseball.

That’s the bridge we’re building.

Why It’s Important..

Metro Detroit has talent. It always has. But talent alone isn’t enough.

It needs:

• Visibility

• Structure

• Storytelling

• Investment

This is a small step in that direction.

To bring more attention to the players.
To give families something to follow.
To create a sense of connection across levels.

And ultimately—

To help grow the game in a way that’s intentional.

This is Metro Detroit Baseball Development.

And we’re just getting started.

If you want to understand what the Royal Oak Leprechauns can become, you have to start with one simple idea: Summer baseball is not just summer baseball.

The Northwoods League is one of the most competitive summer leagues in the country. Every year it becomes a proving ground for college players trying to sharpen their tools, win bigger roles at their programs, and ultimately position themselves for professional baseball.

For fans in Metro Detroit, the Leprechauns provide something even more unique: a chance to watch players before the rest of the country catches on.

Future draft picks.
Players from elite programs.
Local kids who grew up here and are now performing on national stages.

This week’s Leprechaun Report highlights five players who tell that story perfectly — three former Leprechauns already making noise at major college programs and two newcomers whose futures could be just getting started.

Jarren Purify: The hometown storyline that almost was

Few stories capture the excitement around Leprechauns baseball quite like Jarren Purify.

Purify was a heralded Detroit-area recruit who committed to Clemson, one of the premier programs in college baseball. After his freshman season, he came home to play summer ball in Royal Oak, and there was real buzz surrounding it.

Fans were excited.
Local baseball people were excited.
The idea of watching a future Clemson star play in Royal Oak felt like exactly what the Northwoods League is supposed to be about.

And for one night, it was.

Purify went 3-for-4 in his Leprechauns debut, immediately showing the type of dynamic athleticism that made him such a highly regarded recruit.

Then, in the next game, everything changed.

He was hit by a pitch in his first at-bat and broke his hand.

Just like that, the summer was over.

Clemson brought him back to campus to rehab, and the story that fans in Royal Oak were excited about never really got a chance to unfold.

But Purify kept climbing.

Now, fast forward to his draft year.

Purify has become one of the catalysts in Clemson’s lineup, hitting .390 early this season with 23 hits, 22 runs, and eight stolen bases, showing exactly the type of dynamic skill set scouts look for in middle-of-the-diamond players.

He recently appeared on Perfect Game’s Top 100 collegiate prospects list, was rated as the number 50 junior in the nation by Perfect Game, and was rated the number 22 prospect in the ACC for the 2026 draft, and the buzz around him continues to grow as the draft quickly approaches.

The tools have always been there — elite athleticism, speed, and the ability to impact games in multiple ways.

Now the performance is catching up.

And for fans who remember that name and a brief summer glimpse in Royal Oak, it’s a reminder of exactly why summer leagues matter.

Brayden Dowd: A Michigan kid finding the right fit

Development in baseball is rarely linear.

Sometimes players just need the right opportunity, the right environment, and the right moment for everything to click.

That seems to be the story for Brayden Dowd.

The Michigan native and Brother Rice product is now playing for Florida State, one of the most respected programs in the country, and he’s off to a strong start.

Through the early part of the season, Dowd is hitting .308 with three home runs and a 1.112 OPS, providing real offensive production in a talented Seminoles lineup.

Dowd has always been known for his athleticism and strength at the plate, but what’s encouraging now is seeing those tools translate against high-level competition.

For Leprechauns fans, Dowd represents another important part of the pipeline: local players who leave Michigan for elite programs but still maintain that connection to home.

Watching their journey unfold — from summer ball to big-time college baseball — is exactly the kind of story that can bring fans into the fold.

Matt Ineich: From Michigan to the national stage

If you’re looking for the purest example of player development in this group, look no further than Matt Ineich.

The South Lyon native began his college career at Ohio University, where he quietly became one of the most productive hitters in the MAC.

Now at West Virginia, he’s taken that success to a bigger stage.

Ineich is hitting .382 with a 1.042 OPS, driving in runs and helping fuel one of the more exciting offenses in the Big 12.

His performance has already earned him a spot on the Brooks Wallace Award Watch List, which recognizes the nation’s top shortstops.

That kind of recognition doesn’t happen by accident.

It happens when players continue to produce at every level they reach.

For fans in Metro Detroit, Ineich represents another reason to pay attention to the Leprechauns roster: the next standout player might already be passing through Royal Oak.

Newcomer Watch: Mason Barth

While former Leprechauns are making headlines across college baseball, the next wave of talent is already arriving.

One player worth keeping an eye on is Mason Barth, a freshman infielder at Notre Dame.

Barth entered college as one of the top high school shortstops in Indiana and has started to see his role grow as the season progresses. He has started eight of the Irish’s 13 games so far and is batting .306 with a homer and 9 RBI.

He’s built like a classic Midwest infielder — sturdy, strong, and instinctive — and those types of players often make big jumps as they adjust to college pitching.

For Leprechauns fans, Barth represents the kind of player summer leagues were built for.

A young player with tools, opportunity, and room to grow.

The kind of player you might see early in his development before the rest of the country starts paying attention.

Newcomer Watch: Jackson Miller

And then there’s Jackson Miller.

When I first saw Miller throwing in our indoor facility, my immediate reaction was simple: That delivery looks familiar.

Miller is a 6-foot-4 left-handed freshman at Bowling Green, and his long frame and arm slot immediately reminded me of someone I know pretty well — Chris Sale.

Now, let’s be clear.

Comparisons like that don’t mean a player is Chris Sale.

But sometimes the visual cues are hard to ignore.

I actually texted Chris after seeing Miller throw, just to get his take on the comparison and he even commented how nice his timing looked and the whippiness in his arm.

The upside is obvious.

Miller made his first collegiate start this past weekend. Miller was extremely impressive, in my opinion, showing some really electric stuff from the left side.

Miller started the game in an unfortunate way by allowing a lead-off homer and a single on a ball that was popped up in the infield and lost in the sun. But let’s throw some context in the mix for the leadoff home run: the umpire absolutely screwed him in that at-bat and Jackson fell behind 2-1 on three pitches that were identical— all 95 mph fastballs (seemingly) down the middle.

After the home run and unfortunate sun ball, Miller settled in and punched out the next three batters he faced. For a freshman lefty, that kind of response says a lot about the competitiveness and raw ability upside.

Miller flashed a mid-90s fastball in the first inning and settled in at 92-93, and complimented it with a slider and change-up.

With more innings and experience, Miller could become one of the more intriguing young arms to watch.

And for fans in Royal Oak, that’s the exciting part.

You might get to see that development happen up close.

Why this should matter to Metro Detroit

If the Royal Oak Leprechauns are going to build a real fan base, the message can’t just be:

“Come watch summer baseball.”

It has to be bigger than that.

It has to be:

Come watch future professionals.
Come follow local players competing on national stages.
Come see the next step in a player’s journey before the rest of the baseball world does.

Players like Purify, Dowd, and Ineich show how that path works.

Barth and Miller represent the next chapter.

And if you’re paying attention this summer, you might just see the next big name before anyone else does.

If you care about college baseball…
If you care about summer ball…
If you follow the MLB Draft…
If you like tracking how players actually develop over time…

This is for you.

The Leprechaun Report will be a weekly midweek recap of:

• Former Royal Oak Leprechauns* competing in college baseball

• Alumni currently playing professional baseball

• Standout performances worth tracking

• Select newcomers who could factor into this summer

*The Royal Oak Leprechauns are a collegiate baseball team competing in the prestigious Northwoods League, in Royal Oak, MI— metro Detroit.

This won’t be transaction-heavy reporting.

Northwoods League rosters are fluid and players often arrive at different points in the summer.
Some are full-season contracts.
Some are partial.
Some are temporary depth pieces.
Some never end up reporting.

So when we highlight newcomers, it’s with context — development is rarely linear, and summer ball availability depends on a lot of moving parts.

But what we can do consistently is spotlight performance.

And that’s what this report is about.

Alex Cheeseman — Opening Night Statement

Former Leprechaun and Brother Rice product Alex Cheeseman delivered one of the best opening weekend moments in the country.

On Friday night against No. 11 Florida — on the road — Cheeseman went 1-for-3…

…but that one hit was HUGE!
Early, two-RBI knock.

It’s always fun to see a former Leps player walk into an SEC environment and deliver.

And as a former LSU Tiger, I love seeing the Gators go down! HAHA!

Ryan Tyranski — All-Star Carrying It Forward

2025 Leprechauns All-Star Ryan Tyranski opened his season at Jacksonville State.

Weekend line:

• 2-for-6

• 2 RBIs

• 3 runs scored

• 2 walks

• 1 HBP

• .417 OBP

Tyranski did what he does.

He got on base.
He created pressure.
He contributed to scoring.

For fans who watched him last summer, that profile should look familiar. He’s a rhythm player. He impacts games without needing three hits a night.

That’s the type of consistency that translates.

Jovan Gill — Loud Start

One of last summer’s standout performers, Jovan Gill, is off to a strong start.

Four games vs. Northwood University:

• 5 hits

• 7 runs

• 9 RBIs

• 1 home run

• .333 average

• 1.012 OPS

• 1 stolen base

• Grand Valley State went 3–1

Nine RBIs in four games jumps off the page. That’s funnnnnn. Good start for one of the most solid 2025 Leps players.

Prospect Watch — Ryan McKay

Former 2024 Leprechaun Ryan McKay enters this season with national recognition.

The Michigan State infielder was recently ranked No. 72 on Baseball Media’s Top 100 College Prospect List, placing him among the most respected draft-eligible players in the country.

That kind of ranking isn’t hype-driven.

It reflects a track record — consistency, discipline, defensive value, and evaluators seeing professional traits.

We won’t overreact to early weekends here — development arcs matter more than three-game samples.

McKay’s journey is one worth watching closely this spring as he continues positioning himself on draft boards.

Newcomer Watch — Michael Zelinski

Now this is why development is fascinating.

True freshman.
First college game.
SEC environment.
Starter projected as conference pitcher of the year goes down early.

You’re in the bullpen thinking you’ve got time.

Suddenly you don’t.

Michael Zelinski had to run from the bullpen, take the mound cold in front of a packed SEC park, and warm up on the game mound — nerves fully exposed.

That moment defines a lot of players.

Three innings later:

• 0 hits

• 0 runs

• 0 BB

• 4 strikeouts

• 1 HBP (Otherwise perfect)

He shoved.

That doesn’t guarantee anything about summer roster status, and there is a long way to go for a true freshman.
Availability, development arcs, contracts — all of that plays into who ultimately wears a Leprechaun uniform.

But if you’re looking for competitors?

That’s a competitor’s debut.

And that’s someone to be excited about.

What This Report Will Be

This isn’t just alumni hype.

It’s tracking development.

It’s watching:

• Who performs in leverage

• Who gets on base consistently

• Who handles first moments

• Who stacks weekends

• Who grows

College baseball fans.
Northwoods League fans.
Draft followers.

You’ll start seeing patterns over time.

And then…

On the official Royal Oak Leprechauns social channels, we’ll launch Leps Watch — highlighting select performances from this report in short-form format.

Substack will be the full read.
Social will be the spotlight.

Welcome to The Leprechaun Report.

We’ll keep watching.

— Anthony Ranaudo