The Leprechaun Report
Why Summer Baseball in Royal Oak Is More Important Than You Think
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.