(Calandra photo courtesy of the Mississippi Braves)
(Central Islip, N.Y., April 8, 2022) – The Long Island Ducks today announced the signings of right-handed pitcher Anderson DeLeon and catcher Mitch Calandra. DeLeon begins his third season with the Ducks and fourth in professional baseball, while Calandra enters his first season with Long Island and third in professional baseball.
“We are excited to add two New York natives to our roster,” said Ducks President/GM Michael Pfaff. “Anderson has done a solid job for us in several different roles over the past two seasons, and Mitch is eager to play for his hometown team.”
In DeLeon’s first two seasons with Long Island (2019, 2021), the right-hander has pitched in 29 games, 13 of which have been starts. He has compiled a 7-8 record with a 5.26 ERA, two complete games, 109 strikeouts and 36 walks over 113 innings. The Brooklyn native has also pitched in four postseason games, yielding four runs on seven hits and four walks over six and two-thirds innings with eight strikeouts.
The 25-year-old made 32 appearances (17 starts) in 2021 with the Ducks. He led the Atlantic League in strikeouts per nine innings (8.68), while his 109 strikeouts led all Ducks pitchers and ranked second in the Atlantic League behind only Lexington’s Henry Owens (113). The righty also tossed a pair of complete games, both against the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs, in a span of six starts. Prior to joining the Ducks, he made one appearance with the Cincinnati Reds Arizona League affiliate in 2017, striking out two over one scoreless inning. DeLeon was originally selected by the Reds in the 24th round of the 2017 amateur draft.
Calandra spent the first two seasons of his career (2019, 2021) in the Atlanta Braves organization, reaching as high as Double-A Mississippi. He combined to play in 38 games, posting a .260 batting average with eight RBIs, 19 runs, 34 hits, five doubles, one triple and four walks. The 25-year-old combined to play 10 games at three different levels in 2021. He totaled one RBI, four runs and five hits in 24 at bats.
The Floral Park, N.Y., native began his career in 2019 with rookie-level Danville, hitting .271 with seven RBIs and 15 runs over 28 games. Prior to his professional career, the backstop had a distinguished career at Floral Park High School on Long Island. He was selected All-County three times, voted the conference player of the year twice, named to Newsday‘s All-Long Island team twice, and designated as first-team Class A for New York State. He was also the winner of the Ryan Caufield Award, given to Nassau County’s best catcher, and the Don Lang Diamond Award, given to the best overall baseball player in Nassau. Calandra was originally selected by the Braves in the 30th round of the 2019 amateur draft.
The Long Island Ducks are members of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a Professional Partner League of Major League Baseball. Over 8 million fans have enjoyed the Ducks brand of affordable, fun entertainment at Fairfield Properties Ballpark since inception in 2000. For further information, visit LIDucks.com or call 631-940-DUCK (3825).
About the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB)
The Atlantic League is the first Partner League of Major League Baseball, a player gateway to the major leagues, and a leader in baseball innovation. The ALPB has sent over 1,000 players to MLB organizations while drawing 44 million fans to its family friendly ballparks over its 24-year history. For more information, please visit AtlanticLeague.com.
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