NEW CANAAN – Former New Canaan High School baseball star and current Tampa Bay Rays catching prospect Curt Casali is one of 11 minor league players invited to the Rays’ 2014 spring training camp.
Casali – a 10th Round pick of the Detroit Tigers in 2011 after starring for Vanderbilt – was traded to the Rays just before the 2013 season began, and made an immediate impact with his new team. After being named an All Star with the Charlotte Stone Crabs of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League, Casali was promoted to the Rays’ AA Affiliate in Montgomery. Splitting time between catcher and DH, Casali hit .383 for the Biscuits with 5 home runs and 31 RBI in just 35 games.
Curt Casali talks to guests at the New Canaan Nature Center this past November, as the Rams unveil the 2013 State Championship banner. (Terry Dinan photo)
He is one of three minor league non-roster invitees to the camp, which will open February 15. The others are Mayo Acosta and Luke Maile.
Casali was a four-year varsity baseball player for the Rams, leading them to an FCIAC championship in 2006.