On January 20th, the RailCats signed left-handed pitcher Chris Erwin, who will be returning for his fifth year with the RailCats! The ‘Cats also re-signed right-handed pitcher Peyton Long, who is returning for his second year with the ‘Cats.

29-year-old left-handed pitcher Chris Erwin resigns with the RailCats for his 5th season! Chris Erwin is 2nd in strikeouts with 255 strikeouts in his career in AAPB RailCats history and 4th in games started with 52.

Last season with Gary, Chris played 16 games and started in all 16 of them. He had a record of 5-6, with 74.1 innings pitched, 70 strikeouts, 39 walks, and 81 hits against, with an ERA of 5.20. His WHIP was 1.614, H/9 9.8, HR/9 9.8, BB/9 4.7, and SO/9 8.5.

Chris Erwin is a fan favorite and a big piece of the starting rotation. At the end of the year, it did seem like he was coming back. He has been plagued with an arm injury that has kept him out for some weeks and even months. Despite the injuries and not having the best year with Gary from a statistical point.

What you get from Chris is a pitcher who is going to throw strikes and get swings and misses; he is that pitcher who can eat innings when he is fully healthy, and he now brings experience to younger pitchers to show them the ropes of what life is like in the MLB Partner Leagues.

I’m personally glad to see Chris play at least one more year in a RailCats uniform. My hope is that he can stay healthy and be that solid backbone of the starting rotation!

27-year-old right-handed pitcher Peyton Long is returning for his 2nd season with the RailCats! Peyton was named AAPB Player of the Week on June 24, 2024, where he started and won both games, going 7 innings in each game. In those 2 games, he gave up only one earned run on 8 hits, struck out 6, and only walked 2 batters.

Last season with the RailCats, Peyton played in 21 games and started in 21 games. He had a record of 4-12 with an ERA of 5.50. He pitched in 113 innings, gave up 131 hits, 77 runs, 69 earned runs, 12 home runs, and 29 walks. He struck out 69 and hit 4 batters. He had a WHIP of 1.416, which was 2nd best and the best amongst starting pitchers. (I know someone might fact-check me and see Peyton is 7th on the WHIP list on Pointstreak, but 1 player was a fielder, Deyni Olivero, who only played 3 games before he was signed to the Mexican League, and 2 players didn’t even have a full inning pitched as a RailCat.) Hit/9-10.4, HR/9-1, BB/9-2.3, and SO/9-5.5.

Peyton can and will compete for that open day starting role/ being the Ace. He has the stuff and the control. His biggest thing will be consistency in games and keeping the hit total down. He was one of the few pitchers who rarely walked a batter and was bit a lot with soft contact.

I’m glad to see Peyton back and to see how he has improved in the offseason to being a driving force on the mound for the RailCats!

WELCOME BACK BOTH CHRIS AND PEYTON TO THE SOUTHSHORE FOR THE 2025 SEASON!