Port grad throws his first MLB win

Port Washington High School 2020 graduate George Klassen notched his first Major League Baseball victory, and he wasted no time in looking more impressive in his second.

The fireballer struck out five batters in six innings on Aug. 12 in a 5-2 home win for the Los Angeles Angels over the Texas Rangers. He allowed five hits, a walk and two earned runs over six innings. Of his 87 pitches, 60 were strikes. His fastball topped out at 97.6 mph, and he threw first-pitch strikes to 17 of the 24 batters he faced.

“I felt pretty good. I definitely battled some things in the beginning of the game, but made some changes midway through and just kept on grinding,” Klassen told reporters after the game. “It was awesome. Couldn’t do it without (catcher) Moisés (Ballesteros) calling the game, the defense behind me and the bats swinging it. It was just overall a good team win.”

Angels’ manager Kurt Suzuki praised Klassen’s execution in talking with the media after the game.

“I thought he was great. He attacked. First-pitch strikes. We try to emphasize that. Getting ahead with his stuff. Competing with his best stuff. Attacking where you know what his strengths are. He was really great,” he said.

On Tuesday, Klassen allowed one hit while whiffing seven and walking three in beating the Astros in Houston, 3-1. Fifty-four of his 86 pitches were strikes. One Astro reached third base in the first inning, but Klassen didn’t allow anyone to get to second after that.

One of his strikeout victims was Yordan Alvarez, whose .318 average is tops in the American League and his 36 homers are second. Alvarez went 0-for-3 against Klassen.

This is Klassen’s second stint with the Angels. He was brought up earlier in the season for and pitched in a couple of games before going back to the Triple-A Salt Lake Bees.

Klassen was named a North Shore Conference honorable mention after his junior season in 2019, when he played a few infield positions and center field. He whiffed 47 batters in 20 innings, hit .311 and led Port with 14 hits, four doubles and 12 runs scored. The pandemic canceled his senior season.

Klassen played for the University of Minnesota and in 2023 was drafted in the sixth round with the 193rd pick by the Philadelphia Phillies.

He was traded to the Angels in July 2024 and was a non-roster invitee to Major League spring training this season. The Angels called him up from the Bees, where he went 6-6 with a 3.96 ERA, 88 strikeouts and 46 walks in 83 innings.

In other local Major League Baseball news, Fredonia’s Owen Miller was called up by the Chicago Cubs from the Triple-A Cubs in Des Moines, Iowa.

Miller was hitting .296 in Triple-A this season with seven home runs, 57 RBIs, six triples and 26 doubles. His on-base percentage is .350 and on-base-plus-slugging is .807.

Miller graduated from Ozaukee High School in 2015 and played college ball at Illinois State. He was drafted in the third round by the San Diego Padres in 2018, was traded to Cleveland in 2020, then to Milwaukee. He was traded to the Rockies in 2024 and signed with the Cubs in February.