Justin Cassel

Career

Justin Cassel first made a name for himself at Chatsworth High School, where he set school single-season records for wins, strikeouts, and shutouts, earning First Team High School All-American honors. The Oakland Athletics selected him in the 30th round of the 2003 MLB draft, but he chose not to sign. Instead, he attended the University of California, Irvine, playing for the Anteaters in the Big West Conference. In 2004, he spent the summer with the Chatham A's of the Cape Cod Baseball League.

The Chicago White Sox picked Cassel in the seventh round of the 2006 draft. He began his professional career that year with the Great Falls White Sox of the rookie-level Pioneer League and later moved up to the Winston-Salem Warthogs in the High-A Carolina League. In 2007, he split time between the Bristol White Sox of the rookie-level Appalachian League and Winston-Salem.

The following year, while pitching for the Double-A Birmingham Barons, he earned a spot on the Southern League All-Star team. He continued with Birmingham and the Triple-A Charlotte Knights in 2009 and 2010. During the 2011 season, he made nine appearances across Bristol, Winston-Salem, and Charlotte, and later pitched in the Venezuelan Winter League.

Cassel also represented the United States on the national baseball team in the 2011 Baseball World Cup and the 2011 Pan American Games, bringing home a silver medal. For the 2012 season, he signed with the Somerset Patriots of the Atlantic League. In 25 starts for Somerset, he posted a 6-11 record with a 3.43 ERA and 115 strikeouts.