Highland alum Zane Barnhart on the move as trade deadline looms

Last Thursday, Zane Barnhart was in Altoona preparing just like he did for every other game this season for the Baltimore Orioles Double-A affiliate Chesapeake Baysox — he had eaten a pregame meal and was getting ready to put his uniform on an hour before first pitch. And then a phone call changed all that. Barnhart, a 2020 Highland graduate, was informed he had been traded to the Detroit Tigers. In exchange, the Orioles received catcher Jake Rogers. "It was like at 5 o'clock in the afternoon and we had a 6 o'clock game," Barnhart said. "Our pitching coordinator for the Orioles called me, and he pretty much just told me that I had been traded." It was not something Barnhart, who was drafted by the Orioles in the 17th round (No. 511 overall) out of Division II Hillsdale College (Mich.) in 2023 and had spent his entire career in the Baltimore organization prior to the trade, had expected to transpire. But it's also something every player knows can happen, especially at this time of the year. "They didn't talk to me about it," Barnhart said. "Obviously with the (MLB) trade deadline being (August 3), that whole week, everyone is on edge. You never know, you can always get traded." The 5-foot-10, 210-pound right-hander then had to do what every player who has been traded does — he quickly transitioned to the next steps as he prepared to join the Erie SeaWolves, who are the Double-A affiliate of the Tigers. "I just started to pack my stuff up in my locker and said goodbye to all my teammates," Barnhart said. "Then I took the bus back to the hotel and then I got my stuff form there and then I had to wait for a taxi service to drive me from Altoona to Erie." While with Baltimore, Barnhart pitched for four teams as he progressed through the organizations — the Florida Complex League Orioles in rookie ball, the Delmarva Shorebirds in Single-A, the Aberdeen IronBirds in High-A and Chesapeake in Double-A. Over his last two months with Chesapeake, he appeared in 14 games, allowing zero runs in 11 of those opportunities. He was 1-2 with a pair of saves and a 4.32 ERA in 16 2/3 innings pitched, allowing eight earned runs on eight hits and 10 walks while striking out 22, in that span. In 31 appearances for the Baysox in 2026, he went 2-3 with four saves and a 4.05 ERA, allowing 18 earned runs and 19 walks with 45 strikeouts in 40 innings. He finished the 2025 season by spending the final few weeks with Chesapeake, appearing in three games. Those few outings helped him as he started this season at the Double-A level. "When you get more experience at the level, you should be able to improve and make adjustments on what you need to adjust and hopefully eventually just dominate the level, beat the level," he said. While Barnhart will not have to face his former team in the regular season, his first appearance for the SeaWolves was against the Akron RubberDucks, a team Barnhart spent his younger years watching play as they play just about 20 minutes from Highland. He even joked that he still has a foam souvenir at home from the days when they were the Akron Aeros. In the game, he went one inning and allowed one earned run on two hits and a walk. Even though he has made numerous outings against Akron this season, it was still fun even if it wasn't in Akron. "It was definitely cool," Barnhart said. "That was my 10th time pitching against them this season, so that's kind of crazy." The day of the trade was a whirlwind for the 24-year-old, who had to leave a team where he knew everyone and head to one where he knew nobody. "That was a pretty crazy day," Barnhart said. "It's just been kind of busy and learning some new faces and names." After five days, he is finally getting a little more adapted. Part of that is just getting to pitch in a game for his new team and another part is the living arrangements. "I'm definitely starting to settle in," Barnhart said. "They got me in one of the apartments now, so that's nice. I don't have any of my stuff yet, but it's definitely a step towards you know being able to make the adjustment." As for the rest of the year, there has not been a plan specifically relayed to him from the Tigers organization, but he is going to keep doing what he has done from day one. "They haven't really given me much of a timeline or anything," Barnhart said. "I'm just going to keep pitching at this level and hopefully keep doing well and see what happens." Contact Ryan Isley at sports@medina-gazette.com.