(Gary, IN) A month away from opening the 2026 American Association baseball season, the RailCats signed another pitcher to join their arm barn. Former Texas Rangers prospect, Grant Cherry. 

Cherry, the Alabama native, went to Vestavia Hills High School. Perfect Game rated the hurler as the number seven player in the state and a Preseason All-American for three consecutive years. Cherry would commit to pitch for the Volunteers at the University of Tennessee under current San Francisco Giants Manager, Tony Vitello. He took the mound in five games and had five strikeouts. 

The 22-year-old would hit the transfer portal and move west to Long Beach State University. In 2024, his Junior season, Cherry pitched to a tune of a 3.62 Earned-run-average and had 38 strikeouts in 32 innings for the Dirtbags. Opposing batters that year had just a .212 average when facing Cherry. 

After the 2024 season, Cherry would go undrafted, but the Texas Rangers signed him to a deal a week after the draft. The right-hander spent most of the 2025 season in Single-A with the Hickory Crawdads, over the course of 23 outings he finished with a 5.76 ERA and struck out 45 batters in 45.1 innings. 

“Cherry comes to us highly recommended.” RailCats Manager Jeff Isom said. “His stuff includes a heavy heater and a good changeup he can throw to get opposing batters off the fastball.” 

The RailCats will open their 2026 season on the road on May 15 before returning home for their Steel Yard opener on May 22 against the Cleburne Railroaders. Fans can secure their seats now by visiting railcatsbaseball.com/tickets.