The Algodoneros de Guasave signed utility player Justin Wylie on September 2 for the 2024-25 Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico regular season.
UN AUTÉNTICO DOLOR DE CABEZA PARA LOS RIVALES SE UNE A NUESTRA LEGIÓN EXTRANJERA 😮💨🩵
El infielder norteamericano, Justin Wylie se convierte en nuestro sexto importado para la temporada 2024-2025🔥
✅ Defensiva
✅ Poder¡ Bienvenido Justin ! 🗣️🇺🇸#JuntosSomosMásAG pic.twitter.com/DRXQeTnK8U
— Algodoneros de Guasave (@AlgodonerosGsv) September 2, 2024
Wylie, 28, was born in Lancaster, Pa., and has played five seasons in the independent leagues with the Birmingham-Bloomfield Beavers in the United States Baseball League in 2019, the New Jersey Jackals in the Frontier League from 2021-22, the Kansas City Monarch in the American Association in 2023, and this season with the Gastonia Baseball Club in the Atlantic League.
Wylie also played in college with San Diego State University from 2015-17 before transferring to the University of Arizona for the 2019 regular season.
Wylie, after playing his senior season at Arizona, signed with the Birmingham-Bloomfield Beavers and played in 23 games. He hit .386 with 101 plate appearances, cracking 17 hits, one double, one triple, two home runs, 14 RBI, one stolen base, 22 walks, and 19 strikeouts.
He did not play in the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Major League Baseball Draft being just five rounds during that year. After no big league clubs had contacted Wylie for the 2021 season, he decided to play in the independent leagues.
In his second professional season with New Jersey, Wylie played in 80 games and batted .289 with 326 plate appearances, smacking 80 hits, 25 doubles, 15 home runs, 64 RBI, four stolen bases, 38 walks, 66 strikeouts, and a .914 OPS.
During his third season with the Jackals, Wylie hit .306 and played in 93 games with 399 plate appearances. He ripped 103 hits, 19 doubles, four triples, 20 home runs, 77 RBI, swiping 12 bases, 49 walks, 74 strikeouts, and a .961 OPS.
Wylie played for the Great Britain national team at the 2023 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers in Regensburg, Germany, at Armin-Wolf-Arena. He played in three games defensively at third base and batted .385 with 13 at-bats, scoring three runs, striking five hits, one double, one home run, four RBI, one stolen base, four walks, and two strikeouts.
Great Britain qualified for the 2023 WBC by beating Spain 10-9 in the bottom of the 10th inning from a game-winning sacrifice fly by first baseman Alex Crosby, scoring designated hitter Matt Koperniak.
Wylie played for the Great Britain national team at the 2023 WBC in Pool C at Chase Field in Phoenix, Ariz., against the United States, Colombia, and Mexico. He played in only two games with four at-bats and struck out once without recording a hit.
Great Britain will play in Pool B in Houston, Texas, for the 2026 WBC in Minute Maid Park, along with the United States, Mexico, Italy, and one other qualifier.
Last season with the Monarchs, he played in 91 games with 412 plate appearances, batting .310, dialing 108 hits, 20 doubles, two triples, 17 home runs, 56 RBI, 16 stolen bases, 55 walks, 63 strikeouts, and a .927 OPS.
Wylie split his time in the winter leagues for his first season last year. He joined the Mayos de Navojoa in LAMP on November 7, 2023, with the Mayos de Navojoa in LAMP before heading to the Sydney Blue Sox on December 19, 2023, to play in the Australian Baseball League.
He played in 23 games with the Mayos de Navojoa and had 97 plate appearances. He hit .296 with 24 hits, four doubles, one home run, six RBI, two stolen bases, 14 walks, and 25 strikeouts.
With the Sydney Blue Sox, Wylie played in 19 games while batting .375 with 85 plate appearances, recording 27 hits, three doubles, five home runs, 25 RBI, two stolen bases, 11 walks, and 11 strikeouts.
This season with the Gastonia Baseball Club, Wylie has played in 108 games with 465 plate appearances, batting .260, ripping 100 hits, 20 doubles, two triples, 32 home runs, 78 RBI, 22 stolen bases, 71 walks, 96 strikeouts, and a .949 OPS.
Wylie played 93 games defensively at second base with the Gastonia Baseball Club with 438 chances, 194 putouts, 236 assists, eight errors, turning 71 double plays, and a .982 fielding percentage.
He has played in 11 games at both corner outfield positions with the Gastonia Baseball Club this season.
In his five professional seasons, Wylie has a lifetime average of .286, playing in 395 games with 1,703 plate appearances, smacking 408 hits, 85 doubles, nine triples, 86 home runs, 289 RBI, swiping 55 bases, 235 walks, 318 strikeouts, and a .927 OPS.
The Algodoneros de Guasave will play their first game of the 2024-25 LAMP regular season on October 12 against the Tomateros de Culiacán at Estadio Tomateros in Culiacan, Mexico, at 10:35 p.m. EDT.
All 2024-25 LAMP regular season games will be streamed on https://www.extrabase.tv/ with a paid subscription until the final out of their best-of-seven championship series in January.
Photo Credit: Justin Wylie (#2) reacts after hitting for an RBI double during the World Baseball Classic Qualifier. (Photo by Glenn Gervot/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
