Casey Cuddyer’s final eight at-bats at the Super 17 Invitational included five hits and two walks.
By Sean Reilly
It isn’t easy carving out a baseball identity when your father happens to be one of the greatest players to ever hail from your home area.
Casey Cuddyer, however, is handling that task amazingly well. And best of all, he’s already made a name for himself as a Class of 2026 high school player, both for his talent and grounded attitude.
Cuddyer came to Diamond Nation this week to compete with the Tidewater Phillies-Banks at the Super 17 Invitational, Powered By Victus.
He was joined in Flemington by his family, including his father, Michael, who had a stellar 15-year career with the Minnesota Twins, Colorado Rockies and New York Mets. He had 1,522 career hits, including 197 home runs, with 794 RBI and a .277 batting average.
A Norfolk, Va. native, he was closely associated with the Tidewater area throughout his career, which ended with his retirement after helping the Mets reach the 2015 World Series.
He’s stayed in the area, and remains very involved in the local baseball scene. And that means a great amount of focus has been centered on Casey, now that he has become a star player himself, at Great Bridge High School in Chesapeake and also for his travel team, the Phillies.

Whitehouse Post 284 pitcher Cole Jacobus reacts quickly to catch line drive hit by B.J. McIntyre.
Great Bridge happens to be the same school where his father, a 1997 graduate, attained greatness as a three-sport athlete, student body president and was also the Gatorade National Player of the Year as a senior.
It’s a lot to live up to, but Casey is good enough to have already committed to the University of North Carolina. He could also be a high MLB draft selection before he enrolls in the Fall of 2026.
This week at Diamond Nation, he went 5-for-8 with three walks as Tidewater went 4-0. He reached base in seven of his final eight at-bats, including a single and a walk on Wednesday morning, when the Phillies-Banks looked very sharp during a 5-0 victory over Whitehouse Post 284.
Cuddyer singled, walked and scored a run for Tidewater. He hits second in the lineup and is also a fluid shortstop.
Just as impressive is his attitude while being the son of a very famous local name.
“It’s a little bit of pressure, but I know that I’m a good baseball player myself,” Casey said. “You can’t take that away from me. You can look at my name and think that it’s been given to me, but I know that I’ve earned it myself.”
So does anyone who has watched him compete. But that doesn’t mean he’ll ever let up, even during a summer season with a big-time college commitment already in hand.
“It’s out of the way, but I still have to compete and get my work in this summer,” he said. “I want to try to get better at things, and keep improving.”
Facing Whitehouse Post 284 loomed as the biggest challenge of the week for the Phillies.
As an American Legion team, Whitehouse is a regular visitor to ‘The Nation’ later in the year in the High School Fall League, where it has won several championships. Tournament appearances, however, are very rare. Not only did Whitehouse take a 3-0 record into the matchup, it also won those games by a combined score of 42-0.
Against the Phillies, Whitehouse used singles by Jayden Capindica and Soren Gregor, and a walk to Andrew Parisi, to load the bases with one out in the top of the first. Phillies starter Bryce Edick then got a strikeout and ground ball out to Cuddyer to stop the threat.
The Phillies took a 3-0 lead in the second.

Ryan Watson reaches home plate after slugging two-run home run for Tidewater Phillies-Banks.
Ethan Rayno led off with a walk, and advanced on a groundout before stealing third with Ryder Harrell at the plate. With the infield now playing in, Harrell lined a full-count RBI single to right field.
Cooper Townsend hit an infield single which moved Harrell to second. After the second out, Jackson Martin walked on a full count to load the bases.
Wyatt Rusak then worked the count to 2-2 and fouled off a pitch before delivering a two-run single to right field.
The Phillies added their other runs in the third.
Cuddyer drew a one-out walk, stole second and scored when Ryan Watson slugged a two-run home run over the fence in left field.
The home run capped a strong week for Watson, a Class of 2027 player who hit safely in each game (4-for-8) with six runs and three RBI, along with three walks.
“I’ve been swinging well this week,” he said. “It was good to finally get one out of the yard. I had been hitting for average this week, trying to get the job done for our team.”
Pitching wise, Edick worked the first four innings, allowing three hits with six strikeouts and two walks.
With the 1:50 play clock in its final moments in the top of the fifth, Whitehouse used hits from Aidan Walsh and Marcus Lavornia, followed by a hit-by-pitch to Matty Dalfonzo, to load the bases with nobody out.
That’s when Phillies reliever M.J. Lemke overcame initial footing issues on the mound to strike out the next three batters, including the last two looking, to close out the win.
The Tidewater players were greatly satisfied by their experience at Diamond Nation, capped by the performance against Whitehouse.
“They were a good team,” Watson said. “We knew we were going to face some good competition. We needed to come out and swing the bats and that’s what we did. Our pitchers worked, like in that last inning. That’s what we needed. We did the little things right, and that’s how you win ballgames.”
“This week was awesome,” Cuddyer said. “It’s a really nice facility and I had a great time.”