SAINT LOUIS, Mo. — Former Wheaton College (Mass.) baseball player Nick Raposo (Johnston, R.I.) was called up to the St. Louis Cardinals active roster from the AAA Memphis Redbirds, it was announced by the Cardinals organization today.
The catcher has seen action in 47 games this season for Memphis in the International League as the Redbirds primary receiver, while hitting five home runs to go with 22 runs batted in.
Raposo becomes just the second player in Wheaton College Baseball history to have his contract selected by the parent major league club and the first since Chris Denorfia made his major league debut with the Cincinnati Reds in 2005. Denorfia played in 10 seasons from 2005-2015 with the Reds, the Oakland Athletics, the San Diego Padres and the Seattle Mariners before his final campaign with the Chicago Cubs.
Raposo became the ninth player in school history to sign a professional contract to play baseball when he signed a free agent contract with the Cardinals organization on June 15, 2020. He has steadily climbed through the minor league ranks prior to his call-up today.
The Johnston High School product was a four-year standout for the Lyons, playing in 131 games, while posting a .366 (190-519) batting average to go with a gaudy .440 on-base percentage and a formidable .505 slugging average. He stands ninth on the school's career list for batting average and on-base percentage. The right-handed backstop knocked in 117 runs, while hitting nine home runs, 35 doubles, stealing 15 bases and scoring 131 runs. His career numbers would surely have been even more prominent among Wheaton's all-time greats had his senior season not been curtailed by the pandemic in 2020 that cut the season short after a 7-1 record through just eight contests.
Raposo was named a First Team All-Region selection by D3baseball.com as a junior in 2019 in addition to being selected All-Region Second Team that year by the American Baseball Coaches Association and to the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association's Second Team. Raposo also earned First Team All-Conference honors from the New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference for the second straight season in 2019. The Rhode Island native opened eyes throughout the nation as a sophomore in 2018 and became one of the select few in program history to earn All-American accolades when both the ABCA and D3baseball.com gave him a Second Team nod. Raposo hit .434 (69-159) and recorded a remarkable .497 on-base percentage that season to place him fourth on Wheaton's single-season list in both categories, while his 19 doubles that year also ranked as the fourth-most in program annals.
Raposo will be in the Cardinals' dugout today at St. Louis' Busch Stadium when the Cardinals host the San Francisco Giants at 2:15 p.m.
