Richie Palacios was the highest draft pick from Towson in 18 years and is considered one of the Cleveland Indians' top prospects.  His road has hit a few roadblocks, but he continues to work hard for the ultimate dream of playing in the majors.
 
Palacios was a two-time All-CAA infielder in three years with Towson from 2016-18, hitting .324 in his collegiate career.  He is the program's all-time leader in stolen bases with 76.  He was drafted in the third round of the 2018 Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft by the Indians.
 
At the start of 2019, Palacios was named the No. 17 prospect in the Cleveland organization by SBNation.  Playing in just 45 combined professional games in 2018, he earned a pair of promotions, hitting .438 in five games in the Arizona Fall League then .411 with Mahoning Valley.  He played his final 20 games of the year with single-A with Lake County, hitting .300 with a pair of home runs, 10 runs and three stolen bases.
 
The Brooklyn-native was set to start in advanced-A in 2019 with the Lynchburg Hillcats, but his throwing shoulder continued to give him pain on his follow-through.  With rehab not helping, Palacios had surgery in March, with a planned recovery of 10-12 months.
 
"I was devastated, but I'm taking it day-by-day throughout the process," said Palacios. "I made small goals that my athletic trainers helped me with.  By doing that, it made the time go by fast and my mindset truly positive throughout everything."
 
Palacios has been rehabbing at Cleveland's spring training facility in Arizona, where he currently is finishing up his rehab.  But, along with the rest of the country, sports came to a halt due to the COVID-19 outbreak.  Several of Cleveland's staff has left Arizona, but some of the team's minor league prospects, including Palacios, remain. 
 
"I feel really close to 100%," said Palacios. "Whenever we assemble back as a team, I just need to face pitches and throw my bases, those are the last two things on my rehab schedule to put myself back to playing games.  I feel good, I feel normal again, throwing and swinging as hard as I can."
 
When his rehab is complete and baseball resumes play, Palacios expects to start in advanced-A ball in Lynchburg.
 
Palacios's parents and brother Josh, a prospect in the Toronto Blue Jays organization, are currently safe together in Brooklyn.  Richie himself is in an apartment complex in Arizona, with a few other prospects also having single apartments.  He has access to a hitting cage to assist with his workouts.
 
Josh has been a mentor to Richie for much of his life.  Born two years earlier and taken in the fourth round by the Blue Jays out of Auburn, Josh Palacios hit .266 with seven home runs and 18 doubles in double-A New Hampshire last year.  The whole Palacios family has been a huge help to Richie throughout his career.


 
"I talk to my brother every day, especially in my last year of college," said Palacios. "He has always been one step ahead of me and tells me the things I needed to do to get to that level, from college to the pros.  He has showed me things that he has learned that he didn't know before that I now know before I get to that step.  I attribute a lot of my success to him because he has shown me the way the entire time and the right mindset; I attribute that to my father and my uncle, who each played professionally, showing me the reasons we do things, what is to come and what I have to do to get there."
 
Richie and Josh played once in high school, but have never played each other in a game in college or the pros.  He hopes to meet with him in the majors.
 
Another big influence for Palacios has been former Tiger teammate Brady Policelli.  Policelli was part of Towson's powerful middle infield in 2016, with Policelli earning First Team All-CAA at shortstop and Palacios being Second Team All-CAA at second base.  Policelli was a 13^th round draft pick by the Detroit Tigers, hitting .249 with 40 extra-base hits, including 11 home runs, for advanced-A Lakeland in 2019.  The two former Tigers met up when Palacios's Lake County took on Policelli's West Michigan in late July 2018.
 
"I faced Brady in a series in 2018 after I got called up to low-A, that was really fun," said Palacios. "He was playing right field, and it was awesome chatting with him on second [base].  He was a great help to me when I signed; he was a well-cut guy, focused on the game and not getting distracted by everything around him."
 
Palacios keeps up with the current team, knowing several members of the current roster.  He and Noah Cabrera have been best friends since Richie was 12 plus, he has been serving as a mentor for Javon Fields.  Richie often keeps up with the team through social media and reflects well upon his time with the Tigers.
 
"We were setting everything up for years to come," said Palacios. "We had a good time and enjoyed ourselves; we played hard and survived together.  The team games we would play on the bus, even the coaches would come and play, those were hilarious.  We had so much time to get through and we did it as a team, I truly miss those rides with my boys."
 
Palacios is waiting, like everyone is sports, for games to resume. He, or Policelli, could be the first Tiger to play in the major leagues since Casper Wells in 2013. In the meantime, Palacios has advice for anyone looking to play baseball at the next level.
 
"Have your priorities straight, that is the most important thing," said Palacios. "Get your work in: do your schoolwork, put your focus in and work extremely hard in baseball.  Don't go through reps just to go through them, it is important to focus and try to accomplish something each and every day."