WORCESTER — While Roman Anthony’s majestic 495-foot grand slam made the rounds late Saturday night, news of Ian Seymour’s call up to the big leagues circled around Polar Park — and the Canal District — the morning after. 

Seymour, a former standout pitcher at St. John’s High School, was promoted from Triple-A Durham to the Tampa Bay Rays’ active roster Sunday morning ahead of their game at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida.

Seymour wasn’t called on in Sunday’s game against Miami, but the Rays head to Boston for a three-game series starting Monday. 

“He’s such a great kid from such a great family,” former St. John’s baseball coach Charlie Eppinger told the T&G Sunday. “If you ever met him, you couldn’t not root for him.”  

Seymour, a 26-year-old whose family lives in Westborough, led the International League with 84 strikeouts this season and possessed a 2.95 ERA across 61 innings.  

A second-round pick of the Rays in 2020, Seymour burst onto the professional baseball scene a year later before Tommy John surgery stalled his ascension in 2022. The 6-foot, 215-pound lefty returned to the mound in 2023 before finding his form again last year and being named the Rays’ Minor League Pitcher of the Year. 

After the Rays added Seymour to their 40-man roster, the 2017 St. John’s grad impressed in 12 appearances for the Durham Bulls this spring before getting the call to join Tampa Bay for its series finale against the Florida Marlins. 

“Ian Seymour is a guy who made a great impression in spring training,” Rays manager Kevin Cash told Adam Berry of MLB.com on Sunday. “He’s done a lot of good things in Durham.” 

The news of Seymour’s promotion comes just 16 days after he made his first Triple-A start at Polar Park in a game against the WooSox. 

Seymour tossed a season-high 98 pitches, allowed four hits, three runs and struck out eight and left the game with his team leading, 4-3, over Worcester on May 23. It was a memorable homecoming for the talented Tampa tosser, who pitched in front of family and friends at the home of the WooSox. 

“I can’t really put into words how special that is,” Seymour told the T&G postgame from the concourse section at Polar Park. “I’ve definitely been looking forward to this trip since I saw it on the calendar and knew that we were coming up here.  

“I couldn’t be more grateful for this support group, truly.” 

On Sunday, Seymour felt the same amount of support. With his family already in Florida to watch him start for Triple-A Durham in a game in Jacksonville, they made the near 200-mile drive north to watch him suit up for the Rays in Tampa.

“Everything you want it to be, right?” Seymour told Berry. 

—Contact Tommy Cassell at tcassell@telegram.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @tommycassell44.