It was just three innings in the first game of the season, a game that was played while it was still officially winter.<\/p>\n
But it made a strong impression.<\/p>\n
When Alejandro \u201cWalley\u201d Cartagena struck out eight and didn\u2019t allow an earned run in the first three innings of an 11-2 Allen win at Bethlehem Catholic on March 19, the buzz began.<\/p>\n
Golden Hawks coach Matt Corsi, who would later coach Cartagena on the Lehigh Valley\u2019s Carpenter Cup team, gushed the next day about Cartagena, saying, \u201cWait until you see him.\u201d<\/p>\n
The noise got louder during the course of an amazing season for Canaries baseball that included 21 victories, the program\u2019s first league championship since 1991 and first District 11 title since 1995.<\/p>\n
It was an amazing turnaround for a program that went 4-16 in 2025 and hadn\u2019t had a winning season since 2015 and at the forefront was the fireballing Cartagena.<\/p>\n
The lefthander went 6-1 with a 1.0 ERA, a 0.898 WHIP (walks and hits divided by innings pitched), and 74 strikeouts while walking 27 in 49 innings.<\/p>\n
He also hit .317 with 10 extra-base hits, 22 RBIs and 23 runs and stole 10 bases without getting caught.<\/p>\n
As the catalyst for the most compelling story of the 2026 Lehigh Valley baseball season, Cartagena is an easy choice as The Morning Call\u2019s rookie of the year.<\/p>\n
\u201cComing in as a freshman, I heard about the team\u2019s reputation from past seasons, but I was here to flip that around,\u201d he said. \u201cMy teammates put in the work in the offseason, work that nobody else saw in the weight room.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cartagena said he came into the season with confidence, some of that instilled in him by his father, Elvis.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told me to go out there and pitch my game and stay composed no matter what happens,\u201d he said. \u201cI learned that a hitter has a job to do at the plate and no matter what happens with each batter, I have to stay confident. I knew competition level in the EPC was going to be tough, but I also knew that I was ready.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cartagena didn\u2019t flinch even after the team began 2-3.<\/p>\n
\u201cCoach [Michael] Gonzalez [an Allen assistant] said at that point that we\u2019re right where we need to be,\u201d Cartagena said. \u201cHe said to not allow anything that happened go to our heads. We can\u2019t stay too high or too low. We needed to be steady throughout the year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Allen coach Rob Leskosky called the season \u201cthe perfect storm with a great group of hardworking kids coming together and finding a way to win the biggest and toughest of games.\u201d<\/p>\n
As for Cartagena, Leskosky said there\u2019s not much to say that hasn\u2019t already been said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe initial attraction to him is the power fastball he throws, topping at 92 miles-an-hour and the fact he\u2019s a lefthander,\u201d Leskosky said. \u201cObviously, he\u2019s got the physical tools. But when you dig deeper and start to learn who he is and how represents himself and how he carries himself, you just become more and more impressed. He\u2019s got a 3.9 GPA while taking advanced classes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cartagena\u2019s academic pedigree comes across in his interviews in which he\u2019s always articulate and thoughtful, quite unusual for any high school kid but especially a freshman.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s a shining light for not only the Allen baseball team, the school and the Allentown School District.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has high standards for himself,\u201d Leskosky said. \u201cI think the expectation for him is that by his junior year, he\u2019ll be in our early college program and by the time he walks out of here, he\u2019ll have a college associate\u2019s degree. If he doesn\u2019t do that, I think that will be a disappointment to him because of the standard he sets for himself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Also, by the time he\u2019s a junior, Cartagena will likely have pro scouts at his games.<\/p>\n
But Cartagena will continue to be a great teammate and the kind of guy who leads others just by how he acts.<\/p>\n
\u201cGuys want to follow him,\u201d Leskosky said. \u201cEven the juniors and seniors \u2014 it doesn\u2019t matter \u2014 want to follow him because of his intensity and how hard he works. They see him and they say \u2018if he\u2019s working that hard at his talent level than I need to work as hard as he is because he\u2019s doing more than I am.\u2019 He pushes the rest of the guys and they always say that the great players make the guys around them better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cartagena was a part of four no-hitters, including one in the 11-0 rout of Whitehall in the EPC championship game. He also had six outings of at least three innings in which he didn\u2019t give up an earned run, including the disappointing 4-2 loss to Neshaminy in the first round of the PIAA 6A tournament.<\/p>\n
Neshaminy would go on to win the state championship.<\/p>\n
The early exit kickstarted a busy summer for Cartagena, who has an intense travel schedule.<\/p>\n
He talked wanting to develop a third pitch to go along with his blazing fastball and tantalizing curve. He also wanted to work on his mechanics and get bigger and stronger.<\/p>\n
Cartagena, said his mom, Keishly, is from Puerto Rico, but is an Allen graduate. His dad is from New York but was talented enough on the diamond to get a professional tryout from the Marlins and could have had a pro shot but gave it up to become a father.<\/p>\n
This was Cartagena\u2019s his first year in the Allentown School District. He attended Executive from fourth through eighth grade<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a wonderful school with great staff and students,\u201d he said. \u201cFabian Acevedo was my coach over there and he\u2019s a great guy. I built a bond with him and it was tough leaving him. My brother played over there as well, and I grew up on their bench. But I made the choice to play more competitive baseball. I think I made the right choice.\u201d<\/p>\n
He credits his parents for raising him the right way and insisting that he gets his academic work done.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey taught me to strive to be the best I can be whether it\u2019s college or the MLB,\u201d Cartagena said. \u201cMy dad says to shoot for the moon and you\u2019ll up being a star. I give all the glory to God. Anything is possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Past Morning Call rookies of the year<\/p>\n
2021: Anthony Martinez, Bethlehem Catholic<\/p>\n
2022: Collin Peacock, Bethlehem Catholic<\/p>\n
2023: Kurtis Crossman, Easton<\/p>\n
2024: Jaxson Kreider, Bangor<\/p>\n
2025: Bobby Grzenda, Nazareth<\/p>\n
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