When Claudio Custodio made his Barrie Baycats debut on May 20th, 2017 against the Brantford Red Sox, he went two-for-three with three runs batted in.

As a second baseman.

But, as team president David Mills said in the press box before that game, "he can pitch too."

That ended up being quite the understatement.

Custodio in 2017 pitched in 10 games for the team, going 7-1 with an earned run average of 2.29, while striking out 99 batters in 70.2 innings.

A dominant force alongside Barrie Baycats ace Emilis Guerrero.

His game 3 performance against the Kitchener Panthers in the 2017 championship series is considered to be the greatest pitching performance in franchise history.

He threw a complete game, striking out thirteen batters while allowing zero runs and just one hit.

It would be his last game in a Baycats jersey. 

The Toronto Blue Jays, led by regional crosschecker Jamie Lehman, decided to sign Custodio to a minor league contract.

They sent him to low-A Lansing, where he reunited with Dante De Caria, who is the Lansing Lugnuts announcer, and was the Barrie Baycats announcer when Custodio pitched for the Baycats.

The Lugnuts instantly made him the team closer, and he was soon promoted to High-A Dunedin, before eventually being called up to Triple-A.

A remarkable story for a pitcher who was in the IBL just months prior.

De Caria said watching the evolution of Custodio was special.

"He is a very good friend of mine, so when you told me in April that he signed with the Jays, I was really happy for him.

"And then when he told me they were sending him to Lansing with me, I couldn't believe it. Who could have seen that coming?

Custodio in 2018 ended up pitching 47.1 innings spread throughout three levels while recording an earned run average of 3.42.

De Caria said there is no reason his career cannot continue to progress despite his age.

"Scouts and coaches have told me that while he is almost in his thirty's, he has an arm of a pitcher in his young twenty's because he did not convert to pitching until later on in his career, so teams aren't going to look at his age and say 'oh he is too old to play minor league baseball.'

"He made it all the way to Triple-A in his first season back in minor league baseball. His fastball is great, and he has revamped his secondary pitches. There is no reason he can't keep this up."

Currently a free agent, Custodio expects to re-sign with the Jays.

But whether he does or doesn't, it doesn't take away from the remarkable story that was Claudio's 2018 season, that saw even Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame writer Bob Eillot give him a shoutout on Twitter.

"How about RP Claudio Custodio? A year ago he was pitching for the Barrie Baycats ... now he has fanned 7 in 6 1/3 innings for the triple-A Buffalo Bisons," Elliot tweeted back in August.

An impressive story indeed for a guy that, less than 12 months before signing a minor league contract, was an infielder for the Barrie Baycats.

"Hard works pays off," Custodio said to De Caria. "I want to thank the Baycats for giving me the chance to pitch for them."