Waterloo, IA – Former Waterloo Buck pitcher Dakota Bacus and catcher Jeremy Lucas will play in the Arizona Fall League during professional baseball’s off-season.  Bacus will play for the Salt River Rafters while Lucas will suit up for the Scottsdale Scorpions.  Bacus and Lucas will join 26 other former Northwoods League players who will be competing over the next two months in Arizona against the top players in Minor League Baseball. 

Dakota Bacus, a right-handed pitcher who played with Waterloo in 2011, was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the ninth round of the 2012 MLB Amateur Entry Draft.  Bacus made his way to the Washington Nationals organization, playing for the Potomac Nationals in the Single-A Carolina League, the Harrisburg Senators in the Double-A Eastern League, and the Syracuse Chiefs in the Triple-A International League in 2015.  This past season, the Moline, Illinois native had a combined 8-3 record and a 3.33 ERA with three saves and 84 strikeouts in 32 games.

An Indiana State University product, Bacus appeared in 11 games for the Bucks, starting four.  Bacus finished his Waterloo career with a 2-1 record, a 4.39 ERA, and 19 strikeouts in 26.2 innings pitched. 

Jeremy Lucas, a catcher who played with Waterloo in 2010 and 2011, was selected by the Cleveland Indians in the 12^th round of the 2012 MLB Draft.  Lucas played for the Akron RubberDucks in the Double-A Eastern League in 2015, hitting .239 with two home runs, 22 RBI, and a .311 slugging percentage in 68 games. 

Also an Indiana State product, Lucas hit .295 during his two years in Waterloo, clubbing 20 doubles with five home runs and 49 RBI.  In 99 games played for the Bucks, the West Terre Haute, Indiana native finished his NWL career with a .405 on-base percentage.   

There are six teams in the Arizona Fall League: the Scottsdale Scorpions, Mesa Solar Sox, Salt River Rafters, Glendale Desert Dogs, Surprise Saguaros, and Peoria Javelinas.  The teams are broken into two divisions, East and West and each Major League Baseball team sends six top prospects to the Arizona Fall League.  Most of the players are Double-A and Triple-A Minor League players. Each team can choose to send one player considered a Class-A player.

The Bucks play at Riverfront Stadium where team ownership has invested more than $70,000 in improvements since the end of the 2014 season including painted bleachers, public Wi-Fi, sound system, group outing areas, and concessions equipment.  Fans are encouraged to stay in touch during the season with the Bucks by utilizing their website at www.waterloobucks.com or utilizing the Waterloo Bucks app.

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The Waterloo Bucks are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Playing its 22^nd season of summer collegiate baseball in 2015, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 18 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, more than 120 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (WAS), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Lucas Duda (NYM) and Ben Zobrist (OAK). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League Website.  For more information, visit www.waterloobucks.com.