Eickhoff is the 134th former Northwoods League player to debut in MLB
Rochester, Minn. – Former Wisconsin Woodchucks pitcher, Jerad Eickhoff, made his Major League debut for the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday, August 21, 2015. Eickhoff is the 134th former Northwoods League player to reach the Major League level.
Eickhoff, who played collegiately at Olney Central College, pitched for the Wisconsin Woodchucks in 2010. Eickhoff was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 15th round of the 2011 MLB draft.
In 2010 with the Woodchucks, Eickhoff was 3-2 with a 6.69 ERA in 16 appearances. He also struck out 35 batters in 39 innings pitched.
Eickhoff started his Minor League career in 2011 with the Rangers entrant in the Rookie level Arizona League. After four games he was promoted to the Spokane Indians of the Short-Season A Northwest League. Between the two teams, Eickhoff was 1-2 with a 2.37 ERA in 14 games. He also struck out 22 batters in 19 innings pitched.
Eickhoff spent the entire 2012 season with the Hickory Crawdads in the Lo-A South Atlantic League. He appeared in 26 games for Hickory and went 13-7 with a 4.69 ERA and 90 strikeouts over 126.2 innings pitched.
During the 2013 season Eickhoff again split time between two teams. He began the year in the Hi-A Carolina League with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans. After 21 games with Myrtle Beach he was promoted to the Frisco RoughRiders in the AA Texas League. Between Myrtle Beach and Frisco he was a combined 8-4 with a 4.22 ERA.
Eickhoff spent the entire 2014 season back in AA Frisco. He appeared in 27 games and was 10-9 with a 4.08 ERA. His strikeout numbers increased as he struck out 144 batters in 154.1 innings pitched.
The 2015 season saw Eickhoff begin the year in Frisco before being promoted, after two games, to the Round Rock Express in the AAA Pacific Coast League. He appeared in 18 games with Round Rock before he was part of the eight player trade that brought Cole Hamels to the Rangers from the Phillies. After the trade Eickhoff was assigned to the Lehigh Valley IronPigs in the AAA International League. Between the three teams and two organizations he was 12-5 with a 3.85 ERA in 23 appearances. He also struck out 126 batters in 133.1 innings.
In his Major League debut, Eickhoff was the starting pitcher in the Phillies 7-1 win over the Marlins. He was awarded the win after pitching six innings and allowing five hits while walking one and striking out five. He also went 1 for 3 at the plate with two RBI.
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The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. The 22 year old summer collegiate 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 130 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.northwoodsleague.com.