Frankoff is the 176th former Northwoods League player to debut in MLB
Rochester, Minn. – Former Thunder Bay Border Cats pitcher, Seth Frankoff, made his Major League debut for the Chicago Cubs on Friday, June 9, 2017. Frankoff is the 176th former Northwoods League player to reach the Major League level.
Frankoff, who played collegiately at UNC Wilmington, played for the Thunder Bay Border Cats in 2008. He was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 27th round of the 2010 MLB Draft.
In 2008 with the Border Cats, Frankoff was 3-1 with a 2.08 ERA in seven appearances. He also struck out 22 batters in 30.1 innings pitched while walking 15.
Frankoff started his Minor League career in 2010 with the Athletics Rookie level team in the Arizona League. After eight games, he was promoted to the Vancouver Canadians of the Short-Season A Northwest League. Between the two clubs he appeared in 15 games and went 5-5 with a 2.81 ERA. He had 66 strikeouts in 57.2 innings pitched and walked 27.
Frankoff spent the 2011 season again with two different teams. He began the year with the Vermont Lake Monsters in the Short-Season A New York-Penn League. After 14 games in Vermont he was promoted to the Burlington Bees of the Lo-A Midwest League. In 19 games, he struck out 70 batters in 85 innings and went 6-4 with a 3.60 ERA.
He was once again back in the Burlington for the 2012 season. Mainly working out of the bullpen he appeared in 36 games and was 5-7 with a 5.26 ERA. He would strike out 84 batters while walking 40 in 104.1 innings and he picked up one save.
Frankoff received a promotion for the 2013 season to the Stockton Ports of the Hi-A California League. Over 48 games he pitched in 74.1 innings and went 2-0 with a 2.78 ERA. He struck out a career high 93 batters and walked 23.
Frankoff was promoted again to the AA Midland RockHounds for the 2015 season. After 38 games in Midland he was then moved up to the Nashville Sounds of the AAA Pacific Coast League. Between the two clubs he went a combined 0-2 with a 3.71 ERA in 47 appearances. He pitched in 60.2 innings and struck out 57 batters.
After the 2015 season Frankoff signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He would begin the 2016 season with the Dodgers Rookie level team in the Arizona League. After three games in Arizona he was promoted to the Tulsa Drillers of the AA Texas League. He would appear in 21 games for Tulsa before another promotion to end the season to the AAA Pacific Coast League and the Oklahoma City Dodgers. He appeared in 38 games with the three teams and went 4-4 with a 3.89 ERA. He would also only walk 18 batters while striking out 73 in 74 innings.
Following the 2016 season Frankoff elected to become a free agent and signed with the Cubs in November. Prior to his call-up to Chicago he had appeared in 11 games with the Iowa Cubs in the AAA Pacific Coast League. He had a 1-2 record and a 3.25 ERA in 55.1 innings pitched while striking out 59 batters and walking only 15.
In his Major League debut against the Colorado Rockies, Frankoff entered the game in the top of the 5th inning in relief of Cubs starter Mike Montgomery. He would pitch two innings and allow two runs on four hits while striking out two.
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The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. The 23-year old summer collegiate league is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 20 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 170 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including two-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champion Ben Zobrist (CHC) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET), Curtis Granderson (NYM) and Lucas Duda (NYM). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. For more information, visit www.northwoodsleague.com or download the Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play.