Orf is the 199th former Northwoods League player to debut in MLB
Rochester, Minn. – Former Eau Claire Express player Nate Orf, made his Major League debut for the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday, July 2, 2018. Orf is the 199th former Northwoods League player to reach the Major League level.
Orf, who played collegiately at Baylor, played for the Eau Claire Express in 2010. He was signed by Milwaukee as a non-drafted free agent on June 14, 2013.
In 55 games with the Express during their Championship winning 2010 season, Orf hit .294 with two home runs and 32 RBI. He also had nine doubles, two triples and stole three bases.
Orf started his Minor League career in 2013 with the Helena Brewers of the Rookie level Pioneer League. He played in 43 games and hit .312 with 10 doubles, two triples and 24 runs driven in.
Orf was promoted for the 2014 season to the Brevard County Manatees of the Hi-A Florida State League. He played in 123 games and hit .288 with two home runs, 30 doubles and four triples. He drove in 43 runs, stole seven bases and walked 55 times.
For the 2015 season, Orf moved up again to AA with the Biloxi Shuckers in the Southern League. Over 127 games he hit .274 with 26 doubles, four triples and two home runs. He drove in 43 runs, scored 65 runs and stole five bases.
Orf started the 2016 season in Biloxi and then was promoted, after 38 games, to the Colorado Springs Sky Sox of the AAA Pacific Coast League. Between the two clubs he hit .267 with 23 doubles, three triples and two home runs. He stole five bases, scored 68 runs and walked 50 times.
In 2017, Orf spent the entire year in Colorado Springs. He played in 125 games and had career highs in batting average at .320, home runs with nine, doubles at 32 and triples with 11. He also had career highs in runs driven in with 65 and runs scored with 103.
Prior to being called up by the Brewers, Orf had played in 74 games with Colorado Springs. He was hitting .307 with 18 doubles, three triples and six home runs. He had 39 RBI and a career high 20 stolen bases.
In his Major League debut against the Minnesota Twins, Orf started the game at second base and was 0 for 4 at the plate.
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The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Now in its 25th anniversary season, the Northwoods 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 190 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET) and Curtis Granderson (TOR). 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.