Rochester, Minn. – Former La Crosse Logger Rowan Wick, made his Major League debut for the San Diego Padres on Friday, August 31, 2018. Wick is the 202nd former Northwoods League player to reach the Major League level.
Wick, who played collegiately at Cypress College, played for the La Crosse Loggers in 2011. He was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 9th round of the 2012 MLB draft.
In 11 games with the Loggers during the 2011 season, Wick did not pitch but played in the field and hit .216 with two doubles and two stolen bases.
Wick signed with the Cardinals and started his professional career as a catcher in 2012. He made his professional debut that season with the Cardinals Rookie level team in the Gulf Coast League. Over 23 games he hit .156 with four doubles and eight RBI.
Wick spent the 2013 season with the Johnson City Cardinals of the Rookie-Advanced Appalachian League. He batted .256 with 10 home runs and 35 RBI in 56 games.
In 2014, he switched to the outfield, and he started the season with the State College Spikes of the Short-Season New York-Penn League. After 30 games he was promoted to the Peoria Chiefs of the Lo-A Midwest League. Between the two teams he compiled a .292 batting average with 20 home runs and 60 RBI.
Wick started 2015 with the Palm Beach Cardinals of the Hi-A Florida State League. After a slow start batting .198 in 33 games, he was transitioned into a pitcher and finished the season with the Gulf Coast Cardinals, giving up two runs in two innings.
In 2016, his first full season as a pitcher, he played for both Palm Beach and the Springfield Cardinals of the AA Texas League. With Springfield he went 2-0 with a 2.44 ERA and struck out 57 batters in 44.1 innings pitched out of the bullpen.
Wick began 2017 with the Memphis Redbirds of the AAA Pacific Coast League but was placed on the disabled list on May 14 and was not reactivated until July 10. After being reactivated, he reported to Springfield. He then returned to Memphis in September. For the season he appeared in 34 games and was 2-1 with a 3.19 ERA. He also struck out 42 batters in 42.1 innings pitched while walking 19.
On February 16, 2018, Wick was claimed off waivers by the San Diego Padres.
Prior to being called up by the Padres, Wick had appeared in 29 games for the San Antonio Missions of the AA Texas League before a promotion to the El Paso Chihuahuas of the AAA Pacific Coast League. Between the two teams he was 4-4 with a 2.67 ERA in 49 games. He also struck a career high 64 batters in 54 innings pitched.
In his Major League debut against the Colorado Rockies, Wick entered the game in the ninth inning in relief of Phil Maton. He would pitch one inning, allowing no runs or hits with one strikeout.
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The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. The 25-year old summer collegiate league is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 22 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, over 200 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.