Mequon, WI – The Lakeshore Chinooks have had a great past couple of seasons, including winning the 2014 Northwoods League Championship and being crowned the 2014 Perfect Game Summer Collegiate Team of the Year. The success continued in 2015 when a team-record 17 players were selected in the MLB First-Year Player Draft, giving the team 45 draftees in its history. Since its introduction to the league five years ago, the Chinooks have been represented in the draft each year, demonstrating the quality and consistency of talent that the club is able to recruit.
The Chinooks’ success in the draft did not skip a beat in the 2016 MLB First-Year Player Draft. 14 Chinooks were taken through out the 40 rounds of the draft, 13 former and 1 current, bringing the total to 58 former Chinooks to be drafted.
Chinooks General Manager Dean Rennicke has this to say about his club’s success in the draft: “Our goal as an organization is to provide our players with the opportunity to receive the necessary exposure in order to move on to the next level. We look for guys who not only want to play in the major leagues, but have the mental toughness, ambition, work ethic, and maturity to dig deep and pursue their dreams. We’ve been fortunate to have so many talented players who possess these defining characteristics, and we hope that we can continue to recruit players of the same caliber in the years to come.”
Here is a look at which Chinooks players were drafted as well as a quick overview of their Chinooks careers:
RHP Shaun Anderson: Third Round, 88th Overall, by the Boston Red Sox out of the University of Florida
Anderson played for the Chinooks on the 2014 Northwoods League Champions team, appearing in 10 games during the regular season, eight of which were starts. In his 52.1 innings pitched, he posted a 2.40 ERA with 43 strikeouts and finished the season with a 5-1 record. During his time with Lakeshore, Anderson was ranked No. 34 on the Northwoods League Top 200 released by the league office, as well as being named as the No. 49 top prospect in the NWL by Perfect Game.
RHP Lake Bachar: Fifth Round, 144th Overall, by the San Diego Padres out of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
Bachar was with the Chinooks for the 2015 season, making 12 appearances in the regular season, 11 of which were starts. He finished the season with a 6-3 record and 2.46 ERA, punching out 63 batters in his 65.2 innings of work. Bachar was listed on the roster before the start of the 2016 season, but has not made any appearances for the team.
LHP Cam Vieaux: Sixth Round, 195th Overall, by the Pittsburgh Pirates out of Michigan State
Vieaux made five starts for the Chinooks during the 2014 season. In his 28.0 innings pitched, he recorded a 2.89 ERA with 18 strikeouts and finished his time with Lakeshore with a 2-1 record.
2B Jake Noll: Seventh Round, 214th Overall, by the Washington Nationals out of Florida Gulf Coast University
Noll is another member of the 2014 team. He appeared in 54 games during the regular season, lead the team with a .316 batting average and drove in 35 runs for Lakeshore. He also was second on the team in steals, finishing the year with 20. In four playoff appearances, he posted a .250 batting average and scored three runs for the Chinooks.
CF Lucas Raley: Seventh Round, 221st Overall, by the Los Angeles Dodgers out of Lake Erie College
Raley played for the Chinooks during the 2015 season, appearing in 67 games. He led the team with 14 home runs, 55 RBI’s, 80 hits, and a .569 slugging percentage. He ranked third in batting average at .314, tallied 13 doubles and 5 triples, and also scored 43 runs for the Chinooks in an impressive campaign for Lakeshore which lead to him being named team MVP.
RHP Jesse Scholtens: Ninth Round, 264th Overall, by the San Diego Padres out of Wright State University
Scholtens appeared in three games for the Chinooks during the 2015 season, making 2 starts and finishing his short time with the team with a 2-1 record. In his 17.0 innings pitched, he allowed 2 runs and 12 hits with nine strikeouts, concluding his stint with a 1.05 ERA.
LHP Connor Jones: 11th Round, 338th Overall, by the New York Yankees out of the University of Georgia
Jones played for the Chinooks on the 2014 championship team and returned to Lakeshore to play during the 2015 season. In 2014 he appeared in 16 games and went 4-0 during the regular season, posting a 2.82 ERA and striking out 38 in his 28.2 innings of work. In 2015, he pitched 14.0 innings over 7 appearances for the Chinooks, finishing with a 3.21 ERA and 14 strike outs.
RHP Mike Letkewicz: 23rd Round, 692nd Overall, by the Cleveland Indians out of Augustana College
Letkewicz also played for the Chinooks in 2014 and returned to play again in 2015. In 2014, he made 7 starts and appeared in 13 games, finishing with a 3-2 record and a 4.09 ERA in 37.1 innings of work. He appeared in one game during the 2014 postseason, pitching one inning and striking out two batters to pick up a save. He made 6 appearances for Lakeshore in 2015, pitching 9 innings and striking out 9 but he finished the regular season with an ERA of 5.00.
3B Greg Deichmann: 26th Round, 783rd Overall, by the Minnesota Twins out of Louisiana State University
Deichmann played for the Chinooks during the 2015 season. He appeared in 64 games and had 230 at-bats, driving in 32 runs and scoring 27 runs himself. He finished the regular season with a .239 batting average and was tied for second on the team with 16 stolen bases.
CF Jack Sundberg: 26th Round, 784th Overall, by the Washington Nationals out of the University of Connecticut
Sundberg was drafted immediately after fellow alum Greg Diechmann was taken by the Twins, but he played for the Chinooks two years before Diechmann during the 2013 campaign. Sundberg appeared in 10 games for the Chinooks, getting 23 at-bats and stealing 2 bases in his short stretch with the team.
RHP Austin Jones: 26th Round, 794th Overall, by the Chicago Cubs out of the University of Wisconsin – Whitewater
Another Whitewater product, Jones played for the Chinooks during the 2014 season, and he is currently on the roster for the Chinooks in 2016. He joined the team late in 2014, making three appearances including one start and finished his spell with the club with a 0-1 record over 6.0 innings of work. Jones has made four appearances out of the bullpen for Eddy Morgan in the 2016 season, pitching 6.1 innings and striking out nine batters. He has pitched well so far, posting a record of 1-1 and an ERA of 2.84.
P, James Teague, 37th Round, 1111th Overall, by the Baltimore Orioles out of the University of Arkansas
James Teague played for the Chinooks in 2014, the team's championship season. Appearing in 9 games, starting in 8 of those, James went 3-2 with a 2.85 ERA.
IF, Tyler Wolfe, 39th Round, 1117th Overall, by the Houston Astros out of Kansas State University
Tyler Wolfe briefly played for the Chinooks in 2013. Appearing in ten games, Wolfe hit just .154.
RHP Brian Keller: 39th Round, 1178th Overall, by the New York Yankees out of the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee
Keller made six starts for the Chinooks during the 2015 season, finishing with a 2-4 record. He pitched 34.2 innings, striking out 27 and posting a 5.45 ERA.
The Lakeshore Chinooks are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Playing its 23rd season of summer collegiate baseball, 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 150 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 (DET), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Lucas Duda (NYM) and Ben Zobrist (CHC). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit http://northwoodsleague.com/lakeshore-chinooks.
