Grafton, WI – A third former Chinooks player has made it to the show! Harrison Bader got the call from the St. Louis Cardinals yesterday afternoon that he would be joining the team immediately. The move comes just days after Bader's fellow teammate on the 2013 Chinooks roster got the call up from the Washington Nationals. Earlier this month, Zack Granite from the Chinooks inaugural roster in 2012 made his debut with the Twins. After five years of no alumni in the majors, the organization has three alums in the pros in the same month.
Shortly before the Chinooks would take the field last night at Kapco Park, Harrison Bader learned he would be putting on a St. Louis Cardinals uniform that same evening. The Cardinals made the move after outfielder Dexter Fowler was placed on the DL. Not only would Bader be joining the Cards, he would be taking Fowler's place in the starting lineup and playing center field. Add more excitement to the night, Harrison would go on to score the winning run for St. Louis thanks in part to a sacrifice fly from Jedd Gyorko. He ended the night going 1-4 at the plate.
Bader was attending the University of Florida.when he came to Lakeshore in the summer of 2013. He appeared in 20 games for the Nooks, batting .290, collecting 20 hits, 17 runs, 3 HR's, and 14 RBI's. The Chinooks coaching staff and scouts would point out that he was most known for his power at the plate. The Bronx, New York native had to leave the team in early July.
Bader would go on to be drafted by the Cardinals in the 3rd round of the 2015 draft. He would start his minor league career off with a short stint with the State College Spikes, a short season Single A team in the New York-Penn League. For the remainder of 2015, he played with the Peoria Chiefs in the Midwest League, another Single A league. He finished 2015 with a .311 batting average
Harrison would start 2016 off in Triple A, a sign that the Cardinals thought very highly of their 2015 draft pick. During his time with the Memphis Redbirds, he hit just .231 and would spend the rest of the season in Double A with the Springfield Cardinals where he would improve his average to .281.
Before getting the call last night, Bader started 2017 once again with the Cards Triple A affiliate, the Memphis Redbirds. After an incredible performance in the 2016 Fall League in Arizona and in Spring Training, it was only a matter of time until one of the Cardinals top prospects broke into the Majors.
Bader and the St. Louis Cardinals come to town next week to take on Craig Counsell and the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park. The matchup with pit former Chinooks vs former host family as Craig Counsell and his family hosted Bader back in 2013.
The Chinooks would like to wish Harrison the best of luck and look forward to watching his career begin with the St. Louis Cardinals.
