Zac Lowther – Frederick Keys
Since the team’s founding in 2012, the Lakeshore Chinooks have produced 82 MLB Draft picks or free agent signings. Eight former Chinooks moved on through the draft in 2017, with only one alumni no longer in the minors. Here is a recap of four more from alumni from that class and where they currently stand heading into 2019:
Mark Kolozsvary/C/Florida/Lakeshore 2015/2017 CLE Indians – 7th Round
“Kolo” got a late start to his rookie season in 2017 as his Florida Gators were busy winning the 2017 College World Series. After a chance to recover, Kolozsvary played 28 games at the Rookie level for the Billings Mustang and hit a solid .301 with 15 RBI and one home run. He was bumped up to the Class A Dayton Dragons for 2018 where he hit .225 with 27 RBI in 82 games.
Evan Krucynski/P/East Carolina/Lakeshore 2014/2017 STL Cardinals – 9th Round
After a solid first season for Class A Peoria during which he posted a 3.41 ERA in 13 starts, the pride of Franklin High School made significant progress in 2018 and will begin the 2019 campaign with a Non-Roster Invite to the Cardinals’ major league camp. Krucynski was named a mid-season all-star in the Florida League for Advanced A Palm Beach after posting a 5-3 record and 74 strikeouts in 15 starts and 76 innings. After a late July promotion to AA Springfield, Kruczynski posted a 2.50 ERA in six starts and parlayed that finish into a spot in the Arizona Fall League where he was named a Rising Star. Expect big things from the local kid who has his sights set on moving further in 2019.
Zac Lowther/P/Xavier/Lakeshore 2015/2017 BAL Orioles – CB Round B
Lowther has also moved quickly in two years of pro ball. The former Musketeer has already thrown 178 innings as he moved from the Class A Aberdeen IronBirds in 2017 to Class A Delmarva and Advanced A Frederick, posting a career ERA of 2.02 with 226 strikeouts. Lowther was named an Organizational All-Star with high expectations after notching 100 strikeouts in 92.1 innings for the Frederick Keys. Just recently, Zac was named the No. 8 prospect in the Orioles’ system and was named a co-winner of Baltimore’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year. He now stands poised to have a terrific season in 2019.
Shea Murray/P/Ohio State/Lakeshore 2015/2017 PIT Pirates – 18th Round
Loaded with a ton of potential coming out of Ohio State, the lanky right-hander has battled to overcome injuries that cause him to see limited innings throughout his college career and caused him to miss the entire 2017 summer, as well as most of 2018. Making just ten appearances for the Class A West Virginia Black Bears, posting a 7.36 ERA in just 7.1 innings. Still battling to gain control of his pitches, the high velocity pitcher had seven strikeouts against 16 walks. Health and consistency will need to improve for the hard thrower to continue with a pro career.
To follow the progress of any of the Lakeshore alums who are playing professional baseball, click on the Alumni tab under the Team section at the top of this page. Click on a specific player’s name to open a link to view their MiLB bio page.
The Lakeshore Chinooks are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The Northwoods 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 former 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 portal. For more information, visit www.lakeshorechinooks.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Chinooks as your favorite team.
