Madison, WI – September 15, 2009. Former Madison Mallard first baseman Neil Medchill (Oklahoma State) and current member of the Single-A Staten Island Yankees club, has helped lead the team to the New York-Penn League Championship Series against Mahoning Valley after leading the league with 14 home runs during the regular season.
Staten Island, the Class-A affiliate of the New York Yankees, blanked Mahoning Valley 3-0 Monday evening to win game one of the best-of-three series. Medchill was 0-for-4 in the victory.
On the season, the left-handed hitting now-outfielder finished the regular season with a .278 average, 42 runs scored, 13 doubles, 41 RBI, and the beforementioned league-leading 14 long balls.
On July 20 he was named the league’s Player of the Week, and on August 18 he was named to the Mid-Season All-Star Team after hitting .283 with 12 home runs and 36 RBI through 52 games.
Medchill played a half-season with the Mallards in 2007 and hit .257 with five doubles and 14 RBI over 32 games. The Yankees selected him in the 11th round of the 2009 First-Year Player Draft.
Other former Mallards performing well in professional baseball include:
Name, current team (level), former college, year(s) with Mallards
Adam Mills, Pawtucket Red Sox (AAA), Charlotte, 2005-06. Mills is arguably the closest former Mallard to getting a call to the big leagues, as he’s now playing for the Class-AAA Pawtucket Red Sox in the International League. Through five starts Mills has posted a 1-2 record and 3.12 ERA in 26 innings. He pitched for the Mallards for two seasons and finished with an 8-7 record and razor-thin 1.87 ERA over 144 innings.
Ryan Zink, Tampa Yankees (A), Illinois-Chicago, 2004, ’07. Tampa is definitely giving Zink a chance to prove himself, as the talented right-hander has logged 134 innings over 24 starts while posting a 9-12 record and 4.90 ERA. Much like the Staten Island club, Tampa finds itself in the Florida State League Championship Series and has a 2-games-to-1 lead over the Charlotte Stone Crabs in the best-of-five series. The former Madison LaFollette High School product was a member of the Mallards 2004 Championship squad in posting 4-6 record and 2.10 ERA over 81.1 innings, including 11 starts.
Brandon Wikoff, Lexington Legends (A), Illinois, 2007-09. After being selected in the fifth round of this past year’s MLB Draft by the Houston Astros, Wikoff began his professional career while playing for the Tri-City ValleyCats in the New York-Penn League and hit .287 with four doubles, one triple, and 2 RBI through 28 games. He has since been bumped up to the Class-A Lexington Legends club and has posted a .291 average with two doubles, two triples, and 17 RBI through 39 games. Wikoff saw action in Madison for two seasons and an abbreviated 2009 campaign (he was drafted in the fifth round this past June) while accumulating a career .315 average with nine doubles, 39 RBI, and 23 stolen bases.
