Three Former Northwoods League Players Debut in MLB
Billy Cook becomes the 15th former Border Cats player to reach the Major Leagues.
Rochester, Minn. – Three former Northwoods League players made their Major League debuts on Sunday, September 8, 2024. Billy Cook is the 370th former player to debut, Isaac Collins is the 371st and Lake Bachar is the 372nd.
Cook, who played collegiately at Pepperdine University, played for the Thunder Bay Border Cats in 2017 and 2018 as well as the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters in 2020. He was drafted in the 10th round of the 2021 MLB draft by the Baltimore Orioles. The native of Monument, Colo., was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates on July 30th and went 2-for-4 with a double and a pair of runs batted in his first big league game Sunday in the Pirates 7-3 victory over the Washington Nationals at PNC Park.
Cook appeared in a total of 91 games for Thunder Bay in 2017 and 2018, and in his second season, he batted .300 with four home runs and a team leading 39 runs batted in. He also led the club with 20 doubles and was selected to the 2018 Northwoods League All-Star Game. During the 2020 season Cook appeared in 20 games with the Rafters and hit .259 with six home runs, 20 RBI, and 21 runs scored. Over four Minor League seasons he was hitting .251 with 62 home runs, 90 stolen bases, and 249 RBI across 377 games.
Collins played for the Duluth Huskies in 2017. He was drafted, out of Creighton University, in the 9th round of the 2019 MLB draft by the Colorado Rockies.
In 2017 in Duluth, Collins played in 52 games and had 12 doubles, eight stolen bases, and 35 runs scored. He hit .287 and drove in 29. In five Minor League seasons, Collins played in 452 games and was hitting .266 with 38 home runs, 109 stolen bases, and 309 runs scored.
Lake Bachar pitched for the Lakeshore Chinooks in 2015. In the 2016 MLB draft he was selected by the San Diego Padres in the 5th round out of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
Bachar appeared in 12 games with Lakeshore and was 6-3 with a 2.47 ERA. He struck out 63 batters in 65.2 innings. In seven Minor League seasons he appeared in 196 games and was 36-23 with a 4.05 ERA. He struck out 499 batters in 513.2 innings and had 14 saves.
In their Major League debuts Cook went 2-for-4 at the plate with a double and two RBI, Collins was 1-for-2 with a stolen base, and Bachar pitched 1.0 innings with three strikeouts.
###
The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Having completed its’ 31st season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in history with 26 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 365 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time All-Star and 2016 Roberto Clemente Award winner Curtis Granderson, three-time Cy Young Award winner and two-time World Series Champion Max Scherzer (TEX), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford (STL) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (ATL). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and 2019/2021 Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and 2023 World Series Champion, MLB All-Star, MLB Gold Glove and Silver Slugger winner and two-time All-MLB first team shortstop Marcus Semien (TEX). League games are viewable live on Northwoods League+ (at watch.northwoodsleague.com), ESPN+, and the Northwoods League Network. Learn more and find complete streaming schedules at watchnwl.com. For more information, visit www.northwoodsleague.com or download the Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play.