Tim Hackett, Broadcasting Intern
180 current and former members of the Northwoods League were selected across the 40 rounds of the 2017 Major League Baseball Draft, and 11 of those selections are former members of the Wisconsin Woodchucks.
Parker Dunshee was the first former Chuck off the board. A senior right-handed pitcher out of Wake Forest, Dunshee was drafted in the seventh round, 201st overall, by the Oakland Athletics. He appeared in 12 games, 10 of which were starts, for the Woodchucks in 2014, finishing the year 4-3 with a 5.24 ERA. He started Wisconsin’s playoff game against Lakeshore and pitched well, allowing just one earned run over five innings in a 2-1 Woodchucks loss. He delivered an excellent 3.91 ERA in 17 starts over more than 100 innings this year for the Demon Deacons.
Two-time Woodchuck Jared Oliva was selected just a few picks later, 208th overall, by the Pittsburgh Pirates. A senior center fielder from Arizona, Oliva batted .254 in 59 games for the Chucks in 2015, and bumped up his average to .272 in 30 games the next year. He finished the year with hits in six of his final seven games, including a 3-for-6 performance against Kenosha in his final game of the season. In his final year with the Wildcats, he started all 59 games and sported a .321 average, leading his team with three triples and ten steals.
2014 Woodchuck Brian Howard was selected in the eighth round, 231st overall, by Oakland. A senior right-hander out of TCU, Howard went 3-1 with a 2.11 ERA in six starts and eight games overall with the Woodchucks three summers ago. His campaign was highlighted by a shutout of Kenosha, in which he allowed just three hits over six innings in a 10-0 Woodchucks win. The second starter this season for TCU, he went 11-3 with a 3.95 ERA over 18 starts, and helped the Horned Frogs sweep Missouri State in the Super Regionals with 7.1 innings of one-run ball on June 11.
It took a while for the next former Chuck to get picked up, but the Philadelphia Phillies finally snapped the stretch when they selected left-hander Kyle Dohy in the 16th round, 473rd overall. Dohy went 1-1 with a 6.25 ERA in 16 games, two starts, for the Woodchucks in 2015. He also threw one inning in the Major League Dreams Showcase on August 4. Dohy played his junior season at Cal Poly and went 6-3, finishing third in the conference with 89 strikeouts in 79.2 innings. He was named an All-Conference Honorable Mention.
A few more Woodchucks quickly followed. The Los Angeles Dodgers selected 2016 Woodchuck Evy Ruibal 490th overall. Ruibal was one of the best options out of the bullpen last summer, recording an ERA of just 1.63 in 19 appearances. All seven runs he allowed came over two appearances – he held opponents scoreless in the other 17. He’s made 40 appearances in his Notre Dame career, with 40 career strikeouts and a 4.70 ERA.
Jake Scudder rounded out the Wisconsin 16th round selections when he was taken 493rd overall by the Washington Nationals. A left-handed hitting first baseman, Scudder batted .268 in the summer of 2014 with 12 doubles, four home runs and 26 RBI, highlighted by a grand slam hit against Kenosha on July 6. In his senior season at Kansas State, Scudder batted .294 and paced the Wildcats with 12 doubles, 13 homers and 62 RBI in 55 games.
Two-time Woodchuck Connor Heady was the next man taken, in the 23rd round, 700th overall, by the Dodgers. The shortstop hit .220 with six doubles his first summer in Wausau, but bumped it up to .257 with 12 doubles and eight home runs in 54 games last year. He had four three-hit games, including a 3-for-5 night with a home run in his final game of the 2016 season. Heady started all 66 games for Kentucky this year, batting .276 with nine doubles and seven homers.
Another 2016 Woodchuck went a few rounds later when the Colorado Rockies selected Brandon Lambright in the 27th round, 806th overall. The right-handed Lambright was an important part of the Wisconsin bullpen last season, throwing 19.1 innings over ten appearances, finishing with an 0-1 record and a 4.65 ERA with 27 strikeouts. He pitched four full innings of relief twice and recorded two saves. In his senior year at Abilene Christian, Lambright appeared in 22 games and made two starts, finishing the year with a 1-2 record and a 7.94 ERA. He tallied three saves and struck out 55 in less than 40 innings.
The Rockies took their second Woodchuck pitcher of the draft when they selected Reagan Biechler in the 31st round, 926th overall. The southpaw was a frequent option out of the 2015 Wisconsin bullpen – Biechler appeared in 16 games, starting one, and finished the year with a 1-3 record and a 4.24 ERA in 29.2 innings. He pitched at least three innings of relief in each of his final four appearances of the season. The lefty was used very often in his senior year at Wichita State, leading the team with 35 appearances, all in relief, with a team-best 2.84 ERA. Opponents batted just .180 against him all year.
One of Biechler’s 2015 Wisconsin teammates went later in the round, 945th overall to the Chicago Cubs. Infielder Ramsey Romano batted .197 in 21 games for the Chucks with a double and two home runs, accruing four multi-hit games. Playing mostly third base during his junior year at Long Beach State, Romano led the Dirtbags in average, hits, and RBI. He knocked in a run in Beach’s win against Fullerton in this year’s Super Regionals.
Rounding out the Woodchuck representation in the 2017 draft was two-time Chuck Kaylor Chafin, drafted in the 32nd round, 967th overall, by the New York Mets. The lefty was stellar over 15 games, three starts for the Chucks in 2014, sporting a 1-1 record with a 1.98 ERA. He highlighted his year by throwing six innings of shutout ball in a relief appearance on July 6. Chafin came back to the Chucks for six games in 2015, making three starts. The junior was one of the best pitchers for Texas A&M this year, sporting a 7-2 record with a 2.56 ERA in 36 games, including one start. He tossed two perfect innings of relief in game two of this year’s Super Regionals to help the Aggies sweep Davidson.