MSL to MLB: History in the Draft
Also Info for St. Viator and Maine West
The Major League Baseball player draft has evolved since Rick Monday was the first player chosen in 1965 by the Kansas City A’s. There used to be multiple drafts during the year and the number of rounds increased to nearly 100 at one point and now has been reduced to 20.
The draft once was very secretive and required a lot of digging to get information. Now you can follow every pick as it happens on the internet on various website draft trackers.
The baseball draft was always an event I enjoyed following and writing about. When I was working at the Peoria Journal Star in 1989 I was assigned to talk to a kid taken in the 13th round out of Illinois Central College, who played his high school ball at Limestone in nearby Bartonville, named Jim Thome. He went on to a have a decent big-league career.
Mike Tauchman wasn’t drafted coming out of Fremd and I didn’t recall any scouts coming to watch him even though he was a heck of a player and multi-sport athlete in football. Neither did head coach Chris Piggott, who was taken in the 35th round by the Twins after his senior yeat at Stevenson in 1992 before going to play at Creighton.
Tauchman had an excellent career at Bradley and was taken in the 10th round by the Rockies in the 2013 draft. The odds of making it to the show from that round (17.5 percent of players who signed) or sustaining it for three or more years (8.3 percent of signees) were slim, according to a 2017 article by the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). It has been great to see Tauchman continue to defy those odds as he’s been a nice spark in the outfield for the Cubs in his sixth big-league season.
So, will Jack Mahoney, a right-handed pitcher from South Carolina taken in the third round join Pat Rooney as St. Viator players to make the bigs? Rooney got 5 at-bats in 4 games with the Montreal Expos in 1981.
St. Viator MLB Draft Picks
Name Year School Team Pos Rd Pick
Bob Stevens 1967 St. Viator Phillies P 8 153
Pat Rooney 1978 Eastern Illinois Expos OF 20 500
Mike Rooney 1983 St. Viator Giants OF 27 674
Pete Altenberger 1989 Purdue Dodgers P 60 1419
Josh Kay 2005 Cincinnati A’s P 31 941
Kevin Carkeek 2007 Oakland (Mich.) Astros C 25 771
Nick Skala 2011 Concordia Orioles C 37 1115
Brett Kay 2013 Illinois State Giants 2B-SS 20 612
Jack Mahoney 2023 South Carolina Rockies P 3 77
And will Emmett Olson, a lefty from Nebraska taken in the fourth round, join Jim Lindeman and Tyler Ladendorf as MLB players from Maine West?
Maine West MLB Draft Picks
Name Year School Team Pos Rd Pick
Dan Humay 1967 Illinois Twins SS 16 316
Al Fritz 1967 Maine West White Sox P 40 735
Glen Watson 1976 Maine West White Sox OF 23 535
Jim Lindeman 1983 Bradley Cardinals 3B 1 24
Tim Richardson 1983 Illinois Royals 1B 13 335
Randy Ross 1983 North Park Dodgers 3B 15 384
Frank Mustari 1987 Illinois State Dodgers 3B 25 638
Tyler Ladendorf 2006 Maine West Yankees SS 34 1034
2007 Howard College Giants SS 34 1031
2008 Howard College Twins SS 2 60
Ryan Tuntland 2013 W. Virginia (Oakton) Giants 3B 29 882
Emmett Olson 2023 Nebraska Marlins P 4 110
The MLB draft is wildly unpredictable. Some of the names on these lists in boldface, because they made it to the bigs, would surprise no one. Some came agonizingly close to making it but couldn’t quite make that big jump from Triple-A. Others had their dreams derailed by injuries or other issues. One told me he basically drank hiimself out of pro baseball.
There are a couple of names you don’t see here like Barrington’s John Trautwein and Rolling Meadows’ Brian Schmack. They had brief big-league pitching tours after taking the really challenging road of making it as undrafted free agents. Barrington’s Ryan Loutos, who saw his big-league dreams come true with a pair of relief appearances in early June for the Cardinals, was undrafted out of Division III Washington University in St. Louis. There was no draft when future All-Star pitcher Fritz Peterson of Arlington was coming out of Northern Illinois.
Hersey’s Brett Harris became the latest player from the MSL to go from draft pick to big league action. Harris, a slick-fielding third baseman, was taken in the seventh round by the A’s in 2021 out of Gonzaga. He made a big splash with 3 homers shortly after the first of two callups in the 2024 season.
If you enjoy lists, here they are compiled from the Baseball Almanac’s MLB draft history. If you see someone missing, which wouldn’t be surprising, let me know and we’ll get them added.
Editor’s Note: Thanks to Hersey assistant coach Kevin Kelley for the addition of Rolling Meadows grad Matt Dennis, who was drafted in 2016 by the Colorado Rockies in the 14th round out of Bradley University.
Mid-Suburban League Baseball Draft Picks
Player School(s) Team Pos Rd. Pick
1967
Dave Kingman Prospect Angels P 2 29
Tom Lundstedt Prospect Dodgers C 65 950
1968 (January secondary phase)
Dave Kingman Harper College (Prospect) Orioles P-OF 1 9
1968
Paul Splittorff Morningside (Arlington) Royals P 25 574
1968 (June secondary phase)
Tom Lundgren Missouri (Forest View) Royals P 7 120
1970 (January secondary phase)
Tom Lundgren Missouri (Forest View) Angels P 5 103
1970
David Hasbach Palatine Cleveland P 11 242
1970 (June secondary phase)
Dave Kingman USC (Prospect) Giants OF 1 1
Tom Lundstedt Michigan (Prospect) Cubs C 1 17
1972
Jack Bastable Missouri (Wheeling) A’s 3B-C 8 190
Bob Artemenko Northwestern (Elk Grove) Yankees P 19 446
1974
Larry Monroe Forest View White Sox P 1 8
1976
Rob Simond Barrington Pirates P 6 140
Frank Shellenback Barrington Royals C 16 369
George Kaage Kishwaukee CC (Wheeling) Dodgers 1B 26 602
Bert Newman So. Illinois (Wheeling) Cubs 2B 30 650
1977
George Vukovich So. Illinois (Arlington) Phillies OF 4 180
Mike Ledna Buffalo Grove Dodgers OF 21 533
1978
Rob Simond So. Illinois (Barrington) Mariners P 3 58
Eric Shellenback Barrington Rangers OF 5 124
Mike Marshall Buffalo Grove Dodgers 1B 6 151
Jerry DeSimone So. Illinois (Arlington) Brewers SS 12 294
1979
Jerry DeSimone So. Illinois (Arlington) Padres SS 11 274
Mike Quade New Orleans (Prospect) Pirates OF 22 560
1980 (January)
Bill Luzinski Miami-Dade CC (Wheeling) White Sox OF 1 7
1981
Mark Heuer Harper College (Prospect) White Sox P 23 577
Larry Lewis Prospect Yankees P 33 798
1982
Dave Otto Elk Grove Orioles P 2 52
1983 (January)
Bob Koopman Harper Coll. (Rolling Meadows) White Sox P 8 194
1983 (June secondary phase)
Bob Koopman Harper Coll. (Rolling Meadows) White Sox P 3 58
1984
Jim Kating Fremd Cubs C-1B 30 713
1985 (January)
Pete Drevline Kishwaukee CC (Buffalo Grove) Pirates 1B 7 158
1985
Dave Otto Missouri (Elk Grove) A’s P-1B 2 39
Ken Huseby Rolling Meadows Reds P 3 58
1986 (January secondary phase)
Jim Kating Triton College (Fremd) Dodgers C 1 12
1986
Dean Moran U. of Cumberlands (Hersey) Pirates 3B 12 290
1987
Todd Hundley Fremd Mets C 2 39
Tim Bogar E. Illinois (Buffalo Grove) Mets SS 8 212
Dave Trautwein North Carolina (Barrington) Mets P 22 575
Dan Wilson Barrington Mets C 26 679
Brian Maize Rolling Meadows Rangers 1B 39 994
1988
Mike Boyan Bradley (Hersey) Yankees P 73 1430
1990
Dan Wilson Minnesota (Barrington) Reds C 1 7
Mike Myers Iowa St. (CL Central/Hersey) Giants P 4 120
Al Levine So. Illinois (Hoffman Estates) Padres P 53 1304
1991
Ben Boka Barrington Pirates C 4 123
Al Levine So. Illinois (Hoffman Estates) White Sox P 11 307
1992
Tom Knauss Hersey Twins 3B 2 68
1993
Sal Fasano Evansville (Hoffman Estates) Royals C 37 1029
Terry Beyna Illinois St. (Rolling Meadows) Astros 3B 42 1176
1994
Rob Quarnstrom Hersey Twins P 30 827
Mark Greenlee Buffalo Grove Marlins P 38 1048
Bill Peters Palatine Rockies P 48 1306
1995
Steve Hartsburg Schaumburg Tigers SS 14 378
Mark Greenlee Triton Coll. (Buffalo Grove) Marlins P 59 1512
1996
Josh Paul Vanderbilt (Buffalo Grove) White Sox C 2 47
Chuck Abbott Austin Peay (Schaumburg) Angels SS 2 55
Rick Kirsten Rolling Meadows Tigers P-OF 16 461
Steve Gagliano Rolling Meadows Marlins P 20 584
Keola Delatori Schaumburg Cubs P 35 1042
1997
Jim Miller Carthage (Prospect) Brewers P 11 337
Brian Hecht Illinois (Wheeling) Astros P 19 580
Darin Schmalz Notre Dame (Barrington) Dodgers P 29 888
Mike Nall Schaumburg Marlins P 49 1403
1998
Keola Delatori Triton College (Schaumburg) Cubs P 7 196
Paul Reuer Schaumburg White Sox OF 33 989
1999
T.J. Nall Schaumburg Dodgers P 8 254
Brian O’Connor Valparaiso (Rolling Meadows) Astros C 24 743
Jon Anderson Illinois (Barrington) Red Sox IF 28 859
Pete Pirman Triton College (Palatine) Tigers OF 42 1255
Jeremy Paul Buffalo Grove Angels C 43 1296
Scott Hindman Fremd Reds P 48 1417
2000
John Benedetti Augustana (Fremd) Rays P 10 286
Joe Catomer Prospect Cubs P 39 1153
2001
Ed Tolzien Illinois State (Hersey) Angels 1B-OF 18 539
2002
John Hummel Schaumburg Pirates P 16 463
Scott Hindman Princeton (Fremd) Angels P 22 654
2003
Trey Johnston Schaumburg Cubs 3B 18 523
Jason James Kishwaukee (Buffalo Grove) Cleveland OF 28 828
Dan Grybash Carthage (Fremd) Brewers P 34 999
Alex Morales Oakton CC (Hersey) Expos P 46 1367
2004
David Haehnel UIC (Wheeling) Orioles P 8 229
Dan Pohlman Northwestern (Barrington) Diamondbacks C 15 446
Joe Campbell Fremd Diamondbacks 3B 33 986
Drew O’Connell Barrington Cubs P 35 1056
Ray Navarro Triton (Rolling Meadows) Tigers SS 37 1093
2005
Vince Bongiovanni Miami-FL (Barrington) Astros P 24 711
Drew O’Connell John Logan CC (Barrington) White Sox P 35 1060
Eric Marshall Barrington Pirates P 37 1111
Ken Wieda Hersey Pirates P 40 1200
Scott Kuhns Hersey Pirates P 43 1287
2006
Scott Kuhns Parkland CC (Hersey) Pirates P 41 1220
Ken Wieda Vernon CC (Hersey) Pirates P 48 1422
2007
Butch Biela Palatine Pirates C 13 398
Jordan Wolf Xavier (Schaumburg) Orioles C 13 399
Jeff Livek Carthage (Schaumburg) Yankees P 28 874
Grant Monroe Schaumburg White Sox P 38 1158
John Grim Hersey White Sox 1B 44 1317
2008
Austin Wright Conant Pirates P 23 684
Kyle Gaedele Rolling Meadows Rays OF 32 953
2009
Scott Kelley Penn State (Hersey) Royals P 23 692
Grant Monroe NW Florida St. (Schaumburg) White Sox P 46 1393
2010
Austin Wright Chipola CC (Conant) Red Sox P 23 713
Ryan Copeland Illinois State (Elk Grove) Cardinals P 32 979
Eric Paulson Fremd Cubs 3B 48 1450
2011
Kyle Gaedele Valparaiso (Rolling Meadows) Padres OF 6 203
Austin Wright Mississippi (Conant) Phillies P 8 271
Zach Borenstein E. Illinois (Buffalo Grove) Angels 3B 23 705
Joe Perricone Hersey Rays OF 40 1230
2012
Jason Leblebijian Bradley (Prospect) Blue Jays SS 25 775
Clint Terry College of San Mateo (Fremd) Giants P 36 1108
2013
Mike Tauchman Bradley (Fremd) Rockies OF 10 289
Clint Terry Lee University (Fremd) Brewers P 18 542
Ryan Lidge Barrington Red Sox C 40 1193
2015
Rob McDonnell Illinois (Barrington) Dodgers P 25 762
Brenden Spillane Wheeling Pirates 3B 34 1027
2016
Matt Dennis Bradley (Rolling Meadows) Rockies P 14 410
Michael Danielak Dartmouth (Hersey) Pirates P 28 855
Welby Malczewski Heartland CC (Prospect) Diamondbacks P 37 1109
2017
Michael Danielak Dartmouth (Hersey) A’s P 19 561
Ryan Lidge Notre Dame (Barrington) Yankees C 20 602
2018
Brenden Spillane Illinois (Wheeling) Reds OF 3 82
Tyler Acosta Barrington Diamondbacks OF 39 1179
2021
Brooks Gosswein Bradley (Barrington) White Sox P 4 124
Brett Harris Gonzaga (Hersey) A’s 3B 7 218
2022
Quinn Gudaitis Illinois-Springfield (Hersey) Tigers P 16 477