The Troy Record (NY) welcomes the new guys to the Tri-City Valley Cats. Brandon Wikoff is a new member of the single-A Astros team. Wikoff is a lefthand-hitting shortstop who batted .373 in 228 at-bats for Illinois, with 17 doubles, five triples and four homers, 56 runs and 41 RBIs.…
Bonadonna: Bound for Rookie League As of today, four Illinois draftees have signed pro contracts with their respective teams. Big Ten Network has the info. Brandon Wikoff has signed with the Astros and will report to single-A Tri-City Valley Cats in the New York-Penn League. He’ll start June 23. …
There’s an excellent article about Illini 2B Josh Parr who is spending his summer in the state capital playing for the Springfield Sliders. The article is focusing on Josh’s strong Christian faith. Springfield is only an hour and half away… maybe I’ll try to swing over there and catch a…
SS Shawn Roof dogging baserunner and brother Eric Roof in a 2007 MSU-ILL game "It’s awesome, it’s the coolest thing ever. He’s worked his tail off, and not too many people get to say they have a brother who plays minor-league baseball as well. Now, he gets to play in…
Looks like Brandon Wikoff has already reached a deal with the Astros. Wikoff and the Houston Astros have agreed to a contract today and he’ll start playing in the minors soon. He’ll be joining the Tri-City Valley Cats in the New York-Penn League.
I just got off the phone with Mike Altobelli, father of Dominic Altobelli. Turns out a representative of the Colorado Rockies will be coming to the Altobelli household tonight so that Dom can sign his first pro contract. Over the weekend, Dominic will be heading to his first assignment…
Illinois fans can celebrate again today as Illini centerfielder Joe Bonadonna was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 43rd round. This makes three current Illinois players drafted, the most since 2005. Yesterday, Brandon Wikoff was chosen in the fifth round and Dominic Altobelli was picked in the 16th round.…
Former Illini pitcher Tanner Roark is making his way up the ladder in the minors. He was just promoted to Double-A and is now playing for the Frisco Roughriders in the Texas League. He made his debut last night and had a little trouble but nothing awful allowing a run…
Dominic Altobelli, our thirdbaseman, has made it to pros. As someone who watched Illinois games from the left field fence, I got to see a lot of Dom so that makes me happy. I’m also happy for his parents who I got to know pretty well. They were kind enough…
Once again, congratulations to Brandon Wikoff. Wikoff, chosen by Houston Astros in the fifth round in the MLB draft deserves it. He’s been one of the most hard working, talented Illini baseball player since I’ve been covering the team. A quiet player on and off the field, I’m happy his…