Local roundup: Baseball America is nuts about suburban native Ryan Sloan
Temperatures have reached 40 degrees, so it must be baseball season in Chicago.
With that in mind, here's a rundown of where some former local stars will be playing this season, whether it's majors or minors. This is far from a complete list, with more to come at a later date.
The first player from Illinois chosen in last year's draft was hard-throwing right-hander Ryan Sloan from York High School. He went No. 55 overall to the Seattle Mariners.
Baseball America saw enough in the spring to add Sloan to its top-100 prospects list at No. 85. He tossed an inning in the Mariners' spring breakout game against the Guardians, with 2 strikeouts and 3 hits allowed.
The Mariners decided to skip rookie league and start Sloan in Class-A with the Modesto Nuts in the California League. He made his official pro debut Wednesday at Lake Elsinore and threw just one inning, finishing with 2 strikeouts, 2 walks, 2 hits and 2 earned runs. …
Right-handed pitcher Lake Bachar (Wheaton North) made his major-league debut last year on Sept. 8 with the Marlins. He was on Miami's Opening Day roster this year and has six appearances so far this season with a 2.25 ERA.
A former kicker and punter for Wisconsin-Whitewater football, Bachar was drafted by the Padres in 2016 and finally got called up to San Diego last August. But he didn't get in a game, was designated for assignment a few days later and claimed off waivers by the Marlins. Things seemed to work out OK. …
Right-hander Eric Orze (Glenbard North) made his major-league debut last year with the New York Mets, appearing in two games. After the season he was traded to Tampa Bay for Jose Siri and is with the Rays' Triple-A squad, the Durham Bulls, with a 1.80 ERA in four relief appearances. …
Reliever Chris Roycroft (Willowbrook) began the season on the Cardinals' Opening Day roster after going up and down between St. Louis and Memphis five times last year. He's been busy, with 7 appearances early this season. …
Reliever Jake Cousins (Wheaton Academy) found himself in the spotlight last fall, pitching in three World Series games for the Yankees. The right-hander is on the 60-day injured list with a right forearm strain, but the expectation is he could return in late May. …
Left-hander Alex Young (Carmel) has a more serious injury. He posted a photo on Instagram after having surgery on his left elbow and vowed to be back in 2026. Young came up with the Diamondbacks, appeared in 63 games for the Reds in 2023, pitched for both the Reds and Mets last year, then went to spring training with the Reds before being shut down. …
Is this the end of the line for infielder Elliot Soto (Dundee-Crown)? He's had a remarkable career, spending eight full seasons in Triple-A for seven organizations. Now 35, Soto was still a free agent as of Wednesday. He played in just three major-league games, with the Angels in 2020, and was originally drafted by the Cubs in 2010 out of Creighton. …
Six-foot-9 lefty Noah Schultz (Oswego East) made his season debut with the Double-A Birmingham Barons last Friday and wasn't quite himself. The White Sox' top prospect gave up 8 singles and 4 runs in 4 innings against Knoxville, though the Barons rallied to win the game. He's not the only suburban native in Birmingham's rotation. Riley Gowens (Libertyville) was the winning pitcher Tuesday at Chattanooga, allowing just 1 run and 3 hits with 9 strikeouts in 5 innings. …
Reliever Ryan Loutos (Barrington) started this season in Triple-A Memphis after making his MLB debut with three total appearances for the Cardinals last summer. He's joined in the Memphis bullpen by Matt Svanson (Lake Zurich), who made his Triple-A debut on March 30. …
Right-hander Jack Wenninger (Cary-Grove) was Opening Day starter for the Double-A Binghamton Rumble Ponies and tossed 5 scoreless innings with 7 strikeouts. He's the New York Mets' 29th-ranked prospect by MLB Pipeline. …
Right-hander Jack Mahoney (St. Viator) is the No. 29 prospect of the Rockies. His first start this spring with the Double-A Hartford Yard Goats was a rough one. …
Pitcher Ashton Izzi (Oswego East) was a teammate of Schultz in high school, now he shares a roster with Sloan on the Modesto Nuts. The right-handed Izzi is the Mariners' 19th-ranked prospect, per MLB Pipeline, and started the season on the injured list. …
After being slowed by injuries last year, left-hander Ryan Borucki (Mundelein) is back in the big leagues with the Pirates and had 7 appearances through Wednesday. …
Right-hander Nick Burdi (Downers Grove South) pitched well for the Yankees last year. Now he's with the Red Sox Triple-A affiliate in Worcester. Some might remember Burdi getting called up by the Cubs in 2023, only to be lost for the season with appendicitis a few days later. …
Outfielder Nick Solak (Naperville North) is with the Pirates Triple-A team in Indianapolis. A former second-round pick of the Yankees out of Louisville, Solak has played five MLB seasons with three teams, but his last big-league plate appearance was in 2022. …
First baseman Ryan Noda (Grant) appeared in 164 games for the Athletics the past two seasons. While the A's moved out of Oakland, Noda moved on to the Angels and is at Triple-A Salt Lake City. …
In case you missed it, infielder Nicky Lopez (Naperville Central) joined the Angels after spending spring training with the Cubs. …
Catcher Joe Donovan (Westmont) was drafted in the late rounds by the Cubs in 2017 and made it to Triple-A with the Guardians. According to mlb.com, he retired from baseball last July. …
Let's wrap this up with left-hander Ian Krol (Neuqua Valley), who spent seven seasons in the majors, most recently with the Tigers in 2021. He played in Japan in '22, spent the next two years in the Mexican League and according to his Wikipedia page, Krol is back at age 33 to pitch for the Rojos Diablos in Mexico City.