Stevenson's Bonadonna, Firth picked in draft

Joe Bonadonna just might have the speed and range to cover the State of Texas.

The Texas Rangers won't expect that much out of him, however.

They selected the former Stevenson and University of Illinois star/utility player in the 43rd round of Major League Baseball's first-year player draft on Thursday.

Another Stevenson product, pitcher Scott Firth, was taken in the 36th round by the Baltimore Orioles, even though Firth, who just graduated from high school, has signed a national letter of intent with Clemson University.

Firth was the best pitcher in Lake County this spring, going 7-1 with 91 strikeouts. He had a 0.67 ERA - before beating Lake Zurich 1-0 in the sectional semifinals. His fastball was clocked consistently at 91-92 mph.

The 5-foot-8, 170-pound Bonadonna, a Buffalo Grove resident, played center fielder for Illinois this spring after patrolling second base for the Illini his junior year. He said he played probably every position except pitcher and catcher in his four seasons in Champaign.

He had no idea what to expect in the draft.

"To be honest, I didn't expect anything," said Bonadonna, who graduated in May with a degree in business administration. "I filled out a lot of player profiles and talked to a lot of teams. They said, 'Nothing is guaranteed but we like the way you play.'

"When Texas called, it was a dream come true."

Bonadonna hit .303 for his career, including a career-best junior year in which he hit .356 with 34 RBI, 47 run scored and 26-of-32 stolen bases. In 2009, he hit .252 with 31 RBI, 44 runs and 19-of-30 steals. He made only 3 errors while playing center field with spot duty at second and third base in his senior season.

He played in 195 games in his four-year career with 172 starts. He ranks fourth in school history with 60 stolen bases, and his 29 steals in Big Ten play rank third at Illinois. He also ranks eighth with a .354 average and eighth with 111 hits in Big Ten games.

"One of the things (Texas) likes is my ability to run, steal bases and make things happen with my feet," Bonadonna said. "That's one of the things that I'm going to have to do when I report."