Dundee-Crown grad Soto gets his wish: Drafted by Cubs

Former Dundee-Crown baseball star Elliot Soto was blown away by the phone call he received from the Chicago Cubs Tuesday afternoon.

"It was like I just got hit by a tornado," said Soto, who was selected by the Cubs in the 15th round (460th overall) of Major League Baseball's first-year player draft.

Soto is a lifelong Cubs fan. "Die hard. You don't even know," he said. "My mom started crying when she realized it was the Cubs that took me. This is a dream come true. Ever since I was three years old I've been wanting to play for the Cubs."

Soto's parents, Gustavo and Ursula of Algonquin, were Cubs season ticket holders for 10 seasons before giving up their seats this year, partly because the price went up and partly because they were often in Omaha, Neb. watching their son play at Creighton, where he just finished his junior season.

Soto said he attended more Cubs games growing up than he can count. In a way, he has already left his mark on the franchise.

"Elliot engraved his name in one of my seats, so his name is at Wrigley Field already," Ursula Soto said.

Soto's name could be on the Wrigley Field scoreboard someday if contract negotiations in the coming weeks go smoothly. He still has one year of college eligibility remaining.

"It's amazing that it's my hometown team," he said. "I hope it works out, but if we don't come to an agreement that's fair I'm going to have to pass on it, which I definitely hope doesn't happen. But it's a business and both sides are trying to get as much as they can. It's a little difficult to say right now. If they put the right offer on the table, yes, I'll be Cub and gladly be a Cub."

In 2007, Soto was drafted out of high school in the 13th round by the Minnesota Twins but instead opted to attend Creighton on scholarship. A shortstop, he hit .272 as a true freshman in 2008.

He was named all-Missouri Valley Conference as a sophomore, when he started all 52 games for the Blue Jays and led the team in hits (77), sacrifice bunts (11) and steals (13).

According to the Creighton University athletic Web site, Soto was named the Best Defensive Infielder by collegeinsider.com before his junior season. He went on to record 166 assists and his best single-season fielding percentage (.975), for which he was again named all-MVC.

Soto, who was named an honorary co-captain of the Daily Herald All-Area baseball team in the Fox Valley in 2007, went shopping at Woodfield Mall Tuesday rather than nervously watch each pick of the draft. During the drive home he was speaking on the phone with his college adviser, who was watching the draft on the Internet, when the Cubs picked him to his surprise. A Cubs scout called him shortly thereafter.

"The Cubs really came out of nowhere with this," Soto said. "I talked to them a little bit, but I didn't talk to them at all (Tuesday) until they told me what happened.

"It was a very pleasant surprise. I got chills down my spine."