USC Beaufort’s Michael Heesch taken by St. Louis Cardinals in Rule 5 draft
He’s not quite Benedict Arnold, because he had no choice in the matter, but Michael Heesch is switching sides.
The former USC Beaufort pitcher, lifelong Chicago Cubs fan and native of Crystal Lake, Ill., was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals out of the Chicago Cubs organization in the minor league portion of Thursday’s Major League Baseball Rule 5 draft.
Heesch did not respond to text messages on Thursday.
Until Thursday, Heesch’s entire life had been spent as a Cubs supporter. He was drafted by the team in the eighth round of the 2012 draft.
“To get drafted by the team you grew up watching as a kid, wishing you played for, dreamed about playing for, to finally get that chance is something very few people get to experience,” he told the Chicago Tribune last year.
Heesch is coming off a productive 2015 season for the High Single-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans, where he went 8-2 with a 2.24 ERA in 33 games to help the team to the Carolina League title.
He held left-handed batters to a .160 average.
“Now LHP Michael Heesch goes from Cubs to Cardinals; I think the Cardinals got better of that deal. LHP with some heat,” Baseball America’s John Manuel tweeted on Thursday.
The left-hander has been assigned to the Cardinals’ Triple-A affiliate Memphis, according to milb.com.
Heesch was eligible for the Rule 5 draft because he has played four years and was not on the MLB 40-man roster.
He was also was eligible for the minor-league draft because he was not on the Triple-A reserve roster.
Heesch led the Sand Sharks to the 2012 NAIA World Series as a senior and was named an NAIA All-American.
His minor-league career took a turn in 2014 when he underwent an emergency appendectomy at the end of spring training. When he returned, he was sent to the bullpen at Single-A Kane County and went 3-1 with a 2.18 ERA in 24 appearances.
He also made an appearance at Triple-A Iowa, pitching 3 1/3 scoreless innings and getting the win before going back to Kane County a day later and helping the Cougars win the Midwest League title.
This story was originally published December 10, 2015 at 7:33 PM with the headline "USC Beaufort’s Michael Heesch taken by St. Louis Cardinals in Rule 5 draft."