The Idaho Falls Chukars selected Jacob Bogacz with the fifth-overall pick in the Pioneer Baseball League Draft this week.
The draft followed a four-day tryout, held in Scottsdale, Arizona April 17-20. 155 players participated in the skills assessments and tryout games.
Several MLB scouts attended the tryout in search of future talent. Among the teams represented were the Cincinnati Reds, the Texas Rangers, the Tampa Bay Rays and the Arizona Diamondbacks, according to a PBL press release.
Bogacz, a right-handed pitcher from Mill Creek, Washington, returns to Idaho after playing the 2021 season for Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston. He pitched 8.1 innings over the course of seven games for Lewis-Clark State, allowing two hits and one run.
Bogacz is not the first member of his family with large baseball ambitions. His grandfather, Mike Hedlund, played six years in the MLB, suiting up for both the Cleveland Indians and the Kansas City Royals.
The Chukars also selected Right-Handed Pitcher Jeffrey Rotz, 16th overall. Rotz split the season between three leagues last year.
The season begins May 19 for the Chukars with an away game against the Boise Hawks. They play the Hawks again for their first home game, which will be May 20. The full schedule is available on the Chukars’ website.