PEORIA, Ill. -- A trio of players that led Bradley to its best baseball season in a decade will begin their professional careers this summer after signing pro contracts this week. Bradley senior pitcher Michael Christl (Naperville, Ill./Waubonsie Valley H.S.) was not selected in last week's Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, but signed a free-agent contract with the Chicago Cubs Wednesday, while senior second baseman Ryan Curry (Downers Grove, Ill./South H.S.) signed with the Florida Marlins and junior catcher Ryan Eigsti (Eureka, Ill./Eureka H.S.) inked with the Kansas City Royals.
Eigsti will bypass his senior season with the Braves after signing with the Royals last night. An honorable mention All-MVC pick behind the plate in 2007, Eigsti was a 15th-round pick by the Royals last week and has been assigned to Idaho Falls in the advanced rookie Pioneer League. Idaho Falls will open the 2007 season Tuesday at Casper. The Burlington Bees are the Single A Midwest League affiliate for Kansas City, meaning Eigsti could make future appearances at his college stadium, O'Brien Field, to take on the Peoria Chiefs.
Meanwhile, Curry signed with the Florida Marlins earlier this week and has been assigned to the Jamestown (N.Y.) Jammers in the New York-Penn League. The Jammers will open the “short” season Tuesday by hosting Mahoning Valley (Cleveland Indians). The first-team All-MVC second baseman after leading The Valley with a .416 batting average in 2007, Curry was selected in the 21st round of last week's draft.
Christl was drafted in the 40th round by the Boston Red Sox in 2006, but opted to return to Bradley for his senior season. After a slow start while battling tendinitis, Christl came on strong during the second half of the season for the Braves. He finished the season with a 6-6 record and a 5.24 earned run average, but as Bradley's No. 1 starter in conference play, Christl went 4-4 with a 3.43 ERA. He suffered a pair of hardluck losses in Bradley's first three Valley weekends, then won four straight Friday starts, capped by a 3-hit complete game May 11 against Evansville to win MVC Pitcher-of-the-Week honors. In his last appearance as a Brave, Christl again beat Evansville May 23 in the opening round of the MVC Tournament in Springfield, Mo.
A versatile hurler at Bradley, Christl tied for sixth in program history with 61 career mound appearances, finishing with an 18-19 career record. Primarily used as a midweek starter during his freshman season in 2004, Christl came back as Bradley's top reliever in 2005 and set the single-season school record with five saves while posting a 5-3 record. He split his time between starter and reliever in 2006 then, as the only senior on the Bradley pitching staff, assumed the No. 1 starter role in 2007.
Although Christl likely will begin his career with the Cubs rookie squad in Boise, Idaho, he could potentially wind up in Peoria with the Chiefs by season's end or to start the 2008 campaign. If and when he is assigned to Peoria in the Single A Midwest League, it is believed Christl would become the first-ever former Brave to play for the Peoria Chiefs organization. He would become the third former Brave to play at O'Brien Field, following Brock Till, who pitched for the Cincinnati Reds Midwest League affiliate Dayton Dragons in Peoria during the 2004 campaign, and Steve Ellis, who made an appearance with then Cubs affiliate Lansing during the 2002 season.
The Cubs may want to consider assigning Christl to Peoria sooner rather than later. In his four starts at O'Brien Field during the 2007 season, Christl went 3-1 with a 2.87 ERA and a .209 opponent batting average. In his only home loss this season, Christl scattered seven hits in a 3-0 loss to #10 Wichita State, then bounced back with three straight wins against Southern Illinois, Illinois State and Evansville and averaged better than 7.2 innings in his four home starts in 2007. For his career, Christl posted a 10-3 record with two saves and a 2.66 ERA in 111.2 innings at O'Brien Field.
In addition to the trio of 2007 Braves headed to the pros, Bradley signee Joe Lincoln, a high school catcher from Tipton, Mo., was a 48th round pick by the Atlanta Braves last week. Lincoln has yet to sign with Atlanta and with Eigsti's early departure to the Royals, he could step in as Bradley's No. 1 catcher when the fall practice season begins in September.
