Another Limestone High baseball product has been chosen in MLB draft
· Yahoo Sports
PEORIA — Travis Lutz saw his baseball dream come true Sunday evening when he saw his name turn up in the 2026 MLB Draft.
The former Limestone High School star was chosen in the 17th round of the 20-round MLB first-year player draft by the Cleveland Guardians.
Visit asg-reflektory.pl for more information.
The connection between the former Cleveland Indians and Limestone was not lost on the right-handed pitcher.
"Being from Limestone, with Jim Thome's history there, and Cleveland drafting him, you hear about that legacy, that story, all the time," Lutz said. "I heard about it all my life. It's so cool to have that be part of my story now, too."
Lutz is a 6-foot-4, 230-pound righty who touches 96 mph with his fastball, sits regularly at 93-94 mph and also throws a slider, cutter and changeup.
He spent his fifth and final year of collegiate eligibility at Lamar (Texas), where he was named Southland Conference Newcomer of the Year.
He went 4-3 with a 3.26 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and struck out 68 in 60.2 innings over 16 appearances as a starter and closer.
"It was stressful for me for the majority of the day," said Lutz, 22, laughing. "Teams start using picks around rounds 6-10 to save money, and I thought I was going in there somewhere.
"I stopped watching the tracker and spent time with my friends and family, playing with my nephews, at my girlfriend's pool."
He learned through his agent that Washington had him second on its remaining board in the late rounds Sunday and planned to take him, but it didn't happen because the player the Nats had ahead of him remained available with their pick and they chose that player instead.
He figured he'd go undrafted and sign as a free agent with Washington.
Then the 17th round arrived and so did a call from Cleveland, around 4:40 p.m.
"The Guardians have such a history of developing pitchers," Lutz said. "This is something I've been hoping for all my life, and now I'm drafted and have a path ahead. I'm so pumped."
Lutz is headed to Cleveland! pic.twitter.com/fedg2JBkQe
— Lamar Baseball (@Lamar_Baseball) July 12, 2026
Lutz was a Journal Star All-Area baseball selection while at Limestone. He also was a quarterback for the Rockets, setting school records for most passing yards in a game (410) and in a season (2,122).
He went on to play baseball at ICC, leading the Cougars to a third-place finish in the Region XXIV Tournament in 2022 with 12 appearances from the mound and a .313 batting average and six homers as a hitter. He also earned Academic All-American honors.
He moved on to Bradley University for three seasons, making 42 appearances from 2023-2025 and striking out 161 in 168 career innings.
He headed to Lamar for his fifth and final college season in 2026.
Dave Eminian is the Journal Star senior writer and sports columnist, and covers Bradley men's basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on X.com @icetimecleve.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Another Limestone High baseball product has been chosen in MLB draft