Yorkville’s Michael Hilker drafted by Minnesota Twins in 20th round

Michael Hilker, who was the 2022 Record Newspapers baseball Player of the Year at Yorkville, was drafted on Monday by the Minnesota Twins in the 20th round and 599th overall selection of the Major League Baseball draft.

Hilker, a right-handed pitcher, this past season played for the University of Arizona baseball team that qualified for the College World Series.

Hilker made 13 appearances, including two starts, for Arizona. He struck out 27 batters over 22 1/3 innings and limited opposing batters to a .253 batting average, helping lead the Wildcats to the Big 12 championship and the College World Series.

Hilker played for two seasons at Wisconsin-Whitewater before transferring to Arizona.

Across two years with the Warhawks, Hilker went 11-3 with a 2.02 ERA and 144 strikeouts over 106 2/3 innings of work. As a sophomore he was runner-up for the Division III Pitcher of the Year award, helping lead UW-Whitewater to a runner-up finish in the Division III championship.

His senior season at Yorkville, Hilker posted an 8-1 record with a 1.61 ERA and 86 strikeouts over 61 innings.

With Hilker leading an exceptional Foxes’ pitching staff, Yorkville posted a 29-8 record and won its first Southwest Prairie Conference baseball championship.