BALTIMORE -- Former Thunder Bay Border Cats outfielder Billy Cook will seek his baseball fame and fortune in Charm City.
Cook was taken in the 10th round by the Baltimore Orioles in the Major League Baseball draft
Cook hit .298 with a league-leading 17 home runs for Pepperdine in 2021 and was named to the all-West Coast Conference first all-star team after finishing third in the conference with 42 RBI.
In the strike-shortened 2020 season, Cook hit .344 in 15 games, smacking four home runs and driving in 14.
The Colorado native spent the 2017 and 2018 seasons with the Border Cats, hitting .257 with four home runs with 20 doubles and 39 RBI in his second stint, making both the Northwoods League all-star game and the Major League Dreams Showcase.
"He had a really, really good year," said MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo in a wrap of the Oriole's first 10 draft picks.
"Kind of an under-the-radar college guy that not a lot of teams were on. Obviously the Orioles were."
Cook finished his four years at Pepperdine with 26 home runs, the ninth most in school history. MLB.com describes him as a "decent athlete, runs well and showed at least average arm strength in the outfield. Overall it's a tools profile with some pop."
Cook, who played the infield in Thunder Bay, was taken with the 287th overall pick in the draft.
