Few people believed Libertyville graduate Michael Addari had the potential to pitch in professional baseball early in his college career. Even he didn’t.
After Addari redshirted as a Michigan State freshman in 2023, he was informed in the fall that he wasn’t in the team’s plans moving forward.
Addari then sat out another season before he finally played in a college game in 2025, when he posted a 6.11 ERA in 17 2/3 innings over 13 games as a reliever for Illinois State.
“At first, it was about taking one step back to take two steps forward,” Illinois State coach Steve Holm said. “We wanted to get him to just be working in the strike zone.
“Once he got out there in 2025, he looked a little spooked because it had been so long. But in the second half of the season, he turned a corner, and his last two or three outings really showed what he was capable of doing.”
With those steps taken, Addari leaped forward this past season. Becoming a starter, the 6-foot-5, 225-pound right-hander went 4-4 with a 2.27 ERA and a 73-to-22 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 67 1/3 innings, and his fastball velocity reached 98 mph.
On Sunday, Addari was rewarded for his dramatic turnaround when the Houston Astros selected him in the sixth round of the MLB draft.
“It all just hit me at once,” he said. “I think back to all the obstacles I’ve faced and my mom and dad driving me to all the practices and games. A big part of this will be me giving back to my parents and realizing that all the hard work I put in paid off.”
There were times when Addari didn’t think that would happen.
“It’s been a mental battle my whole career,” he said. “In high school and even in the beginning of college, I was still getting comfortable with my body. It’s hard when you’re growing that much and there are so many moving parts.”
Addari recalls being a 5-5, 120-pound Libertyville freshman. Growing quickly in high school, he often lacked command, and he pitched mostly in relief for the Wildcats.
“He wasn’t always healthy and was definitely still growing into his body,” Libertyville coach Matt Thompson said. “In some games he pitched, he was just on, and you could see the potential.
“We give our JV coach grief because he cut him from the freshman basketball team. By the time he was a senior, he was throwing down two-handed dunks in the intramural-versus-faculty game.”
Thompson remembers a game the Wildcats played at Milwaukee’s American Family Field, where Addari struck out the side with a fastball close to 90 mph and an “unhittable” slider. Outings like that attracted scouts, and Addari got a late look from Michigan State.
“He’s a gym rat who got really strong, too, along the way,” Thompson said. “You could see why he’d be intriguing to colleges.”
Addari’s time in East Lansing didn’t last long, however, and that was a tough pill for him to swallow. He eventually transferred to Illinois State, where he began his reclamation act.
“I’ve had adversity and grown from it,” he said. “To this day, I use it to my advantage.”
After the 2025 season, Addari had some positive showings in the summer and the fall, including a well-attended intrasquad scrimmage, and he started to interest pro scouts.
“That really helped me believe in myself,” he said. “I was almost delusional about how good I thought I was. I truly believed that I was the best, and I had never been that confident before.”
Addari also began working with Glenview-based pitching instructor Scott Firth, a Stevenson graduate who pitched in the Colorado Rockies’ organization. Firth helped him tweak his mechanics.
“I’m not a quick-twitch type of pitcher,” Addari said. “I needed to be patient at the beginning of a throw because I was always trying to overthrow. A big cue for me is when I lift my leg, nothing else in my body moves. I also make sure to have good posture and there’s a coil in my back hip.”
With improved mechanics, Addari increased his velocity. He consistently threw his fastball in the mid-90s this past season.
“It was super unique that it all clicked at once,” he said. “I had gone from having zero interest to not having a second thought that 2026 would be a game-changer.”
As he predicted, Addari was dominant at times for the Redbirds. He didn’t allow an earned run in five of his 14 outings and led the Missouri Valley Conference in ERA.
“No doubt, the tools were always there, and 2026 was a monster year for him,” Holm said. “To see him go from being in kind of a broken state to thriving like he did, as a coach, you can’t ask for anything more.
“We can’t get him any better at this level, so he needs to face better competition. That’s his next step. He’s earned that chance, and he’s about to see what it’s like.”
Because Addari pitched a lot of innings during the college season, he doesn’t expect to get into any games for the rest of this year after he signs a contract. He’ll likely go to the Astros’ spring training complex in Florida.
But Addari is confident that he’ll be ready for whatever comes.
“What separates major leaguers and minor leaguers is if you are comfortable betting on yourself,” he said. “I’ve already done that twice, my senior year in high school and last year.
“A lot of guys have always been so talented, they’ve never had to face adversity. It’s bound to happen to everyone, and I got exposed to it earlier than a lot of others.”
Steve Reaven is a freelance reporter.
