<p>Four years ago, no one would have projected Pauly Milto being selected in the Major League Baseball draft as a pitcher.</p><p>The Greenwood resident arrived at Indiana University as a first baseman, but in time former Hoosiers coach Chris Lemonis saw potential in Milto’s arm.</p><p>That started a college career good enough for the former Roncalli player to get picked by the Chicago White Sox in the 23rd round of the MLB draft.</p><p>Milto had packed up his car, said goodbye to friends at IU and started his drive home when he received the phone call.</p>[sc:text-divider text-divider-title="Story continues below gallery" ]<p>“I was shaking a little bit,” Milto said. “To get this opportunity is great. It’s a mixture of self-satisfaction and seeing how happy my family is. The journey getting here was long and took a lot of belief in myself.”</p><p>Milto pitched a total of five innings his entire career at Roncalli, but wanting to show Hoosier coaches he could play more than one position, Milto took the hill during a prospect camp on campus.</p><p>“Coming out of high school I wasn’t highly recruited, so I looked at schools I would want to go to,” said Milto, who also considered Miami of Ohio. “I got on the mound as a way of showing potential at another position.</p><p>“At the end of the fall as a freshman, (Lemonis) told me if I wanted to be a hitter they would have to redshirt me. But if I wanted to be a pitcher I could get some innings as a freshman.”</p><p>Milto, who at 6-foot-3, 245 pounds looks the part of a football defensive end, ended his career at Indiana with a 26-12 mark over 41 starts and more than 291 innings. This past season, the right-hander posted an 8-6 record and a 3.95 earned-run average.</p><p>Milto led IU in innings pitched (107) and strikeouts (100) as a senior while walking 17 batters.</p><p>Milto has remained busy since being drafted. He spent three days at a White Sox minicamp in Arizona, and on June 11 he arrived in Montana to begin playing for the Great Falls Voyagers, an advanced rookie affiliate of the White Sox since 2003.</p><p>Great Falls is a city of approximately 58,000 residents located in the west central part of the state. The Voyagers play at venerable Centene Stadium, built nearly eight decades ago.</p><p>On Sunday, Great Falls played its third game of the season, a 9-0 home loss to the Missoula Osprey. Milto made his minor league debut with an inning of relief, allowing a hit and striking out one. Overall, 15 of his 22 pitches were strikes.</p><p>The Voyagers’ season runs until September. Milto’s goal is to earn a promotion to one of the organization’s Class A teams, the Kannapolis Intimidators or Winston-Salem Dash, both in North Carolina. After that, potential stops are the Birmingham Barons (AA) and Charlotte Knights (AAA).</p><p>Meanwhile, Milto continues to adjust to new surroundings, all the while attempting to make a positive impression.</p><p>“It’s kind of crazy,” he said. “God gave me this talent and my parents have always supported me, so it worked out.”</p>
