Michael Schlact

Michael Hylan Schlact

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 7", Weight 205 lb.
• High School Joseph Wheeler High School

• Born December 9, 1985 in Marietta, GA USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Pitcher Michael Schlact was drafted in the 3rd round by the Texas Rangers in the 2004 amateur draft, out of a high school in Marietta, GA. He began his career with the GCL Rangers that year and had a solid season with the Clinton LumberKings of the Midwest League in 2005, going 10-7, 4.17 in 28 starts. However, things went sour the next year, with the Bakersfield Blaze of the California League in 2006, as he ended up at 4-13, 5.99. His K/W ratio of 81/61 in in 138 1/3 innings was not particularly good either. He continued to struggle in 2007, a year he split between Bakersfield and the Frisco RoughRiders of the Texas League, as he went 8-10, 5.62in 27 starts, logging 149 innings. Still, he had reached AA at the age of 21, which was pretty impressive even if the results were below expectations. He posted another high ERA for Frisco in 2008 as he went 7-11, 5.23 in 26 starts. A shoulder injury then limited to 4 starts with Frisco in 2009, after which he needed to undergo surgery, and in 2010, he was back at Bakersfield, where he went 3-0, 4.50 in 6 starts before getting one last shot at Frisco. He again failed to master the level, going 1-5, 7.09, and after the season, the Rangers gave up on the tall righthander.

Not ready to quit yet, Michael moved to the independent leagues, pitching the next two seasons, 2011 and 2012, with the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs of the Atlantic League. He was 6-4, 4.61 in 21 games the first year, but his shoulder acted up again the second year and after going 0-2, 11.57 in 3 starts, he had to undergo surgery one more time. He gave pitching one last shot with the Amarillo Sox of the American Association in 2014, but he gave up 6 runs in two-thirds of an inning spread over two appearances, and had to accept that this was the end of the road for him. He then began working as a pitching coach, finding work with the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks of the American Association in 2015. On August 14, 2017, he replaced long-time manager Doug Simunic, who had been the team's skipper since its creation in 1996. The RedHawks played well the rest of the way, going 16-8 under his leadership and missing the playoffs because of a tiebreaker.

Year-By-Year Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs	Notes
2017	Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks	American Association	16-8	4th (t)	Independent Leagues		Replaced Doug Simunic (41-35) on August 14
2018	Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks	American Association	51-49	3rd	Independent Leagues
2021	Missoula PaddleHeads	Pioneer League	66-32	1st	Independent Leagues	League Champs

Further Reading

• James Meslener: "Michael Schlact: A Hard-Fought Journey", Baseball Essential, December 14, 2014. [1]