When he was released last summer by the Philadelphia Phillies organization, Providence graduate Dakota Kotowski made a quick decision.

He wasn’t done yet.

Kotowski decided his love for baseball was still strong and he wasn’t ready to give up. He quickly went back to training, then signed with the Windy City ThunderBolts for the 2025 season.

“I got released, and the first thing I did was call my parents,” Kotowski said. “They picked me up from the airport the next day. It’s kind of a life-changing thing, obviously, but I didn’t really have time to be sad. I knew I wanted to keep playing.”

In Crestwood, Kotowski is showcasing the power that originally sparked the interest of major-league organizations.

As the second half of the Frontier League season was set to begin Friday, Kotowski led the T-Bolts with 12 home runs and was tied for the team lead in RBIs with 35.

Before any of that could happen, though, Kotowski had to sit down and reflect on where he wanted his life to go.

Kotowski spent three seasons in the Phillies organization. His highest level reached was with Class-A Clearwater, where he played 71 games.

Overall, in those three seasons, he hit .253 with 24 homers and 79 RBIs. The Phillies released him in July 2024.

He considered his options but decided to play on.

“I asked my mom and dad if they thought I should do it and they said, ‘Dakota, you’re young and you’re single and you can only do this once,’” Kotowski said. “That’s where I kind of took the green light on the opportunity and I’m thankful I did.

“There’s nothing like being between these two white lines. I get to play a kid’s game and that’s all you can ask for.”

Doing it close to home is a bonus. Kotowski played in college at Missouri State and was on Florida-based teams each of the last three seasons.

“It’s a new experience,” Kotowski said. “I’ve been away from home since I was 18 years old. My sisters are growing up. I’m the oldest of four kids, so it’s cool to get to see them do a lot of things that I missed out on before and seeing them grow up is really cool.”

While Kotowski has put together plenty of big swings for the T-Bolts, his ability to consistently make contact has been an issue. He went into the All-Star break with 74 strikeouts in 189 at-bats and was hitting .201.

Windy City hitting coach Kevin Santiago, who was also recently named the new head coach at Chicago Christian, said the T-Bolts staff knows what to expect from Kotowski.

Now, it’s just a matter of refinement.

“We told him that this is the kind of guy you are,” Santiago said. “There’s going to be some swing-and-miss. You’re going to chase a little bit. But just stick to who you are and you’re going to run balls out of the park.

“He’s a great guy. He puts in the work every day. It’s just a matter of knowing his strengths, a pitcher’s strengths and figuring out how we want to attack. Dakota can definitely change a game with his power.”

That ability to hit the ball out of the park is what continues to give Kotowski hope that he can earn another shot with a major-league organization.

“I’ve been blessed to have the frame that I do,” he said. “I’m 6-5, 250 pounds. You never know when you’re going to figure it out, and if you do that, there are a lot of people who would like to have a bigger guy that can play the outfield.

“I try to look at everything from a positive standpoint and not a negative one. Take it day by day and see what happens.”