Madison, Wis. – The Madison Mallards have announced the signing of freshman infielder Daniel Pinero, freshman catcher Matt Thaiss, and freshman outfielder Tyler Allen from the University of Virginia. They will join fellow freshman Tony Butler, from Sun Prairie on the Mallards roster in 2014. The signing continues a long standing relationship between the Mallards and Cavaliers. Former Mallards who are still on the Cavalier roster include Derek Fisher (2011), Nick Howard (2011), John LaPrise (2012), and Joe McCarthy (2012).
Pinero, a 6’5”, 200-pound infielder from Toronto, Ontario will join the Mallards after his first season with the Cavaliers. He is currently batting .322 and has started all eighteen games for the Cavaliers. He has eight RBIs and a .987 fielding percentage at shortstop.
Pinero was selected in the 20th round of the 2013 MLB Draft by the Houston Astros. He played on Canada’s Junior National Team in 2011-2012 which placed second in the 18U World Baseball Championships in Seoul, South Korea. While in high school, he played for the Ontario Blue Jays travel team where he led the team in batting average, hits, doubles, triples, home runs, RBIs, slugging percentage, and on-base percentage. He was named one of Canada’s top five prospects for the 2013 draft, and to Perfect Game’s Top 500 list.
Thaiss, a 6’0”, 198-pound catcher from Jackson, New Jersey will also head to Madison after his freshman campaign in Charlottesville. Thaiss has started seven games for the Cavaliers and played in 11. He is hitting .259 in 27 at-bats and owns a .407 slugging percentage.
He starred at Jackson Memorial High School where he was named to the All-State Team twice, and the All-Conference and All-County Teams three times. He hit .343 with 17 home runs, and 70 RBIs in his career. Following his prep career he was drafted in the 32nd round of the 2013 MLB Draft by the Boston Red Sox.
Allen, a 6’1”, 180-pound outfielder from Powhatan, Virginia will make his Summer Collegiate debut with the Mallards after he wraps up his first season at Virginia.
Allen attended Powhatan High School where he led the team to a state championship in 2012. He was an All-State selection four times, and an All-Metro pick three times in his career. He was named team MVP twice and was the team captain in 2013. Allen was named a Richmond Times-Dispatch Scholar-Athlete in 2013.
The Mallards host their season opener on Tuesday, May 27th at 7:05 pm when they take on the Kalamazoo Growlers. Mallards single game tickets go on-sale on April 26th at 9:00 am. Tickets will be available by visiting MallardsBaseball.com or calling the Mallards ticket office at 608-246-4277.
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The Madison Mallards are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Playing its 21st season of summer collegiate baseball, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 18 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, more than 115 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (DET) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (WAS), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Allen Craig (STL) and Ben Zobrist (TB). All league games are viewable live and free of charge via the Northwoods League YouTube channel. For more information, visit MallardsBaseball.com.
