Madison, Wis. – For the first time in franchise history, three former Mallards were selected on the first day of the 2018 MLB First Year Player Draft. On Monday evening, infielder Nico Hoerner, outfielder Josh Stowers and pitcher Mitchell Kilkenny were all chosen by major league clubs. The trio was featured on the 2016 Mallards squad that won 43 games and made the NWL playoffs.
Hoerner, who just finished his junior year with Stanford, was selected with the 24th pick in the first round by the Chicago Cubs. Hoerner was the primary shortstop in 2016 for the Mallards, hitting .304 with 31 RBI and 12 doubles over 61 games in the regular season. According to multiple outlets, Hoerner’s performance in the Northwoods League and the Cape Cod League, both wood bat leagues, helped propel his draft stock into the first round.
Stowers, a slugging outfielder from Louisville, was selected with the 54th pick of the draft by the Seattle Mariners. Stowers played in 41 games for the Mallards in 2016 and hit three home runs and knocked in 21 while posting a .311 average.
Kilkenny, a lengthy righty from Texas A&M, was selected with the 76th pick of the draft by the Colorado Rockies. Kilkenny allowed only one earned run during his five starts with the Mallards in 2016, four of which lasted at least 6.0 innings. Kilkenny totaled 28 strikeouts over 32.0 innings, 11 of which came in a 6.0 inning outing in which he allowed only two hits against the Wisconsin Woodchucks. By the end of the summer, Kilkenny held a miniscule 0.28 ERA.
Check back to mallardsbaseball.com over the next few days as the 2018 MLB Draft continues for more updates on former Mallards as they transition to the next level.
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The Madison Mallards are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Now in its 25th anniversary season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 20 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 190 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET) and Curtis Granderson (TOR). All league games are viewable live via theNorthwoods League portal. For more information, visitwww.mallardsbaseball.comor download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Mallards as your favorite team.
