PaddleHeads Continue to Build – Add Four to Roster

Today, Missoula’s Baseball Operations team has announced the acquisition of four new athletes set to join the PaddleHeads roster. Earlier this week, Missoula began negotiations and ultimately agreed to terms with the Joliet Slammers of the Frontier League to receive OF Jacob Crum and RHP Wes Albert, for future considerations. In the culmination of a busy week, as the PaddleHeads continue to work on building a championship caliber roster, they have announced the signings of free agents, RHP Maddux Conger and SS Clay Fisher.

Clay Fisher | SS | 6-1, 175lb

Fisher, a 24-year-old middle infielder, joined the University of California Santa Barbra in 2015 by way of La Quinta HS, where he closed out his High School career hitting .436 and earning League and Team MVP honors. Collegiately, Fisher jumped right into the fold as UCSB’s Opening Day shortstop where he was noted as one of, if not the best, defensive shortstops in the Big West. Entering his junior and senior seasons, Fisher was tabbed as D1Baseball’s No. 9, and No. 14 ranked shortstop in the country, respectively. The athletic shortstop closed out his college career with 185 games played, a batting average of .269, 32 stolen bases, and a fielding percentage of .966 with 227 putouts.

“We’re excited to make Clay an active piece of our infield.” said PaddleHeads Manager Michael Schlact. “He’s a good all-around player who will help us on the base paths, and make nice defensive plays, flashing his quality glove on a regular basis.”

Maddux Conger | RHP | 6-2, 208lb

The 24-year-old hurler out of Stephenville, TX, was named a Perfect Game All-American in 2015 and joined college baseball’s powerhouse, Vanderbilt as a true freshman in 2016. Conger closed out his career with the Commodores with a record of 4-1, 3.36 ERA, and 62 strikeouts over 64.1 innings pitched.

“With Conger, we’re bringing in a guy who can fill a ton of roles for our pitching staff.” said Schlact. “When he’s on the rubber, he brings a plus breaking ball, a very good fastball, and he’s always on the attack.”

Jacob Crum | OF | 6-1, 185lb

Crum (acquired from Joliet), is 24-year-old OF who is set to bring an arsenal of tools to Missoula. In 2018, the speedster made a splash during his debut season with the Central Michigan Chippewas where he lead the team in batting average, triples, and doubles. Crum emerged as one of the MAC’s best all-around outfielders in 2019, earning spots on the MAC All-Defensive team, and All-Conference second team, respectively. Crum closed out his career at CMU with a slash line of .304/.379/.472, a fielding percentage of .974, 132 hits, and 19 stolen bases across 109 contests.

“Crum is the type of young, resilient, high character athletes that you love to have around the clubhouse.” said Schlact. “He’s got a lot of quality tools… he brings a good eye at the plate, with a gap-to-gap approach, and he can play all positions.”

Wes Albert | RHP | 6-3, 205lbs

Righty, Wes Albert, a 25-year-old hurler comes to Missoula by way of the Joliet Slammers. Albert spent two seasons toeing the rubber for Lee University (Cleveland, TN) where he tossed 119.2 innings with a 3.01 ERA and 105 strikeouts. Wes made his professional debut in 2019 with the Slammers of the Frontier League, posting a 4.74 ERA with 42 strikeouts over 17 appearance and 49.1 innings pitched.

“We’ve got found ourselves a bulldog on the bump, who loves to compete.” said Schlact. “Wes is going to be a quality innings eater for us… he’ll bring his four-pitch mix and keep hitters across the Pioneer League on their toes.”

The PaddleHeads’ Baseball Operations team of Michael Schlact and George Horton are not wasting time, and are in the process of adding even more quality athletes to the roster in the coming days. PaddleHeads’ fans can expect consistent and frequent news as the 2021 roster takes shape.

With Opening Day of the PaddleHeads’ 2021 season tabbed for May 22, a limited number Season Ticket packages remain, and fans are encouraged to act quickly to ensure they don’t miss a minute of the action. Follow the PaddleHeads on their social media platforms or at www.gopaddleheads.com to stay up to date on player signings, promotions and event announcements, and the latest happenings around the franchise.