SCHAUMBURG, Ill. — In the first trade in Schaumburg Boomers history, Manager Jamie Bennett acquired catcher and defensive standout Mike Valadez from the Gary SouthShore RailCats in exchange for a player to be named later.

Valadez, 25, enters his sixth season in professional baseball and first with the Boomers after spending the last year and a half with Boomers owners Pat and Lindy Salvi’s other minor league baseball club, the Gary SouthShore RailCats of the American Association.

“Mike brings valuable experience to the Boomers, said Boomers Manager Jamie Bennett. “His leadership and skills behind the plate will play key part in the development of our pitching staff. I think Mike is really coming into his own as a player, and should be one of the top catchers in the league.”

Originally selected in the 26th Round of the 2007 Major League Entry Draft by the Cleveland Indians, Valadez is the first member of the Boomers to be taken in the Major League Entry Draft. Valadez hit .240 in 27 games for the Indians New York-Penn League affiliate in 2007, and split time between Mahoning Valley and Lake County (South Atlantic League) from 2007-09.  Valadez put up the best power numbers of his career in 2009, cracking four home runs and piling up 24 RBI in 52 games at Lake County (A).

In the three seasons with the Indians organization, the highly skilled defensive catcher brought with him a right arm that cut down more than a third of the runners trying to steal against him in three affiliated seasons and he threw out 54-of-135 (40.0%) runners from 2008-09.

Valadez joined the independent ranks in 2010 after signing with the Tucson Toros of the Golden League and joined the RailCats after a midseason trade. Valadez got off to a slow start with the RailCats but found his rhythm during a red-hot month of August, which saw him post a sparkling .341 batting average in 16 games. Valadez was even more efficient in games at U. S. Steel Yard in 2010 batting .400 in 12 games with an outstanding .471 on-base percentage and a .500 slugging percentage. 

Despite a challenging year on offense in 2011 as a member of the RailCats, Valadez still appeared in 93 games, which demonstrated his value as a defender as he helped the club earn a 67-52 record in games he participated in during his tenure with the RailCats.

Valadez attended NAIA Lee (Tenn.) University where he helped the Flames to the NAIA World Series as a senior.  A native of Los Angeles, Valadez now makes his offseason home in nearby Pasadena, California.

With the addition of Valadez, the Boomers now have 12 players on the roster for the 2012 season. Valadez joins fellow catcher Brad Hawn; pitchers Matt Collins and Vinny Lally; infielders Tyler Boling, Andrew Cohn, Brandon Hairston, Drew Heithoff, and Ellis Lowe; and outfielders Nate Baumann, Raphael Turner, and John Wagle.

Boomers Season Tickets, Group Outings, Boomer Bundles and Flex Packs are available now by calling the Boomers at 847.461.3695 today. For more information on the Schaumburg Boomers, check out www.boomersbaseball.com.