NOTES FROM THE NAT: Vancouver Canadians news

31st round: Out of Puerto Rico, Ian Texidor comes in as a 6′2 3B, who doesn’t really have any info on the World Wide Web.  Texidor is turning 18 this week (Monday to be exact), and will likely report to Arizona should he sign.

32nd round: Oakland’s first pick from UCLA in this draft came for RHP Garett Claypool (right), who has had a stellar career for the Bruins.  Going 2-1 with a 3.46 ERA, Claypool struck out 48 in 39 innings.  Maybe the most impressive stat is his 11 walks, or the .231 opponent batting average that mostly Pac-10 hitters faced.

Striking out 8 against Stephen Strasburg’s San Diego State Aztecs, a career, high, he gave up three runs in 5.1 innings, which is pretty impressive considering how highly-touted that club is.

Playing for Brewster in the Cape league last year he was 0-2, but was playing on a club below .500.

He started 8 of the 14 games he appeared in this year, and just under half of his career games for UCLA are starts.

33rd round: Mike Bolsinger hails from Texas, and plays in Arkansas, but could soon be heading farther west, after a great couple of seasons for the Razorbacks.

The pitcher of the year in 2008 for the Texas Collegiate League (Summer), Bolsinger, improved on his stats from last year, going 6-4 with a 2.83 ERA as a Junior this season.

As a reliever, besides one start, he struck out 68 in 60 innings, picking up one save.

34th round: Brother of Corey, Dylan Brown (left) was redshirted this season, after an injury kept him out this season, but the A’s still went after him with their 33rd pick.

Brown’s brother Corey is now in AA Midland after playing for Vancouver in 2007, and could potentially be the third brother of a 2007 Canadian to play for the C’s this year (Sean Doolittle’s brother Ryan, Mike Richard’s brother Myrio and Brown).

Last year Dylan hit 3 HR’s in one game, and has 5 HR in his career in the OK State.  If he’s anything like his brother, and he is healthy, it’s a snag in round 34.

35th round: Another RHP chosen by the A’s, this time a Senior from the University of Kansas, but if the 34 picks before him weren’t enough, he is from California.

Paul Smyth (seen, right) is 6′0 215, and for the Jayhawks this year was 1-5 with a 5.40 ERA in relief.  He struck out 19 in 30 innings, walking 10.  A third of the runs he gave up were via the Homerun.

He was a teammate of Brett Bochy, who is the son of Giants manager Bruce.

36th round: Drafted as a 2B, but as a player who can also play in the Outfield, Jeremy Wells hails from San Diego, California, and spent his Senior year playing for the Patten Lions.

Wells hit a whopping .434 this year, good enough to lead his team, and hit 7 doubles, 3 triples and 5 HR.  He drove in 32 runs, and lead his team in 6 offensive categories (AVG, AB, R, Hits, 3B, RBI).

Wells’ club was 0-2 against UBC this season.

37th round: Colin Bates, from UNC Chapel Hill, was on a staff lead by highly touted prospect Alex White, but Bates was a bit of an underdog out of the bullpen.

Going 4-2 with a 2.84 ERA, he picked up a team-high 6 saves, and averaged over a K per inning as a Sophomore (Redshirt).

He missed all of 2007 with a blood clot in his right shoulder, which is now fully healed.

38th round: Scheduled to attend Tennessee Tech next season, Tristan Archer may have gone a bit lower in the draft that he had thought, after being named the ‘Big 9 Player of the Year’, for his High School Conference.

Archer, drafted as a Pitcher, was 7-1 with 70 strikeouts in 54 innings, with a wonderful .77 ERA.  This was on May 6th.  He was batting .415 as well.

After pitching a two-hitter earlier in the year, he got the attention of scouts, and the A’s will probably try to pry him from attending college, so he can better their system.

39th round: Just a sophomore out of the University of Southern Florida (a team that is know nationwide for their raindance, youtube it), Ryan Lockwood (left) is a left-handed bat who has batted anywhere from lead-off, to 6th, to 8th.

Lockwood batted .289 this year, hitting a HR, and driving in 33 runs, and also legged out 11 doubles.  He drew a team-high 36 walks, and struck out 55 times, also a team-high.

40th round: Coming from a ‘baseball’ family, Chris O’Dowd is headed to Dartmouth should he not sign with the A’s.  His dad is GM for the Colorado Rockies.

The younger O’Dowd batted .500 this year as a Catcher, but could play 2B, as per the Rockies scouts.  

Oakland will not sign him immediately, as he has ‘worked hard’ getting into Dartmouth (which is one of the hardest schools to get into), and they will monitor his progress this summer ahead of his reporting date to the Ivy League school. 

Mike ‘Runway’ Richard has a brother, and he’s been called for landing by the Oakland A’s.

The second Richard brother in three years to be drafted by the A’s, the younger version of 2007 speedster Mike comes from the same school, and stole 38 bases over his first two seasons at Prairie View.

Myrio Richard hit .370 with 10 HR’s last year, where he also drove in 51 RBI.

This year, he was batting .315, with 20 stolen bags, on 21 attempts, and had just two errors in the OF.  He struck out only 19 times in over 145 at-bats, and got hit 8 times, drawing 20 walks.

Lets hope he turns out like Mike who is in Stockton, but more importantly he comes to Vancouver.

Phenomenal pick, in my opinion.

I’m out til 3:30, recapping the rest of the picks. 

Shortstop Grant Green is considered to be one of the best defensive players in this years Major League Baseball player draft. In fact, he was projected to be selected with one of the top three picks.

Oakland got him at #13. They got lucky.

But Vancouver baseball fans, who eagerly watch Oakland’s draft results to see who will be parked with the A’s-affiliated Single-A Vancouver Canadians each season, will be even luckier to get a glimpse of the USC standout.

The last time a first rounder made it to Vancouver was in 2004 when Landon Powell turned out for the C’s on his way to the majors.

2008 1st round draftee second baseman Jemile Weeks skipped Vancouver and shot directly up to Kane County of the Midwest League, while 2007 top pick James Simmons went straight to Double-A Midland.

2006 top pick, 2nd-rounder and now major league hurler Trevor Cahill, started out a level below Vancouver in the Arizona League before jumping to Kane County the following season, while 2005 1st round slot Cliff Pennington stepped up to the Midwest League due to Oakland’s shortage of middle infielder.

That middle infield problem is still an issue, which makes the likelihood that Green will bypass short season Single-A ball a nigh certainty.

That’s not to say you won’t find quality prospects at a Vancouver Canadians game this summer. Currently on Oakland’s 40-man roster you’ll find a host of one-time C’s who have made their way up the system, including catcher Kurt Suzuki, outfielder Travis Buck, shortstop Gregorio Petit, and pitchers Jeff Gray, Dallas Braden, Andrew Bailey and Santiago Casilla (then Jairo Garcia).  

And then there’s those former Canadians who have moved on to other major league teams, including Victoria native Rich Harden, Joe Blanton, Nick Swisher, Andre Ethier, Mark Teahen, Jeremy Bonderman, Neal Cotts, Omar Quintanilla…

Bottom line: Get your Nat Bailey Stadium ticket packs here.

The MLB.com scouting report on Green says: "Premier college shortstops don’t come around all that often and when they do, they get drafted early. That should be the case for Green, who has the potential to shine on both sides of the ball with all five tools. He shook off some early struggles to perform up to expectations, though his lack of energy at times has bothered scouts. Even with that, he’s a confident and accomplished college player who shouldn’t wait long to hear his name called."

The next Oakland A’s pick comes in the 3rd round at slot #92.

Meanwhile, Pacific Northwest baseball fans will be celebrating the three first round picks of the Seattle Mariners.

#2 pick centerfielder Dustin Ackley is considered the best pure hitter in the draft, while #27 pick Nick Franklin is considered a solid gamer in the middle infield with decent 9if not stellar) tools across the board. At the #33 spot, Seattle took high school catcher Steven Baron.

The Toronto Blue Jays took right handed workhorse pitcher Stephen Kenkins at the #20 spot and lefty power-slider thrower James Paxton with the #37.

2009 MLB Draft:

FASFIM:

If you’ve ever been at Nat Bailey Stadium, you’ve probably wondered, "How much do these guys get paid".  Well, it’s probably about as much as you get working at McDonalds over a two-week period.  It is really not that much, despite being a professional athlete.  The big cash comes in the Majors, and considering most players who have played for the C’s won’t ever necessarily realize their dream, they need something to fall back on.  

Along the way, they will need help financially to keep the dream going, to support their families while they’re off on the road for 5 months.  A new organization started by the families of two ex-Canadians is trying to better the lives of those minor leaguers struggling to make ends meet.

Financial Aid Serving Families in Minors is a non-profit organization catering to all MILB families who qualify for financial aid (a list is being worked on apparently).  To qualify you would need to be married and/or have a child (one at least).  This also meets the Federal poverty guidelines, so it is not just something where a player can say "I need money," when they’re really not poor.

The organization hopes to one day create an education scholarship delivered annually to disadvantaged youth who excel in baseball and in the community.  A children’s book is also in their sights, to be sold in MLB and MILB team stores.

Their events include ‘A day in the life’ of a Midland Rockhound and Kane County Cougar, while the winner receives an Autographed Bat and Ball, to go with their new Team Jersey and Hat. 

Who started the company?  2004 Canadians Nick Blasi and Steve Sharpe, as well as his wife Laurel who is President of the organization.

Laurel Sharpe spoke to Nat Notes about the organization this week:

"I am living first hand, the life of a minor league family.  It is challenging and difficult to keep a family together, while traveling, finding a place to live and the minor league salary.

FASFIM was formed to advocate family wholeness, assist player’s children and support married players in Minor League Baseball.  We work to fulfill our mission with fundraising and providing financial aid through housing expenses, groceries and travel.  Thereby alleviating some of the hardships and struggles for the minor league family, living at or below the federal poverty line.

Pope John Paul II said, ‘As the family goes, so goes the nation and so goes the whole world in which we live’, and I could not agree more."

Thanks so much to Laurel for her time, and I encourage everyone to visit the link below.

You can learn more at their website, where you can also donate money to the cause. 

Alumni Report:

This is an abbreviated version of the alumni report, but seeing as how his wife is head of FASFIM, we look at Steve Sharpe’s (top) season so far:

The 2004 Canadian was 3-0 in AAA Sacramento between April 25th and May 25th, before returning to Stockton, where he pitched three shutout games in the month of April.  He has pitched four times since coming back to the Cal League, and has given up just three hits in 9 innings.  He is 4-0 with a 2.49 ERA this season, combined.  He has just two walks with the Ports as well.

Sharpe attended Central Missouri State, while Jeff Gray went to Southwest Missouri State, and Gray has had a phenomenal season.

The 2005 hurler is 2-1 with a 1.93 ERA with the Sacramento Rivercats, but has just 5 strikeouts in 18.2 innings.  That sounds worse than it is because he’s still managed to get batters out, as they’re batting .169 against him.

Gray was called up for Mothers Day, and pitched to one batter (Vernon Wells) and got him out to end a Blue Jays threat in the 9th, before being sent down that week.  He was called up last week, threw another out in the Bigs, and was once again sent down.  The hardships of baseball, I tell you.

Tickets:

Since Canadians tickets first went on sale on May 23rd, Ticket director Jason Takefman assures me that they have soared since, and the C’s have enjoyed much success whether it be online, by phone, or at will-call.

"Ticket sales were great this week, and really complimented our historic Opening Day Saturday (June 20th) [...] Box Seats are hard to come by for a few games already."

C’s Food at The Nat:

How many times have you said to yourself, ‘Man I want something different tonight, I’m done with Ice Cream and Hot Dogs,"?

Fear no more, as the C’s have you covered.  They have introduced a new initiative geared towards vegetarians, and fans who just like variety.  From the press release:

 (Nat Bailey Stadium – Vancouver, BC) – The Vancouver Canadians Baseball Club has been named as one of the Top 10 Vegetarian Friendly Minor League Ballparks in North America by PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals).  Nat Bailey Stadium has been rewarded for having “cruelty free” menu items available for their fans.

Currently on the Nat Bailey Stadium menu, the Canadians offer up a host of healthy alternatives including Veggie Dogs and Vegetarian Sushi (veggie rolls and brown rice veggie rolls).  Available in our Granville Island Brewing Executive Dugout Suite the C’s offer up veggie burgers, fresh fruit platters and mixed baby green salads.

“We are proud to be recognized for something that we as an organization have worked hard at over the past few seasons.  The Canadians know that Vancouver is a very health conscious city and we want fans to know when they come to the ballpark they can maintain their healthy lifestyle while enjoying a baseball game in the sunshine”, says Canadians President Andy Dunn.

“We would also like to recognize our concession partners Aramark .  With our partnership alongside Aramark, we are very pleased to be able to offer all of our fans quality concession options here at Nat Bailey Stadium”.

The Canadians ranked in the top ten out of more than 200 Minor League stadiums and were the best in the Northwest League according to PETA’s latest report released on June 1^st.

You can view the PETA report in its entirety by click the link below:

http://www.peta.org/feat-veg-ballparks09-p3.asp

Sounds great, and makes me want to head to the Nat for some food right now.  

On another ‘note’ (pardon the pun), the C’s are holding another batch of singing auditions this weekend, to compliment how many hopefuls came out last Sunday to sing the National Anthems at ballgames.   They will be next Friday, June 5th, at Oakridge Center (West Galleria), between 6 and 7pm.

And if you’re into getting your kid into C’s gear, why not attend ‘Mommy and Me Hit The Tee’ next Wednesday at Nat Bailey.  Email Andrew Seymour for info on the kids ‘Baseball 101′ for kids between ages 3 and 5.  His contact info’s on the C’s website.

There have been plenty of great baseball players to play for the Vancouver Canadians over the past 30 years, including the likes of Sammy Sosa, Garrett Anderson and Troy Glaus.  What’s the difference between them and the Single-A studs we have now a days patrolling ‘The Nat’?  For one thing, those guys were just one step down from the Majors, while these players are 5 stops away.

Another, is that once a player leaves Vancouver nowadays, you can follow their career through to the Bigs or as far as they make it.  I like this more, as it gives you a chance to see Nick Swisher from ‘amateur pro’ to New York Yankee, Ben Hornbeck from lefty reliever to Midwest royalty.  The list goes on and this season we have many intriguing story lines to follow.

One that has been nice to look at since the start of the 2008 season, is OF Jeremy Barfield.  Hitting .323 this year, he is bettering his 2008 numbers, which included a great season at a pitchers-park, including a Grand Slam in the bottom of the 9th against Boise.

Barfield had a three-HR game a few weeks ago, and we interviewed him about it, but has since been on a tear, including a 4-4 game today. In my opinion, the kid needs some at-bats in a hitters-friendly California League, my guess would be after the Midwest All-Star Break.

Dusty Coleman was a HR away from the cycle on May 24th, going 4-4 with a double and triple, and has reached base safely every game since May 23rd.  He’s swinging a great .282 this year, with 8 dingers and three triples.  He leads the .OPS category on the Cougars by .041.

Grant Desme has 6 homers and a .272 average in his return from two seasons limited by injuries, and Steve Kleen who missed all of last year, is hitting .270.  Dusty Napoleon and Juan Nunez are both batting .244 behind the plate, while Mitch LeVier WAS batting .246.  LeVier went into pitch on May 4th, and gave up a run in an inning, but it had serious consequences.

LeVier now requires Tommy John Surgery after this appearance, where he hurt his elbow, although he had two multi-hit games after the relief stint.  LeVier will probably be out 12-18 months (as is standard for pitchers, I’m not sure about position players), and this is a huge blow.  Best of luck to Mitch, he’s a great ballplayer, and a great person.  Shoutout to his agents from BKK Sports as well, readers of the blog.

On the hill, Shawn Haviland has been spectacular after a great off-season training program, going 3-1 with a 2.58 ERA.  Haviland leads all current starters with a 1.22 WHIP.  I cant wait to see him join Stockton either this year, or next year, he’s a very smart baseball player.

Pedro Figueroa is 4-2, and Kenny Smalley is 4-1 with a 1.96 ERA between relief appearances and 4 starts.  The one knock against Smalley may be if he is promoted soon, to a hitter-friendly league, he may struggle.  My notes have him being a lot better at the friendly confines of Nat Bailey last year, than on the road.

Scott Deal, three years removed from Vancouver has had injury troubles, but has maintained a 1.73 earned run average. 

Jason Ray was here in 2005, but had injury years, and is 1-0 in KC.  Trey Barham is 1-0 in just two games in the Midwest.

Mike Hart has a 2.75 ERA, and averages over a strikeout per inning, but perhaps the best stat is that he’s given up runs in only four games, out of  his 13 bullpen stints.  He holds a 1.98 ERA against right-handed hitters, and is holding them to a .173 average.  Do I hear Stockton a-calling?  Certainly Hart and Deal deserve some consideration, as both are tearing up the MWL.

Speaking of the Ports, heading into tonight, top prospect Jemile Weeks is 5-16 since re-habbing many injuries in Phoenix.  He is finally healthy, and fans are excited to see what he can do.  He had a 10-month layoff from games with a full-season affiliate.  He has two dingers already in his three games. 

Yusuf Carter, a Rule V acquisition, is hitting .342 in 20 games, and Raul Padron is batting above .300.

Todd Johnson, ex-Canadian is averaging almost 3 hits per 10 at-bats, while Christian Vitters has played in 16 games, picking up 18 hits.  Alex Valdez and Mike Richard are hitting above .250, while Shane Keough, David Thomas and Jermaine Mitchell (left) are just below that mark.

On the hill, Scott Hodsdon is 2-4, while Derrick Gordon holds a 2.70 ERA.  Justin Friend is 1-2, with a good ERA (2.86) and has struck out more than one an inning (31).  Pat Currin is being consistent out of the pen, and Matt Poirier, in 4 starts and one relief appearance, has allowed 11 runs, while K-ing 15.  He holds a WHIP of 1.29.

Chad Kerfoot is 2-1, and Nick Walters 1-0.  Daniel Thomas was 0-1 before hitting the DL, and Lance Sewell holds the same win-loss ratio.  Leo Espinal has given up a run in 7 innings, and Steven Sharpe has yet to give one up.

Ben Hornbeck had a stellar game last Friday, and tonight, picked up the loss in a 7-4 Ports loss.  Hornbeck gave up four earned in 4 innings, giving up 5 hits, 3 walks and striking out 6.  He has 18 strikeouts in just 10 innings since being promoted.

The Midland Rockhounds are being lead by Corey Brown (.333) who has 40 hits in just 31 games.  He has a whopping 1.020 for his OPS, and has 4 home-runs, third on the team.  Brown won player of the week a few weeks back.

Tommy Everidge is slugging .480 (slugging percentage not average), and hitting .306.  He has 43 RBI in 46 games.

Anthony Recker, Danny Putnam and Josh Horton are all around .300, while Matt Sulentic is batting .283.  Mike Affronti has a .221 average in 21 games since his promotion from Stockton.

Jason Fernandez is 5-4 with the ‘Hounds, and Travis Banwart sports a 2.47 ERA through 9 starts, with a 5-1 record.  James Heuser has 26 strikeouts in 19.2 innings, and since being promoted from Stockton, Carlos Hernandez is 2-0.

Up in AAA, where the C’s used to play, Gregorio Petit is hitting .270 with just 3 errors, as he has turned into a defensively-sound infielder. 

Sean Doolittle is batting .267 with a .811 OPS, and Anthony Recker was just promoted from Midland, hitting 9-25 since his call-up.

Vin Mazzaro never played in Van-City, but owns a 1.04 WHIP, and a 2.38 ERA after 10 games.  He is sure for an Oakland call-up very soon.

Jeff Gray was 2-1 before going up to the big club, and Brad Kilby holds a 1.17 ERA. 

Anthem Tryouts:

If you’ve been reading this post only to find out what the big ‘tryout’ is at The Nat this weekend, it’s not Colour Commentator auditions like in 2007.  They have one, and a damn good one in Chris Pritchett (left).

These tryouts are for the Anthem Singers, who want to sing one or both anthems at C’s games.  The tryouts are this Sunday at 1:30 at Nat Bailey.  You will perform in front of staff and on-lookers.  Contact Heather Colvin for details.

21 days.

Seals:

The newest Canadian Independent team is housed in Victoria, at Royal Athletic Park, and have a ‘Canadian’ connection on their team, even though the player has never set foot at Nat Bailey as a player.

The Vancouver Canadians have had numerous players continue their baseball careers in Independent Baseball, but 2008 outfielder Mitch LeVier’s older brother Bret is now a Victoria Seal, the second LeVier to play in Canada in as many seasons.

Victoria is 1-3 to start the season, after picking up their first win yesterday in Edmonton.  Now they continue their travel to Calgary, where they’ll battle the Vipers this week.  After a Thursday off-day, their Home Opener takes place this Friday when Ryne Tacker (2008 Canadian) and the Long Beach Armada face-off against the Seals.

Tacker was released this March by Oakland, and makes his return to Canada.

C’s Tickets:

Canadians ticket sales are booming after Saturday’s launch, and according to the Canadians website, ticket sales for Day 1 more than doubled last year’s total.  Remember, great days like Opening Day, Superstar Series, A&W Family Fun Sundays and every other great Nat Bailey game can get sold out, and more than likely, a bunch of those above will.

You can no longer by 4 tickets together for Opening Day, and the best you can get for 3 tickets is in the Reserved Grandstand Row 10.  Get your tickets now, this game will more than likely sellout, as it did in 2007.

Go here to purchase tickets to your favourite Canadians games. 

Rob Fai on Superstar Series:

With the help of Team President Andy Dunn, and GM Andrew Seymour, as well as Media guru Rob Fai, the C’s wound up getting four phenomenal guests for this season’s Superstar Series, and Fai let us know how he felt about this year’s crop.

"Last year, we saw a huge response from our fanbase when it came to our Superstar Series.  So for the C’s it was a no-brainer to try and bring some more stars in.

This year, we have some great story lines that I think all fans can enjoy."

I believe the best night of said series will be Bill ‘Spaceman’ Lee, just because of his off-field antics, but you can vote for which night you prefer, at the C’s site.   

Is it Dave ‘Hendu’ Henderson?  How about Cecil Fielder or Bill Buckner (left)?  Do you agree with me about Lee?  Let the C’s know which one is making you the most excited for a great summer of Canadians baseball.

Hornbeck’s flashes of brilliance:

2008 Canadians southpaw Ben Hornbeck has been tearing it up since patrolling the Nat Bailey mound last season, pitching extremely well at Kane County, before pitching maybe the best game of his life on Friday night with Stockton (in his first California League appearance).

After having a so-so year in Vancouver, Ben was promoted to Kane County in their push for the playoffs.  He was 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA after 3 relief appearances with the Cougars, and held Midwest hitters to a .214 average.

This year, after a phenomenal spring (or so I saw), he was converted to a starter, and in 7 games with Kane, was 4-0 with a sparkling 1.24 ERA.  He had 11 more strikeouts than he did innings, and if you add up his hits, earned runs and walks, he still had 13 more K’s.  He held batters to .158 at the dish, and his ground ball to fly ball ratio was 1.32.

On Friday night, he started for the struggling Ports, and after 6 innings, gave up just one hit, one walk (a questionable one at best), and struck out 12.  Yes, 12 batters in what is considered the biggest hitters league in all of professional baseball.  This season he is 5-0 with a 1.06 ERA (8 games), and has given up only 20 hits and 11 walks, while striking out 59 in 42.1 innings.

In one game, he had the same amount of strikeouts as ‘07 Canadian Chad Kerfoot had in 19 innings.

C’s fans, remember having watched him at Nat Bailey, he is destined for great things in baseball.