BWDIK: Brash, Clarke, Halladay, Naylor, Smith, Sullivan, Toro, Young
In his first three games as a major leaguer at Rogers Centre, Toronto Mets alum and Oakland A’s centre fielder Denzel Clarke (Pickering, Ont.) has already made a highlight reel catcher and belted his first big league home run.
June 1, 2025
By Kevin Glew
Canadian Baseball Network
Some Canadian baseball news and notes from the past week:
Clarke backs up Devon White comparison
This last three days must feel like a dream for Denzel Clarke (Pickering, Ont.) who grew up a Toronto Blue Jays fan.
For an article Matt Betts wrote for the Canadian Baseball Network on Thursday, Athletics manager Mark Kotsay compared Clarke’s glove work in centre field to that of five-time Blue Jays Gold Glove Award-winning centre fielder Devon White.
So, what did Clarke do the next day to back that up?
He made this Spiderman-like catch to rob Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk of a home run in the bottom of the fourth inning:
Called up by the A’s on May 23, Clarke made that highlight-reel grab in front of 150 to 200 friends and family members at the Rogers Centre.
On top of his catch, Clarke also scored his first two runs and had the first multi-hit game of his big-league career in the A’s 11-7 loss to the Blue Jays.
For an encore, he clubbed his first big league home run on Saturday. It was a two-run shot off Blue Jays right-hander Braydon Fisher that travelled 406 feet into the left field bleachers in the second inning.
In 31 games for the triple-A Las Vegas Aviators prior to his call-up, the 25-year-old Clarke batted .286 and posted a .436 on-base percentage. He had eight doubles, three triples and seven stolen bases.
Selected by the A’s in the fourth round of the 2021 MLB draft, Clarke is in his fifth pro season. He is the second former Toronto Mets player to make their major league debut this season, joining catcher Liam Hicks (Toronto, Ont.) of the Miami Marlins.
Toro hot for Red Sox
Abraham Toro (Longueuil, Que.) had his first three-hit game of the season for the Boston Red Sox on Friday to help lead them to a 5-1 win over the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park.
In his last eight games, Toro is 9-for-25 (.360 batting average) with two home runs and four RBIs. He has increased his overall batting average to .296 for the season.
Recalled by the Sox on May 3, the switch-hitting Canadian is seeing regular action at first base since Triston Casas suffered a season-ending left patellar tendon rupture.
Toro, 28, has played in parts of six previous major league seasons with the Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers, Seattle Mariners and A’s.
Young homers for Mets
On Tuesday, Jared Young (Prince George, B.C.) belted a two-run home run in the first inning to help the New York Mets to a 6-4 win over the Chicago White Sox.
It was his first home run with the Mets since he was promoted on May 24.
With his homer, he became the eighth player born in Canada to go deep in the big leagues this season. The others are Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Montreal, Que.), Bo Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.), Josh Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.), Hicks, Toro, Tyler O’Neill (Maple Ridge, B.C.) and Edouard Julien (Quebec City, Que.). Clarke became the ninth Canadian to homer in the major leagues this season on Saturday.
The Mets signed Young to a major league contract in December, but he started the season with the triple-A Syracuse Mets. In 22 games with them, he batted .259 with five home runs and 21 RBIs.
Young has had two previous big-league stints with the Chicago Cubs in 2022 and 2023.
Josh Naylor close to tying career-best in stolen bases
Josh Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) recorded his ninth stolen base of the season on Tuesday in the Arizona Diamondbacks’ 9-6 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
With just over a third of the season in the books, Naylor is only one shy of his career-best 10 stolen bases that he recorded with the Cleveland Guardians in 2023.
Naylor has benefitted from baserunning tips from fellow Canadian and D-backs baserunning coach Dave McKay (Vancouver, B.C.).
Overall, Naylor is batting .301 and has seven home runs and 37 RBIs in 57 games this season.
Canadian MLB stolen base leaders in 2025
9 – Josh Naylor
5 – Otto Lopez (Montreal, Que.)
2- Tyler O’Neill (Maple Ridge, B.C.)
1- Bo Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.)
Smith continues to impress with Guardians
Right-hander Cade Smith (Abbotsford, B.C.) has been outstanding out of the Cleveland Guardians’ bullpen since his major league debut on March 30, 2024.
On Wednesday, the 6-foot-5 reliever made his 100th major league appearance.
So, just how good has Smith been through 100 MLB appearances?
This good (Read the second sentence in particular):
Guerrero Jr. presented with Tip O’Neill Award
Scott Crawford, the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame’s director of operations, and his son, Noah, travelled to the Rogers Centre on Friday night to present Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Montreal, Que.) with the Hall’s Tip O’Neill Award in a pre-game ceremony.
Scott Crawford, the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame’s director of operations, presents Vladimir Guerrero Jr. with the Hall’s Tip O’Neill Award prior to the Blue Jays’ game on Friday at Rogers Centre. Photo: Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame
The Canadian ball hall presents this honour annually to the Canadian player judged to have excelled in individual achievement and team contribution while adhering to baseball’s highest ideals.
This represents the second time Guerrero Jr. has won the award. He was also the winner in 2021.
In 2024, Guerrero Jr. topped Canadian-born major leaguers in batting average (.323), OPS (.940), hits (199), runs (98), doubles (44), walks (72) and WAR (6.2). The 26-year-old slugger also had 30 home runs and 103 RBIs.
30 years ago, Blue Jays selected Halladay in MLB draft
It was 30 years ago today that the Blue Jays selected Roy Halladay with their first pick (17th overall) in the 1995 MLB draft.
There were eight pitchers chosen ahead of Halladay: Kerry Wood (Chicago Cubs, fourth overall), Ariel Prieto (A’s, fifth overall), Jonathan Johnson (Texas Rangers, seventh overall), Mike Drumright (Detroit Tigers, 11th overall), Matt Morris (St. Louis Cardinals, 12th overall), Mark Redman (Minnesota Twins, 13th overall), Andy Yount (Boston Red Sox, 15th overall) and Joe Fontenot (San Francisco Giants, 16th overall).
The first three players selected in the 1995 MLB draft were Darin Erstad by the Los Angeles Angels, Ben Davis by the San Diego Padres and Jose Cruz Jr. by the Seattle Mariners.
More zeroes for Brash
Matt Brash (Kingston, Ont.) has not allowed a run in nine relief appearances since being activated by the Mariners on May 3. He has struck out eight batters in 7 1/3 innings.
It has been a strong return for Brash who had not pitched in the big leagues since undergoing Tommy John surgery in May 2024.
In 2023, the 6-foot-1 righty developed into a go-to late-inning reliever for the Mariners. He led major league pitchers with 78 appearances and had a 9-4 record and a 3.06 ERA. He fanned 107 batters in 70 2/3 innings, good for a 13.6 strikeout-per-nine-inning rate.
Happy Birthday to Jared Mortensen!
Happy 37th Birthday to Jared Mortensen (Abbotsford, B.C.)! Signed as an amateur free agent by the Tampa Bay Rays, the 5-foot-11 right-hander spent four seasons in the Rays’ organization, making it as high as triple-A before moving on to the Astros’ triple-A Fresno Grizzlies in 2017. Mortensen also pitched in the independent ranks with the Ottawa Champions in 2019 and Quebec Capitales in 2021 and was a member of the national team that won gold at the 2015 Pan Am Games in Ajax, Ont.
Remembering Sully
Former Blue Jays coach John Sullivan passed away two years ago today at the age of 82. Born in Somerville, N.J., Sullivan was signed as an amateur free agent by the Tigers prior to the 1959 season. A left-handed hitting catcher, he would spend parts of five seasons in the Tigers’ minor league ranks before receiving his first big league call-up in September 1963. He eventually played parts of five major league seasons with the Tigers, New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies before moving into the coaching ranks. He had been a successful manager in the Kansas City Royals organization for six seasons when Bobby Cox added him to the Atlanta Braves’ coaching staff in 1980.
Sullivan followed Cox to the Blue Jays where he served as the club’s first-base coach in 1982 and 1983 prior to becoming the club’s bullpen coach from 1984 until 1993. When Joe Carter belted his World Series-winning home run in 1993, the ball landed in the Blue Jays’ bullpen. It was Sullivan who retrieved the ball and rather than hold on to it (He could’ve auctioned it off and likely made thousands), he presented it to Joe Carter in the clubhouse after the game. The ball remains in Carter’s possession.
Fun Fact of the Week
Dave Stieb threw 30 shutouts for the Blue Jays. That’s double the number of any other pitcher in Blue Jays’ history. Halladay is second with 15 shutouts.