March 26, 2023

By Kevin Glew

Canadian Baseball Network

Some Canadian baseball news and notes from the past week:

-Heading into his start for the Cleveland Guardians on Thursday, Cal Quantrill (Port Hope, Ont.) owned a 9.95 ERA in three Grapefruit League appearances. He also allowed three runs on two hits and four walks in 2/3 of an inning in his start for Canada against Great Britain in the World Baseball Classic. But the 28-year-old right-hander alleviated any concerns about him when he tossed 5 2/3 no-hit innings against the San Francisco Giants on Thursday. In fact, he was perfect through the first 17 batters he faced. “I was working on a lot of stuff, and I maybe lost track a little bit of making sure that I was still establishing my strengths and doing the things I need to do for myself to get weak contact,” Quantrill told reporters after his start on Thursday. “Today was much better.” The Ontario Terriers and Junior National Team alum is coming off an outstanding 2022 season with the Guardians in which he set career-highs with 15 wins and 186 1/3 innings pitched, while posting a 3.38 ERA. His 32 starts were tied for the second-most by an American League starter. 

-In Quantrill’s start on Thursday, Josh Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) had two more hits for the Guardians. The left-handed hitting slugger, who opted not to play for Canada in the World Baseball Classic, has been one of the Guardians’ best hitters this spring. He is 16-for-48 (.333 batting average) with two home runs. Returning from a devastating leg injury in 2022, the Ontario Blue Jays and Junior National Team grad set career-bests with 20 home runs and 79 RBIs. In 122 games for the Guardians, he also established career-highs in hits (115), doubles (28) and runs (47). Naylor also registered six hits in seven postseason contests, including a home run in Game 4 of the American League Division Series against the New York Yankees at Progressive Field.

-Atlanta Braves right-hander Mike Soroka (Calgary, Alta.) made his first Grapefruit League start of the season on Wednesday against the Detroit Tigers. He allowed one earned run on three hits and a walk in 1 1/3 innings. He threw just 36 pitches, but it was the first time he has toed the rubber in a major league game since tearing his Achilles tendon on August 3, 2020. “I’ve said it before, [I’m] not making this out to be some big story for me, like there’s this big finish line, big end,” Soroka told reporters after the game. “It’s a continual process. Talking to some guys like Charlie Morton, who’s had comebacks in his career, I think the more you try to glorify your comeback, the tougher and more pressure you put on yourself.” Soroka’s goal is to join the Braves’ starting rotation sometime in 2023, but it will not be for Opening Day. He was optioned to triple-A on Thursday. Wednesday’s start, however, was significant progress for the 25-year-old right-hander who had been sidelined this spring with tightness in his left hamstring. After initially tearing his Achilles in 2020, he then re-tore it the following June. After two years of recovery and rehabilitation, Soroka returned to game action in August last year and posted a 5.40 ERA in six late-season starts between class-A and triple-A before being shut down with elbow inflammation. A graduate of the Junior National Team, Soroka was a first-round pick (28th overall) of the Braves in 2015. In 2019, he went 13-4 with a 2.68 ERA in 29 starts and finished second in the National League Rookie of the Year voting.

-After Tuesday’s thrilling World Baseball Classic finale that saw Japan’s Shohei Ohtani strike out his Angels teammate and U.S. superstar Mike Trout for the last out in a 3-2 win, MLB unveiled it’s All-World Baseball Classic Team. It’s hard to argue with any of their selections, but I do believe Edouard Julien (Quebec, Que.) should’ve been the second baseman ahead of Javier Baez. The ABC and Junior National Team alum finished 7-for-13 (.538 batting average) with two home runs and five walks in four games for Canada in the tournament. Baez batted .368 with one home run and six RBIs in five games for Puerto Rico.

-Happy 31st Birthday to left-hander Rob Zastryzny! Born in Edmonton, Alta., Zastryzny attended Calallen High School in Corpus Christi, Tex. and later pitched at the University of Missouri Columbia. A second-round pick of the Chicago Cubs in 2013, Zastryzny recorded a 4.41 ERA in 18 relief appearances with the Cubs from 2016 to 2018 and earned a World Series ring in 2016. From 2019 to 2022, he pitched in the Los Angeles Dodgers, Baltimore Orioles, Miami Marlins, New York Mets and Los Angeles Angels organizations. After making one relief appearance for the Mets in 2022, the Canuck southpaw was designated for assignment and claimed by the Angels. He proceeded to post a 2.25 ERA in eight relief appearances for the Angels’ triple-A Salt Lake Bees before being called up and pitching in five games for the big league club. In December, he signed a minor league deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Zastryzny started for Canada against Mexico in the fourth game of the World Baseball Classic. He allowed three earned runs on three hits and two walks in two innings.

-In my mind, I thought Zach Pop (Brampton, Ont.) was a cinch to start the season in the Toronto Blue Jays’ bullpen, but until the Blue Jays announced that right-hander Mitch White would begin the season on the injured list with elbow inflammation, released veteran Jay Jackson and sent Nate Pearson, Trent Thornton and Zach Thompson to triple-A on Saturday, there was some doubt. The 26-year-old right-hander has been sharp this spring, posting a 1.69 ERA, while striking out eight batters in 5 1/3 innings, in six Grapefruit League appearances. But the Canuck righty has minor league options which made him a candidate to be sent down. After the Blue Jays acquired him from the Marlins on August 2, 2022, Pop developed into a reliable middle reliever for the club, posting a 2-0 record and a 1.89 ERA in 17 appearances. In a combined 35 regular season games between the Blue Jays and the Marlins, he went 4-0 with a 2.77 ERA and fanned 25 in 39 innings. The 26-year-old Toronto Mets and Junior National Team alum also threw 1/3 of an inning in relief in Game 1 of the Blue Jays’ Wild Card Series against the Mariners.

-Longtime Blue Jays TV analyst Pat Tabler, who parted ways with Rogers Sportsnet in the off-season, has landed a broadcasting gig with the Cleveland Guardians on Bally Sports. He will appear on select TV broadcasts as part of a rotation that includes ex-big leaguers Chris Gimenez and Ellis Burks. In all, Tabler spent 32 years with the Blue Jays’ organization, including 17 as an analyst on the club’s TV broadcasts.

-Congratulations to Rico Carty who has been elected to the Atlanta Braves Hall of Fame. The former slugger will be inducted in a pre-game ceremony on August 19. Carty suited up with the Braves from 1963 to 1972 and posted a .317 batting average, which is tied for the sixth-best in franchise history. The right-handed hitting slugger and 1970 National League All-Star also owns the highest career WAR of any left fielder in franchise history. In 1970, Carty topped the National League with a .366 batting average and a .454 on-base percentage. Of course, longtime Canadian baseball fans will remember Carty as a member of the Blue Jays. In 1978, he became the first Blue Jay to belt 20 home runs in a season. Set to turn 84 on September 1, Carty is also the oldest living former Blue Jays player.

-Please take a moment to remember former Blue Jays pitching coach Mel Queen who would have turned 81 today. He passed away in 2011. Born in Johnson City, N.Y., Queen inherited some of his talent from his father, also named Mel, who pitched for the New York Yankees and Pirates between 1942 and 1952. Mel Jr. would make his big league debut with the Cincinnati Reds as an outfielder in 1964, but was transformed into a pitcher in 1966. He put together his finest major league campaign the following year when he won 14 games and recorded a 2.76 ERA in 31 appearances for the Reds. The 6-foot-1 right-hander would suit up for two more seasons with the Reds, before being sold to the California Angels. Over the next three seasons, he pitched predominately in relief for the Angels. Following his playing career, he started coaching with Cleveland in 1979 prior to joining the Blue Jays organization as a pitching instructor in 1986. In 1990, he was tabbed as the Blue Jays’ director of player development. But Queen is best known for his tenure as the Blue Jays’ pitching coach from 1996 to 2000. In his four seasons in that capacity, Blue Jays hurlers won three Cy Young Awards (Pat Hentgen, 1996, Roger Clemens, 1997-98). Two-time Cy Young Award winner, Roy Halladay also credited Queen for helping him revive his career when he was shipped to the low minors in 2000. Queen also aided in the development of players like Chris Carpenter, Alex Gonzalez, Shawn Green, Jeff Kent, Shannon Stewart, Todd Stottlemyre, Mike Timlin, David Wells and Woody Williams.

-Take a bow, Don McDougall. It was 47 years ago today that the American League approved the sale of the Toronto expansion franchise to the Labatt Brewing Co. for an estimated $7 million. Part of McDougall’s mandate as president during the mid-’70s was to secure a Major League Baseball franchise for Labatt’s and the city of Toronto. His efforts were a lesson in perseverance, first overcoming a failed attempt to move the San Francisco Giants to Toronto and then having to stave off a bid from another group of Toronto businessmen. McDougall, who was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002, worked tirelessly for several years to bring baseball to Toronto, and many credit his tenacity as the single-most reason that big league baseball is played in Toronto today. As founding director with the Blue Jays, McDougall would help establish the foundation for the eventual World Series-winning clubs by hiring Paul Beeston and Pat Gillick.

-If you’re nostalgic about the mid-80s to early 90s Toronto Blue Jays (like me), this is your year to play in the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame’s Annual Celebrity Golf Classic. It will take place on June 16, the day before the induction ceremony, at the St. Marys Golf and Country Club. Among the ex-Jays that will be golfing are Jesse Barfield, Tom Henke, Pat Borders, John Olerud, Ernie Whitt, Lloyd Moseby and Denis Boucher. Other celebrities include Fergie Jenkins, Steve Rogers, Jacques Doucet and Rich Harden. For all of the details, click here.