Goldeyes sign Canadian catcher Houle

Langley Blaze and Junior National Team alum Dustin Houle (Penticton, B.C.) has signed with the independent American Association’s Winnipeg Goldeyes. Photo: Baseball Canada

*This news release was originally published on the Winnipeg Goldeyes website on January 16, 2020.

By Steve Schuster

Winnipeg Goldeyes

WINNIPEG, MB – The Winnipeg Goldeyes signed catcher Dustin Houle on Thursday.

Houle (pronounced HOOL) played last season in the New York Mets’ organization, appearing in 16 combined games for the double-A Eastern League’s Binghamton Rumble Ponies and the High-A Florida State League’s St. Lucie Mets. A native of Penticton, British Columbia, Houle was 9-for-45 (.200) with three doubles, a home run, and five RBI. Behind the plate, Houle was 4-for-11 (36 percent) in throwing out opposing base stealers. It marked the fifth time in seven professional seasons Houle finished with a caught stealing rate of 33 percent or higher.

“I’m super excited about the addition of Dustin to the roster,” said Goldeyes’ manager Rick Forney. “His experience in affiliated ball and international play should be a huge help to the pitching staff. He’s getting me pumped up about the upcoming season with his overall excitement for this opportunity in Winnipeg.”

Houle is a member of the Canadian National Team and represented the country in 2019 at both the Pan-Am Games in Lima, Peru and the Premier12 Olympic Qualifier in Seoul, South Korea. The 26-year-old backstop also suited up for Team Canada during the 2015 Premier12 event, and was previously a member of the Canadian Junior National Team.

Houle was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the eighth round in 2011 out of Brookswood Secondary School in Langley, British Columbia. Houle is a lifetime .232 hitter in 348 professional games, while averaging 49 runs scored, 28 doubles, 58 RBI, and 48 walks per 162 contests. The 6-foot, 205-pound Houle has thrown out 34 percent of opposing base stealers in 298 career games at catcher (the American Association average caught stealing rate from 2017-19 was 20 percent).

A right-handed hitter and fielder, Houle has reached the double-A level four times and climbed to triple-A with the Brewers in 2018. From 2017-18, Houle appeared in 24 major league spring training games for Milwaukee in which he was 8-for-21 (.381). Like current Goldeyes’ infielder Wes Darvill, Houle starred for the prestigious Langley Blaze junior program (members of the British Columbia Premier Baseball League) leading up to his draft selection.