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Albertans playing ball in College

 (AP Photo/Eric Francis)

With everyone having the Olympics on their mind, once again it's time to remind everyone that there are still a lot more Canadians playing college ball than there are playing hockey.  Of the almost 700 Canucks playing baseball in the NCAA and NAIA, more than 60 are from right here in Alberta.



Included in this are several players who are on the 2014 draft list:
   Chayse Marion, Red Deer, McNeese State University
   Jake Hansen, Fort MacLeod at LSU-Shreveport
   Brendan Hendricks, Cochrane at USF
   Chad Hodges, Med Hat, South Dakota State
   Jordan Procyshen, Calgary, Northern Kentucky University
   Jeremie Fagnan, Calgary at TCU

Below is the full list:
NCAA - Div 1
Freshmen
RHP-OF Russell Rockwell, Fort Saskatchewan, Northern Kentucky University (KY)
OF Dawson Ruschkowski, Oyen, North Dakota State University (ND)
Sophomores
RHP Chad Hodges, Medicine Hat, South Dakota State University (SD)
INF Mitch McGeein, Calgary, Eastern Michigan University (MI)
Juniors
OF Jeremie Fagnan, Calgary, TCU (TX)
INF Brendan Hendriks, Cochrane, University of San Francisco (CA)
C Jordan Procyshen, Calgary, Northern Kentucky University (KY)
INF Eric Ranson, Calgary, University of Buffalo (NY)
Seniors
RHP Cashtyn DeLeeuw, Grimshaw, Murray State University (KY)
LHP Keegan Hucul, St. Albert, University of Texas-Arlington (TX)
INF Chayse Marion, Red Deer, McNeese State University (LA)
OF Shane Zimmer, St. Albert, Canisius College (NY)

NCAA - Div II
Freshmen
C-3B Mike Belliveau, Calgary, Bellarmine University (KY)
2B Braden Goldade, Medicine Hat, Northern State University (SD)
RHP Aaron McCarty, Calgary, Salem International University (WV)
Sophomores
2B Nick Granton, Calgary, Truman State University (MO)
OF-RHP Tyson Hudson, Magrath, Dixie State College (UT)
2B Corbyn Shields, Innisfail, Minot State University (ND)
C Travis Steinke, Red Deer, University of Arkansas at Monticello (AK)
C Ramon Valdez, Chestermere, Barry University (FL)
Juniors
INF Kevin Czarnecki, Edmonton, Fort Hays State University (KS)
LHP Matthew Davis, Red Deer, Minot State University (ND)
OF Bretton Gouthro, Calgary, Mount Olive College (NC)
LHP Jake Hansen, Fort Macleod, LSU-Shreveport (LA)
INF Cooper Langley, Edmonton, Fort Hays State University (KS)
LHP Andrew Malone, Calgary, Colorado Mesa University (CO)
LHP Alex Regan, Calgary, Mount Olive College (NC)
OF Travis Sormaz, Calgary, Northern State College (SD)
RHP Levi Westerlund, Oyen, Lubbock Christian University (TX)
Seniors
INF Tyler Hayes, Calgary, New Mexico Highlands University (NM)
RHP Jamin Heller, Lethbridge, Minot State University (ND)
INF Justin Lee, Strathmore, Texas A&M University-Kingsville (TX)
INF Joel Lutz, Medicine Hat, Lubbock Christian University (TX)
LHP Taylor Simmonds, Saint Albert, Wayne State College (NE)

NCAA - Div III
Freshman
INF Blake Patterson, Calgary, Spalding University (KY)
RHP Cole Slamko, Okotoks, Spalding University (KY)

NAIA
Freshmen
LHP Dave Erickson, Sherwood Park, Waldorf College (IA)
OF Brendan Rose, Calgary, University of British Columbia (BC)
NAIA - Sophomores
RHP Colin Feenstra, Calgary, University of Cumberlands (KY)
RHP Ryley Ross, Edmonton, Bethany College (KS)
Juniors
INF Kym Barthel, Lethbridge, LSU-Shreveport University (LA)
RHP Brendan Ethier, Calgary, Jamestown College (ND)
LHP Jake Hansen, Fort Macleod, LSU-Shreveport University (LA)
LHP Jeremy McPhee, Calgary, Jamestown College (ND)
1B Bryn Redhead, Leduc, Graceland University (IA)
INF Brenden Watamaniuk, Westlock, Benedictine College (KS)
Seniors
RHP Donovan Feenstra, Calgary, University of Cumberlands (KY)
OF Tom Muhlethaler, Edmonton, Jarvis Christian College (TX)

Junior Colleges and Community Colleges
Freshmen
INF Tyler Czech, Raymond, Porterville College (CA)
RHP Noah Gapp, St. Albert, Merced College (CA)
RHP Tyler Grayston, Edmonton, Hill College (TX)
INF Michael Heaton, Calgary, Spokane Community College (WA)
RHP Bo Lewington, Calgary, Southeastern Illinois College (IL)
RHP CJ Lewington, Calgary, Southeastern Illinois College (IL)
RHP/IF Reign Letkeman, Red Deer, Big Bend Community College (WA)
RHP Owen Renwick, Edmonton, Hutchinson Community College (KS)
OF Triffon Tatarin, Vegreville, Garden City Community College (KS)
C Ryan Thrasher, Sherwood Park, Marshalltown Community College (IA)
OF Doug Clapperton, Calgary, Chandler-Gilbert Community College (AZ)
RHP Brad Paradis, Medicine Hat, Miles City Community College (MT)
Sophomores
LHP Wyle Cunningham, Red Deer, Salt Lake Community College (UT)
RHP Connor Girard, Morinville, Allan Hancock College (CA)
LHP Tyrell King, Calgary, Paradise Valley College (AZ)
C Konner Lutz, Medicine Hat, John A. Logan College (IL)
LHP Kurtis Taylor, Calgary, Skagit Valley Community College (WA)
INF Andy Scott, Medicine Hat, Miles City Community College (MT)

If you are aware of any other Albertans playing US College ball, please drop me a line and I'll update this list.

Blue Jays highlight upcoming banquets and fundraisers

It's the time of year for fundraisers for baseball clubs, and there are a handful coming up in Alberta. Several of these have a Blue Jays related theme.

First of all, there is the University of Calgary Dino's baseball and fastball annual fundraiser dinner.  Last year, they had Hall of Famer Goose Gossage,  and in previous year's they've had such great as Tim Raines, Fergie Jenkins, Bill Buckner and more.  This year's guest is Gregg Zaun, who might be better known to Canadians as an analyst on Sportsnet than he was when he was a catcher in Toronto. He has some unpopular opinions, is sometimes controversial, but never dull!  Listening to him will certainly make for an entertaining evening. The dinner is on Thursday Feb 6th, tickets are $200 and can be purchased by calling (403) 220-7749.

The Lethbridge Bulls also have a former Blue Jay as their Legends of Sports Gala will feature Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar. This event is being held on February 22nd and includes dinner, dance and silent auction.Tickets range from $100 to $200. To get your tickets or for more information, please contact  chelsea.mereska@bullsbaseball.com or call (403)320-2025 .

The Okotoks Dawgs annual awards banquet will feature another Blue Jay second baseman, Homer Bush. This event is on Saturday February 1st, tickets are $100 and can be purchased by calling (403) 262-3294.

Another fundraiser is an online silent auction by the Vauxhall Academy, where you can get to watch the Jays home opener, a hockey game, and another Jays/Yankees game during a 4 night stay in Toronto which includes airfare. You need to submit your bid by noon on January 30th, details are here.

The Badlands Baseball Academy will be holding their annual Gala Evening & Fundraiser on Thursday January 30th. This reception will include dinner, a silent and a live acution. Tickets are $75 and can be purchased by calling (403) 664-2200

As well, the Prairie Baseball Academy will be hosting their annual awards banquet on January 25th. Aaron Lavorato will be the guest speaker, and he will not only talk baseball but also share his experience with the Rickshaw run he was involved in to raise money for cancer. There will be a live and silent auction with items including jerseys of Mariano Rivera, Bo Jackson and Roberto Alomar as well as a fly fishing trip down the Missouri and lots more.  Tickets are $50 a plate or a table of 8 for $350.  Contact info@prairiebaseball.com for tickets or more information.

If you're a baseball fan all these events all promise to be a lot of fun, and are a great way to support local baseball.

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If you have a baseball team, league or organization in Alberta that is holding a fundraising event, send me the details (to BaseballinAlberta@gmail.com)and I'll add it to here, and promote it on twitter @baseball_in_ab

2013 MLB Draft: Alberta Preview

The MLB draft is coming up the next three days. Here's a preview on some Albertans to keep an eye on.  Last year four players from our province were drafted and all of them signed and are now playing professional ball.  This year once again there are several local players on the Canadian Baseball Network's draft list including the top Canadian who was born in Edmonton.

Here is a rundown on some of the players expected to be drafted:

Calgary teams have great experience in Florida

Redbirds playing at Al Lang Field in St. Petersburg
 (Photo courtesy of Bev Paulhus)

From March 8th to 12th, the Calgary PBF Redbirds Varsity(18U) and Junior Varsity (15U) teams had the opportunity to go to St. Petersburg. Not only did they get to play some good ball in the type of beautiful weather that is rarely never seen in Alberta winters, but there were several other activities that made this a memorable trip to Florida.  Each team had eight games scheduled into this extended long weekend, as well as the opportunity to meet with some former MLB players, and watch some Spring Training games.

On the first day, both teams played games at the Walter Fuller baseball complex, which is an excellent facility which has been used by the Tampa Bay Rays as their minor league spring training facility as well as Team Canada and has 5 MLB sized fields.

Post-game celebration

The day started with the Varsity team playing a morning game against the Ontario Terriers Gold team.. Behind the strong pitching of Nelson Lipszyc who threw a complete game against this potent lineup, Jake Derwent who scored twice, and a clutch 2 run pinch hit double in the 7th inning by Joel Campbell, the Redbirds were victorious in their first game, 4-2.
At the same time, the JV team was taking on the 16U Terriers Blue team.  The Calgary bats were  quiet, with Blake Enders driving in the only 2 runs in a 9-2 defeat.

World Baseball Classic Alberta Connections

The World Baseball Classic is starting soon, and Team Canada is hoping to add to its accomplishments in the International stage.  In the inaugural WBC in 2006, they shocked the world by upsetting Team USA.  More recently they won bronze at the World Cup in 2009 and again in 2011 and beat the US to take Gold at the Pan-Am Games in 2011.  Last fall Canada's Junior Team won Silver at the IBAF 18U World Championships.

Now they are ready to compete in arguably the world's biggest international baseball stage in the 2013 World Baseball Classic.

First of all, Canada made the 2013 WBC thanks to the its efforts in the Qualifier Tournament last fall. Twelve nations had spots guaranteed in the WBC and Canada was one of 16 teams that had to battle in the Qualifier Tournament to get one of the final four spots. Because it was held in September, Joey Votto, Russell Martin, Brett Lawrie, Justin Morneau and the other Canadian MLB stars were unavailable. But Team Canada persevered and won the right to play in this year's World Baseball Classic.  That team had several Albertans including: Edmonton's Mike Johnson, current technical director of Baseball Alberta and a Blue Jays draftee who played for the Expos; Sheldon McDonald of Spruce Grove who is currently in the Chicago Cubs organization; and Bow Island's Skyler Stromsmoe who is knocking on the door of the World Series champions, having played for the Giants' AAA affiliate last season.

The full roster for the current team can be seen at  the Canadian Baseball Network.  But once again, there are several Alberta connections.  Milwaukee Brewer reliever Jim Henderson from Calgary is the only Alberta native on the team, but joining him are Jay Johnson who is a lefthanded pitcher in the Phillies organization and who played high school and college ball in the southern end of our province, with the Vauxhall Jets, Prairie Baseball Academy Dawgs and Lethbridge Bulls. As well, Dustin Molleken who is also a pitcher who played with the Prairie Baseball Academy will be on the team.

Canada is in Pool D which is playing its games in the Phoenix area starting on Thursday March 7th. They are starting with a couple of exhibition games on Tuesday and Wednesday against the Brewers and Reds.  The first Pool game for Canada is on Friday March 8th against Italy, and then they take on Mexico and the US on Saturday and Sunday.  If they advance they will then play in the 2nd round which will include the top two teams from Pool C (out of Venezuela, Spain, Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic) in Miami starting on March 12th.  And if they're one of the two top teams, they will advance to the medal round in San Francisco where the semi-finals will be held on Mardch 17th and 18th, and the championship game on Tuesday March 19th.

Stay tuned to the Canadian Baseball Network for the latest update on Team Canada.

Former Professional Teams in Alberta

The other day I saw a Calgary Cannons card of Ryan Dempster, and that inspired me to write an article on my Red Sox blog about how many Red Sox players used to play in our Province.  In researching that I learned about a lot of teams that used to play here that I was unaware of.   I'm sure most people fondly remember the Cannons or Trappers, or even the Med Hat Blue Jays of the Pioneer League, but there have been many more Minor League and other semi-professional teams that have played in Alberta.  No less than 12 MLB franchises have had minor league affiliates here.  And there have been hundreds of stars who have played here including Alex Rodriguez (left - pictured batting for Calgary) and Hall of Famer Andre Dawson who started his professional career in Lethbridge.

Here are all the teams I found, listed with the name and level of their league and affiliation. If you are aware of other professional teams that have played in our Province, please let me know.

Come see Goose Gossage or Brent Sutter and support local baseball

Once again, the Calgary Dinos will have a former MLB star who will be joining them at their baseball and fastball teams annual fundraising dinner.  Rich "Goose" Gossage has been announced as this year's keynote speaker.  As well, Brent Sutter will be the featured guest for Badland Baseball Academy's fundraiser.

Gossage is a Hall of Fame reliever, best remembered for his trademark Fu Manchu moustache and a blazing fastball. His resume includes helping the Yankees win a World Series in his first season in New York, and being only the second pitcher (after Rollie Fingers) to amass 300 career saves.  Aside from his time in New York, his storied career also took him through Chicago (both the North and South side), Pittsburgh, San Diego, San Francisco, Texas, Oakland and Seattle on the way to Cooperstown.  After retiring he also wrote his memoirs in his very humorous autobiography "The Goose is Loose" and is sure to be an entertaining speaker at this event.

Brent Sutter is very well known to hockey fans in the area.  A native Albertan (from Viking), he played 18 seasons in the NHL before switching gears and becoming a very well regarded coach. Twice he led Team Canada to the World Junior Hockey Championship, and also won the Memorial Cup with Red Deer, as well as coaching in the NHL with New Jersey and Calgary.

Jeff McIntosh / Associated Press

The Dinos fundraising dinner featuring Goose Gossage will be held on Thursday January 31st at the Red & White Club at McMahon Stadium. To purchase tickets ($175) please call U of C Kinesiology Client Services at (403) 220-7749 and for more information on the event you can contact Mike Boyles at mboyles@ucalgary.ca or (403) 220-4413.

The Badgers Gala evening with Sutter will be on Wednesday January 30th. The reception starts at 5:30 followed by dinner and a silent and live auction.  Tickets are $75 and can be purchased by contacting the Academy Office at (403) 664-2200.

Both of these events promise to be very entertaining and are a great way to support local baseball. 

Blue Jays trade analysis - part deux

Yesterday I wrote about the Jays recent trade and warned fans not to have high expectations, based on the results of some other blockbuster deals or big signings. I outlined several examples over the past 10 or so years where teams added major parts in the offseason and didn't get the results they expected.

That's all well and good, but just because some big trades don't pan out, doesn't mean that they all won't.  So today, I'm going to look at the specific players involved in this trade, and analyze how much of an impact they can be expected to provide.

The players the Blue Jays received were Jose Reyes, Josh Johnson, Mark Buerhle, John Buck and Emilio Bonifacio.

Blue Jays blockbuster = World Series?

The Toronto Blue Jays pulled off a blockbuster deal and have added 4 all-star players to their roster.  Money aside (Rogers still has a few excess billions), the only cost was  a controversial shortstop (whom will be replaced by one of the premier shortstops in the league), an under-performing pitcher and some prospects.  And although some of these prospects might pan out in future years, it’s not as though any of them were the kind of prospects that your average baseball fan was following in the minors – a la Bryce Harper or Jesus Montero. In fact it wasn’t even the top organizational prospects – but their consensus #2, 5 and 8 guys.

What does any of this have to do with Baseball in Alberta?  Well, if these moves help the Blue Jays win the World Series, the impact will be felt at the local level.  There will be a resurgence in fan interest, like there was in the early 90s, and it will cascade all the way down to cities building more youth baseball diamonds, more revenue for independent teams, more players wanting to play, attracting more qualified coaches north of the border and so on.  So, yes, this trade could have a major impact on the baseball landscape in Alberta, from Little League to the WMBL to semi-professional franchises to potentially attracting minor league teams back to our province.

So… will this trade:

- make Toronto a better team for the immediate future? Absolutely. 

- help the Jays' chances of making the playoffs? Probably

- bring the World Series trophy to Canada soon? Nope!

Look, I'm sorry. Even though I'm a Red Sox fan, I'm involved enough in Canadian baseball to know that the Jays winning will help the baseball industry nation wide, and I'm all for that but I just don't see these moves making that kind of a difference.

There are two ways we can look at this:  Look at individual player's impacts, or look at what history tells us about the fate of teams that made huge acquisitions, bolstering their rosters in hope of attaining that elusive championship.  Today I'm going to start by looking at history for some parallels.  In my next post, I'll analyze this specific trade more closely.

Coaching changes

Back in March, I wrote an article asking what’s next for Colin Moro.  The Calgary native and former Calgary Viper star had suddenly found himself without a place to play as spring neared.  Well, the phone never did ring from a team looking for an experienced hitter.  Instead he spent the spring and summer coaching a high level team with Calgary’s Pro Baseball Force.

World Cup of Women's Baseball

The IBAF World Cup of Women's Baseball has been going on all week at Telus Field in Edmonton, and the first round is now complete, and the playoffs are being played this weekend. Yes, there is girl's baseball-real baseball, not softball-and not just in the movies.  Canada has had a very impressive showing so far.  The team is made up of 20 women from across the country ranging in age from 17 to 29, including four from right here in Alberta who have been major contributors to the team's success so far.  These Albertans who are representing team Canada are Heidi Northcott, a pitcher from Rocky Mountain House, Nicole Luchanski, a second baseman (basewoman? baseperson? someone please help me out with the proper nomenclature here) playing in her hometown of Edmonton, Tara Sliwkanich a pitcher from fort Saksatchewan, and Meagan Cornelssen, an outfielder from Grande Prairie.

The squad started off strong, with their first two contests being mercy-shortened 5 inning affairs, 12-2 over China - with Luchanski going 3-4 scoring 3 runs and knocking in 2 while Cornelssen added 3 RBIs -  and 14-2 over Venezuela.

Provincial Championships - Part Deux

The last weekend of July saw Baseball Alberta Championships in the Competitive Mosquito, PeeWee and Midget levels.  The August long weekend completed the rest of the Provincial championships.

Strathmore were crowned Competitive Bantam champions in Tier I, beating Grande Prairie 25-20 in a slugfest in the championship game, hosted in St. Albert.   In other Tiers, the Olds Spitfires hosted and won Tier II,  Calgary PBF hosted and won Tier III, Bawlf won Tier IV in Confederation Park and Barrhead took the Tier V title hosted by Kikino.

At the Performance level,  Red Deer hosted the PeeWee championshiops.  Sherwood Park went undefeated in pool play, while Red Deer and Spruce Grove tied for 2nd.  Due to Spruce Grove winning the head to head game, they advanced to the final to play the A's.   The Spruce Grove White Sox won the first final game 10-7, but since the A's were undefeated, a second final game was necessary.  In that one, Sherwood Park rebounded from their loss beating the White Sox 10-3 and taking home the Provincial Championship.

Provincial Championships

Last weekend Baseball Alberta crowned it's PeeWee and Midget Competitive Champions.

In Tier I PeeWee held in Grande Prairie, Camrose Red and Lacombe went undefeated in pool play, earning a berth in the semi finals. Camrose held off Leduc to advance to the finals, while Lacombe suffered their only loss to Fort McMurray, setting up a championship game between Fort McMurray and Camrose Red.  Fort Mac again handed a team their only loss of the weekend, narrowly defeating Camrose 8-7 and winning the PeeWee Tier I Provinical Championship.

Albertans in the minors... and majors too!

A while ago I posted a list of Albertan players playing in the minor leagues.  Since that time several more players have started playing, and one has gotten the long-awaited call.  Here is an update on these home province players:

Let me start with the ones mentioned in my April post:

“Jim Henderson who is a Calgary native and was originally drafted by the Montreal Expos is pitching at AAA for the Nashville Sounds.  This is his second stint at AAA, having had prior experience there with the Iowa Cubs in 2008, before the Brewers organization promoted him to their AAA affiliate last year. Although a bit old to be considered a 'prospect' at age 29, he could be called up during the season and help out in Milwaukee's bullpen”
As undoubtedly most of my readers have heard by now, Jim Henderson did indeed get called up, receiving the call the evening of July 25th and has appeared in 3 games so far for the Brewers and has yet to give up a run.  I don't expect him to continue to sport a 0 ERA indefinitely or even approach the success of the last pitcher from Calgary to play in the show, but he is doing his job and helping the Milwaukee bullpen.

Alberta draftees:Signing updates

Earlier this month, 4 Albertan baseball players had their dreams realized when they were drafted in the MLB draft.  Players only have until July 15th to sign.  If they don't sign, they may or may not be eligible to be drafted again next year, depending on their circumstances  (If players go to college, they are only eligible after their junior year or 21st birthday, unless it's a community or junior college).

And this year, with MLB's new collective bargaining agreement, it's made it tougher for teams to sign everyone they want.  Teams no longer have an unlimited budget.  There are consequences, some severe, to spending more than an allotted bonus pool.  Anywhere from paying a "luxury tax" on the amount over the bonus they spend, to losing 2 first round draft picks in the future.  The specific details are here.

Fortunately, this has not impacted the Alberta players as they have all been signed already:

4 Albertans taken in MLB Draft

As usual, pitchers led a strong contingent of Alberta players drafted by the MLB.  Last year 5 out of the 7 players selected were hurlers, and this year all but one is a pitcher.

Yesterday, Calgary outfielder Tyler Hollick was the only Albertan player taken, as he was selected by the Giants in the 14th round.  Today he was joined by three pitchers:  Shane Dawson, a lefty from Drayton Valley who went to his home country Blue Jays in the 17h round; righthander Adam Paulencu from Sherwood Park who was taken by Colorado in the 26th round; another righty, Logan Seifrit from Spruce Grove selected by Seattle in the 33rd round.

2012 MLB Draft: Alberta preview

With the MLB draft coming up next week, here is a quick preview of local baseball players to keep an eye on.  

Last year, seven players from our province were drafted.  Stay tuned to this blog as I will post updates as Albertans are selected.  

According to the Canadian Baseball Network’s draft list, Alberta has four players ranked in the top 20 in the country and several more who may be selected.  Many of these are familiar names who have been mentioned on these pages and elsewhere previously.  

The following are among the players expected to be drafted:

Baseball dead in Calgary?

So go the rumours.  And looking out the window today seeing an unwelcome snowstorm serves as a reminder that this is a hockey first –  if not hockey only – town.  The Vipers folding at the end of last season helped create the perfect storm (yes, pun definitely intended) for any casual fan to believe that there is no baseball left in Calgary.

But this excellent article by the Calgary Herald's Scott Cruickshank articulates splendidly why this isn't so.  It includes the viewpoints of most of the city's baseball movers and shakers.  This includes the heads of several local programs, including Pro Baseball Force, FMBA, Babe Ruth, NSA, U of C, Little League, Okotoks Dawgs, and more.

Calgary has had several local players drafted into the MLB and there will be more soon.

Those who think that baseball is exclusively an American sport, check out Diamonds of the North or Bob Elliott's "The Northern Game: Baseball the Canadian Way" for a Canadian perspective of the game.

Albertans in the MLB... and minors

A post on Albertans in the MLB would be pretty short.    There are currently many Canadian stars in the MLB including Joey Votto,  Justin Morneau and Brett Lawrie, but there isn't a single player who hails from the Texas of Canada. In fact there haven't been too many Albertans who have played in the majors.  Chris Reitsma was the last man to appear in the show who came from Wild Rose country.

But below are a few local prospects to keep your eyes on:



Jim Henderson who is a Calgary native and was originally drafted by the Montreal Expos is pitching at AAA for the Nashville Sounds.  This is his second stint at AAA, having had prior experience there with the Iowa Cubs in 2008, before the Brewers organization promoted him to their AAA affiliate last year. Although a bit old to be considered a 'prospect' at age 29, he could be called up during the season and help out in Milwaukee's bullpen.

Also at AAA is 28 year old middle infielder Skyler Stromsmoe from Bow Island.  He is playing for the Giants' affiliate, the Fresno Grizzlies.  He is a very versatile player, spending a lot of time at 2nd, short and 3rd as well as the outfield and has even pitched on a few occasions.  He led Canada to gold in the Pan Am Games last year, and was just promoted to AAA for the first time this season.


A litte further away at AA is catcher Lars Davis from Grande Prairie.  He is in the Rockies organization playing for the Tulsa Drillers.

Sheldon McDonald, a left-handed pitcher from Spruce Grove was drafted by the Cubs last year where he pitched for their rookie and low A affiliates.  He has started this season with a  promotion to Single A Peoria Chiefs.

There are also several players who will be playing in lower levels that haven't started their season yet.  I will update this post once those leagues get underway.

It's just a matter of time before the next player from Alberta is playing in the show.