Baseball Canada: MLB Canadians - Opening Week round-up

Junior National Team and Langley Blaze alum Tyler O’Neill (Maple Ridge, B.C.) had two home runs for the St. Louis Cardinals in the first week of the 2020 season. Photo: Getty Images

July 30, 2020

By Adam Morissette

Baseball Canada

Last week we reported that 10 Canadians were among those listed on Major League Baseball Opening Day rosters which has since been verified by MLB’s communications department.

All 10 players have seen action during the last seven days with some notable performances along the way.

Let’s take a look!

Reds 1B Joey Votto – Etobicoke, Ont.

The senior member of the 2020 MLB Canadians, in his 14th big league season, Votto started his 2020 campaign with home runs in each of his first two games. The 36-year-old is hitting .304 after collecting seven hits in his first four games.

Cardinals OF Tyler O’Neill – Maple Ridge, BC

O’Neill smashed an Opening Day home run at home against the Pirates and followed that up earlier this week with a monster blast in Minnesota against the Twins. He’s seen action in all five Cardinals games this season.

Mississauga’s Josh Naylor and Longueuil, Québec’s Abraham Toro have seen limited action during Opening Week with the Padres and Astros, respectively with Toro collecting a double in Opening Day action against the Mariners.

Braves RHP Mike Soroka – Calgary, Alta.

Soroka became the youngest Opening Day starting pitcher in Braves’ history and he delivered with six scoreless frames against the Mets in New York in a no-decision. He also took the ball in his team’s home opener last night against the Tampa Bay Rays where he worked 5 1/3 innings allowing two earned runs on four hits, three walks along with five strikeouts.

Padres RHP Cal Quantrill – Port Hope, Ont.

Quantrill had just one appearance over the last week but he made it count earning the win for the Padres over the Diamondbacks with 1 1/3 scoreless innings that saw him strikeout one batter.

Blue Jays RHP Jordan Romano – Markham, Ont.

Romano is turning out to be a key piece of the Jays’ bullpen having appeared in four of his team’s six games including Opening Day in Tampa where he recorded the win with one scoreless inning. Romano is lighting up radar guns having reached the 99-mph hour mark and has yet to allow a run or a hit over four innings of work.

Yankees LHP James Paxton – Ladner, BC

Paxton had an outing to forget in hist first start of the season lasting just one inning against the Nationals on July 25th. He underwent a procedure to remove a peridiscal cyst back in February and will look to rebound at home against the Red Sox on August 2.

Teammates on the 2010 Junior National Team, British Columbia natives Nick Pivetta (Victoria) and Rowan Wick (Vancouver) each appeared in one game with the Phillies and Cubs, respectively during Opening Week. Pivetta tossed 3 1/3 innings against the Marlins on July 26th where he allowed two earned runs while Wick threw two-thirds of an inning against the Reds on July 27th where he allowed one hit.