By Kevin Glew

Canadian Baseball Network

Toronto Blue Jays pitching prospect Andrew Case, who hails from Saint John, N.B., has retired.

The 26-year-old was placed on the Blue Jays’ voluntarily retired list on Friday. It appears that Case, who was with the double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats, knew of his decision on Wednesday. In that contest, he was removed with two outs in the ninth inning and was hugged by Fisher Cats pitching coach and fellow Maritimer Vince Horsman (Halifax, N.S.) on the mound and was emotional when leaving the field.

Born in Saint John, N.B., in 1993, Case would eventually move West to hone his skills at the Prairie Baseball Academy, while attending Lethbridge Community College. The 6-foot-2 hurler was uncertain if he had a future in professional baseball until he dominated at the inaugural Tournament 12 (T12), an annual showcase of the top Canadian amateur players with collegiate eligibility, at Rogers Centre in 2013.

At that event, Case tossed a seven-inning no-hitter and helped lead the Maritimes team to the tournament championship. His performance convinced the Blue Jays to sign him and he became the first player to earn a contract with a major league team out of T12.

Case began his career as a relief pitcher in the Blue Jays organization with the class-A Short-Season Vancouver Canadians in 2014 and in his six seasons with the organization he made it as high as triple-A.

His finest season was in 2017 when, between tenures with class-A Dunedin, double-A New Hampshire and triple-A Buffalo, he posted a combined 7-1 record and a 2.86 ERA in 50 appearances. On the strength of that performance, the Blue Jays selected him to play in the prestigious Arizona Fall League, where he toed the rubber for the Peoria Javelinas and excelled against top prospects from other major league organizations, registering a 0.90 ERA in 10 innings in eight appearances.

Case also pitched for Canada at the Pan Am Games qualifying tournament that ran from late January to early February this year.

In all, in parts of six minor league seasons, Case recorded a 3.25 ERA and 42 saves in 179 appearances.