McAffer, Kirwer to begin season with Vancouver Canadians

North Shore Twins and Junior National Team alum Will McAffer (North Vancouver, B.C.) will begin the 2021 season with the Toronto Blue Jays’ class-A Advanced Vancouver Canadians. Photo: Vancouver Canadians/Twitter

May 3, 2021

Official Vancouver Canadians News Release

HILLSBORO, OR – In conjunction with the Toronto Blue Jays, the Vancouver Canadians are pleased to announce their 2021 Opening Day roster ahead of the team’s first season as an Advanced-A organization.

C’s fans will recognize many of the 30 names that make up the roster; 19 players previously suited up for Vancouver when the team was Toronto’s Short Season-A affiliate.

Click here to view the entire roster.

The team will feature three of MLB.com’s Top 30 Blue Jays prospects:

-Adam Kloffenstein (#10) went 4-4 with a 2.24 ERA across 13 starts that spanned 64 1/3 innings for the Canadians in 2019. He tallied 64 strikeouts, walked 23 and held opposing hitters to a .205 average

-CJ Van Eyk (#11) will make his professional debut for the Canadians after he was selected by the Blue Jays in the second round (42nd overall) of the 2020 draft out of Florida State. While a Seminole, Van Eyk logged a 1.31 ERA and 25 strikeouts over 20 2/3 innings pitched in his pandemic-shortened junior season after going 10-4 with a 3.81 ERA in 18 starts as a sophomore.

-Will Robertson (#23) turned in a solid pro debut for the C’s in 2019, when he hit .268, led the team with 61 hits – including 11 doubles, one triple and six home runs – and drove in a team-best 33 RBIs in 61 games. A fourth-round selection out of Creighton, Robertson hails from Loose Creek, MO.

Two Canadian-born players are on the roster to start the season. C’s alums Will McAffer (North Vancouver, BC) and Tanner Kirwer (Sherwood Park, Alta.) will suit up for Canada’s only affiliated minor league team.

Eleven U.S. states are represented, led by Texas (six players), California (four), Georgia (three), Florida (two) and Virginia (two). Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, South Carolina and Wisconsin also send native sons to the team.

Three players – Ronny Brito, Luis De Los Santos and Rafael Lantigua – hail from the Dominican Republic and Andres Guerra is the lone player from Venezuela.

Twenty-four of the team’s 28 players were drafted by Toronto, 10 of which joined the organization as selections in the 2019 draft. Three were signed as international free agents, one as a non-drafted free agent and one player was acquired via trade.

Kloffenstein, 20, will be the team’s youngest player while fellow pitcher Luke Gillingham, 27, is the team’s oldest. The average age of the roster is 23.3 years old.

The 2021 season begins on May 4 in Pasco, Wash. when the C’s travel to Gesa Stadium for a six-game series with the Tri-City Dust Devils (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim) before returning to Hillsboro, Ore. to start their home slate against the Spokane Indians (Colorado Rockies).