McAffer, Nolan to begin season with Vancouver Canadians

North Shore Twins alum Will McAffer (North Vancouver, B.C.) will begin the 2022 season with the class-A Vancouver Canadians. Photo: Vancouver Canadians

April 5, 2022

By Tyler Zickel

Vancouver Canadians

VANCOUVER, BC – In conjunction with the Toronto Blue Jays, the Vancouver Canadians are pleased to announce their 2022 Opening Day roster ahead of the team’s first season at Nat Bailey Stadium since 2019.

C’s fans will recognize a fair share of the 29 names that make up the roster. Fifteen players on this year’s squad played for the Canadians in 2021 and six have appeared in at least one game at Nat Bailey Stadium.

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

-INF Leo Jimenez (#5), who hit .320 in 59 games across two levels last year

-RHP Sem Robberse (#7) is back after making seven starts for the C’s down the stretch in 2021.

-RHP Adam Kloffenstein (#11) gets set for a second go-round in High-A and a third stint with the C’s.

-INF Miguel Hiraldo (#12) is a career .277 hitter in 226 games over three pro seasons.

-RHP Chad Dallas (#22) led Tennessee to the College World Series with 122 Ks in 103 innings last year.

-RHP Trent Palmer (#23) pitched two seven-inning no-hitters down the stretch in 2021.

Two Canadian-born players are on the roster to start the season. C’s alums Will McAffer (North Vancouver, B.C.) and Alex Nolan (Burlington, Ont.) will suit up for their home country’s only minor league team.

Seventeen Canadian provinces, U.S. States and territories are represented, led by Texas (three players), Florida (three) and Indiana (two). British Columbia, Ontario, Illinois, Nebraska, Massachusetts, Arizona, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Maryland, Virginia, Minnesota, New Jersey and Puerto Rico also send native sons to the team.

Internationally, the Dominican Republic (three), Panama (two), Mexico, Venezuela and the Netherlands are represented on the roster.

How they joined the Blue Jays organization:

-14 of the team’s 29 players were drafted by Toronto, including four from 2021.

-Seven were inked to contracts as non-drafted free agents.

-Seven were signed as international free agents.

-One player had previous minor league experience and one was acquired via waivers.

Robberse and Jimenez, both 20, will be the team’s youngest players on Opening Day while RHP Mark Simon, 26, is the team’s oldest. Seven players were born in the year 2000 or later, which makes the roster’s average age 22.9 years old.