By Danny Gallagher

Canadian Baseball Network

In year-end polls as 2018 draws to a conclusion, James Paxton has been and will be in the mix for top spot.

Paxton was recently voted the winner of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame's Tip O'Neill Award as top Canadian.

Paxton would have received consideration for the Lou Marsh Trophy winner which goes to Canada's athlete of the year but moguls king Mikael Kingsbury won it. Paxton will also get some looks when newspaper editors and reporters vote for the Canadian Press male athlete of the year.

And at some point, writer Bob Elliott will release his top 100 Most Influential Canadians in Baseball for 2018 for the Canadian Baseball Network, a tradition he has been pounding out annually for years. My guess is that Paxton will be Elliott's No. 1 choice, unseating incumbent Joey Votto, who experienced a lackluster season in 2018 with only 12 homers, 67 RBI and a .284 BA.

Paxton, from Ladner, B.C., was a dominant 11-6 this season for the Seattle Mariners. He gained notoriety by striking out 16 Oakland Athletics on May 2 and then firing a no-hitter against the Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre six days later. Votto will remain on the Top 100 list somewhere, likely in the top 10.

Somewhere on Elliott's radar for his very popular list will be Tyler O'Neill of Maple Ridge, B.C. and Montreal-born Blue Jays prospect Vladimir Guerrero Jr. O'Neill, who was up and down from the minors with the Cardinals in 2018, socked nine homers and drove in 23 runs in a mere 130 at-bats with St. Louis. Down in triple-A, Mr. Muscleman tagged 26 homers, drove in 63 runs and batted .311 with an eye-catching 1.078 OPS in 238 at-bats. Imagine what he would have done in a full season with Memphis.

Some people may not realize that Guerrero was born in Montreal, a son of the Expos legend bearing the same first name. His 2018 season as the Jays' No. 1 prospect was nothing short of stellar.

Guerrero's season was docked by close to six weeks because of a strained patellar tendon but his combined average in the minors was .381. In 357 at-bats, he hit 20 homers and drove in 78 runs. His tenure in double-A was dominating: he batted .402, hit 14 homers and collected 60 RBI. He also hit .351 in the Arizona Fall League.

Danny Gallagher's just-released book is called Blue Monday.