Vancouver Canadians 2018 Report
RHP Josh Winckowski was the Northwest League Pitcher of the Year, thanks to a 2.78 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and an outstanding 71 strikeouts to 15 walks. Photo Credit: Jay Blue
By Jay Blue
Blue Jays from Away
It's that time of year that we begin our reports summarizing the season for the Blue Jays' minor league affiliates. We continue our reports with the class-A Short-Season Vancouver Canadians.
If you're new to Blue Jays from Away, we summarize all eight of the Blue Jays' minor league teams in four parts: The Blue Jays from Away Awards, Starting Pitchers, Relief Pitchers and Position Players. Players are discussed with the team that they spent the most time with (by innings pitched for pitchers and at bats for batters).
Under manager Dallas McPherson, the Vancouver Canadians had a solid year with a 40-36 record, which was ultimately the best in the North division over the course of a full season, but, thanks to the split season format in the Northwest League, they didn't make the playoffs, failing to follow up their 2017 championship with a postseason. Vancouver was a game back of Everett in the first half at 19-19 and then were a game back of Spokane in the second half at 21-17.
The Canadians struggled on the offence, finishing with the league's second worst offence, finishing with 4.14 runs per game (below the 4.59 r/g average) while fielding a club that was 0.3 years younger than average. The club shone on the mound, allowing just 3.93 runs per game with a pitching staff that was 0.4 years older than average in the league.
Blue Jays from Away Player of the Game Champion
For those of you who followed the minor league reports here, you’ll know that I “awarded” Player of the Game (PotG) accolades on a game-by-game basis. It should comfort you to know that I’ve been keeping track of these daily awards and my rationale for the system is as follows.
The Player of the Game Awards were determined by a number of factors that included who I thought had the most impact on the game and who might have gone “above and beyond.” Many nights, there was just one Player of the Game. If there was, he earned one point. If I thought that either a) no one stood out enough to merit a single PotG, or b) two or more players were outstanding and deserved mention, I split the point up into two, three or four shares. If two players earned PotG mention, they each received 0.5 points and if three players earned mentions, they each received 0.33 points, etc. There were occasions that I felt that no one merited the award and therefore, I did not give out any points.
Here are the leaders for Blue Jays from Away Player of the Game for the Vancouver Canadians:
Griffin Conine 6.67
Mc Gregory Contreras, Otto Lopez (Montreal, Que.) 5.83
Nick Podkul 5
Bryan Lizardo 4.67
Josh Winckowski 4.33
Randy Pondler 4
Jesus Severino 3.5
Vinny Capra, Jose Espada 3.33
Elio Silva 3
Brandon Polizzi, Sterling Guzman 2.5
Christopher Bec 2.33
Tanner Kirwer (Sherwood Park, Alta.) 2
So there you have it, folks. Griffin Conine is your Blue Jays from Away Player of the Game Champion for the Vancouver Canadians!
Blue Jays from Away Player of the Year
No offensive player was truly dominant for the 2018 Vancouver Canadians and, as mentioned above, the club really struggled to score. Their top OPS came from 19-year-old Otto Lopez (Montreal, Que.), who was a manager's dream playing all over the diamond, hitting .297/.390/.434. Albertan Tanner Kirwer was close, posting a .783 OPS with 13 doubles and 28 stolen bases and Bryan Lizardo and Mc Gregory Contreras were just behind, but the award goes to Lopez.
Honourable Mention: Tanner Kirwer, Bryan Lizardo, Mc Gregory Contreras
Blue Jays from Away Pitcher of the Year
When a player wins recognition from the entire league for his excellence in a given year, it's hard not to give him an award. In this case, Josh Winckowski was the Northwest League Pitcher of the Year, thanks to a 2.78 ERA, 1.22 WHIP as well as an outstanding 71 strikeouts to 15 walks. While there were some very good pitchers in the running for the Canadians, Winckowski's domination at the age of 20 makes him our Pitcher of the Year.
Honourable Mention: Elio Silva, Randy Pondler
Blue Jays from Away Reliever of the Year
Coming out of the bullpen there were a number of strong candidates for the Reliever of the Year. Joey Pulido gave up just two runs (none earned) in 24 2/3 innings, striking out 21 and walking seven, Justin Watts struck out 52 batters in 36 2/3 innings with a 2.45 ERA, Cobi Johnson struck out 35 in 26 innings, keeping his WHIP under 1.00 and Nick Allgeyer had a strong first professional season. Joey Murray had a 1.75 ERA and 39 strikeouts in 25 2/3 innings and Marcus Reyes kept his ERA under 2.00 with a solid strikeout-to-walk ratio. Drumroll please . . . . The winner, by volume of work and second-highest strikeout rate is Justin Watts whose extra 10 innings over most of his competition gets him the win.
Honourable Mention: Joey Pulido, Cobi Johnson, Nick Allgeyer, Joey Murray, Marcus Reyes
Starting Pitchers
We're going to start our more in-depth look at the Vancouver Canadians by looking at starting pitchers. We're going to include anyone who made 50% of his appearances as a starter, or logged enough innings to gain consideration. If a player played for more than one team over the course of the season, he'll be grouped according to the club he played the most with.
We begin with the pitchers who made the most starts and work our way downwards from there.
Jose Espada, 21, tied for the Vancouver Canadians' lead in starts, taking the ball 13 times and logged 59 innings in his second go-round with the Cs. Espada, a Puerto Rican righty, showed improvements in some areas but regressed in others as he posted a 4.88 ERA with a 1.29 WHIP, striking out 27.5% of batters (up 3.1% from 2017) but also walked 10.2% of batters (up 3.0% from 2017). He also saw his ground ball rate drop considerably year over year and his line drive rate doubled from 12.6% to 25.2%. Espada will likely be in Lansing next year after four short seasons.
Now 23, Venezuelan lefty Elio Silva continued his string of solid seasons on the mound as he pitched his Age-20 season with the Vancouver Canadians, making 13 starts in his 14 appearances and logging 66 innings for the Cs. He had a 3.82 ERA and 1.15 WHIP, both very strong, but his strikeout rate, which had previously sat above the 20% mark, fell to career-low 14.8% while his walk rate rose to a career-high 7.4%. Silva will likely move to Lansing next year after four years of short-season ball.
Josh Winckowski, 20, had a stellar season as he continued his climb through the Blue Jays' organization since being a 15th-round pick in 2016. Winckowski led the club with 68 innings and had a 2.78 ERA and 1.22 WHIP, striking out 24.6% of batters and walking only 5.2%, a career low. He also generated 54.4% ground balls and gave up just two home runs on the season. He accomplished all that with a .339 BABIP that kept his FIP at 2.77. Winckowski will almost certainly start 2019 in Lansing and could jump to Dunedin if he is able to pitch effectively in Michigan to start the season.
I had originally thought that Randy Pondler, the 2017 Appalachian League Pitcher of the Year, would pitch mostly for the Lansing Lugnuts in 2018 but he actually started his season, making an appearances with the Dunedin Blue Jays on May 24, throwing 4 2/3 strong innings, allowing a run on six hits with two walks and six strikeouts. He returned to extended spring training and emerged again with the double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats but got stung against the Binghamton Rumble Ponies, allowing three runs on five hits and three walks with two strikeouts in 3 2/3 innings on June 3. Pondler, a 21-year-old Panamanian lefty, reemerged with the Vancouver Canadians and made 12 starts, posting a strong 2.90 ERA and 1.27 WHIP, striking out 17.2% of batters while walking only 6.2% and getting 47.2% ground balls. Pondler will almost certainly start 2019 in Lansing but I could also seen him starting in Dunedin.
The Blue Jays selected righty Sean Wymer out of Texas Christian University in the fourth round of the 2018 draft and they sent him to Vancouver where they monitored his workload carefully. The 6-foot-1 righty made seven starts in 13 appearances, tossing 35 1/3 innings with a 4.84 ERA and 1.19 WHIP, striking out 23.3% of batters while walking only 4.8%. He should head to Lansing next year with the training wheels off.
Relief Pitchers
We move on to the relief pitchers for the Vancouver Canadians, looking at pitchers who made most of their appearances out of the bullpen.
We begin with the pitchers who made the most appearances and work our way downwards from there. If a player played for more than one team over the course of the season, he'll be grouped according to the club he played the most with.
Lefty Marcus Reyes led the Canadians with 23 appearances and the 23-year-old was very solid for the Cs, putting up a 1.35 ERA and 1.17 WHIP, striking out 22.8% while walking 5.9% and getting 45.6% of balls hit on the ground over 33 1/3 innings. His high line-drive rate (27.8%) is somewhat concerning as those line drove may come off the bat harder and harder as he moves up levels. I think he'll be in Lansing next year.
24-year-old non-drafted free agent Connor Law had a solid season, spent mostly with Vancouver. Law got a couple of opportunities with Dunedin before the short season started, tossing 3 2/3 innings without giving up a run, allowing three hits and a walk and striking out two. When the season in Vancouver started, Law ended up posting a 4.23 ERA and 1.34 WHIP in 27 2/3 innings, and he struck out 27.1% of batters and walked 9.8%. Law is another pitcher who could wind up in Lansing next year.
Honduran righty Denis Diaz took to the mound 21 times for Vancouver, returning to Canada for the first time since 2016 when he started seven games for the Canadians. Diaz came back in a relief role, making 21 appearances and throwing 28 1/3 innings with a 7.31 ERA and 1.98 WHIP, striking out only 12.7% of batters and walking a whopping 14.1%. Diaz will have to have a fantastic spring to get onto a full-season roster.
21-year-old Vancouverite Will McAffer came out of university in the US as the 32nd-round pick of the Blue Jays in 2018 and headed home. McAffer posted a strong professional debut, throwing 29 1/3 innings with a 3.68 ERA and 1.33 WHIP, striking out an excellent 28.5% of batters while walking a rather high 13.1%. McAffer also gave up a lot of fly balls (54.9%) but 35.9% of those fly balls were infield flies. McAffer could head to Lansing next year, but judging from the success off the Vancouver bullpen, he could be in some serious competition for a spot on the Lugnuts' roster.
25-year-old Justin Watts spent his Age-24 season with Vancouver and was a dominant pitcher, throwing 36 2/3 innings with a 2.45 ERA but he allowed just 24 hits and 10 walks to keep his WHIP at 0.93 while striking out 36.4% of batters and walking only 7.0%. I can see Watts in Lansing, but if he's pitching effectively, I can see him jumping up to Dunedin next year.
Son of long-time Blue Jays minor league (and current bullpen) coach Dane Johnson, Cobi Johnson was drafted in the 30th round but the 6-foot-4, 22-year-old pitched like he was selected much higher. He had a 1.73 ERA and 0.96 WHIP, striking out 34.3% of batters and walking 7.8% in 26 innings. Johnson will certainly compete for a spot in Lansing next year.
After missing 2016 with a knee injury, Juan Nunez returned as a starter with Vancouver and had his struggles in 2017 and was a reliever in 2018. He made 17 appearances (including two starts) with a 5.20 ERA and 1.62 WHIP, walking 12.8% of batters and striking out 20.1% over 45 innings. Nunez, 22, could try to break out to Lansing but will need to get a bit more control before he can do so.
In the 18th round of the 2018 draft, the Blue Jays selected 6-foot-9 righty Fitz Stadler, a 21-year-old out of Arizona State. Stadler was absolutely dominant in Bluefield, striking out 17 and walking three in just 11 1/3 innings, allowing only six hits and he regressed a bit in Vancouver, throwing another 24 1/3 innings with a 2.22 ERA and 1.23 WHIP, seeing his strikeout rate drop from 38.6% in Bluefield to 22.2% in Vancouver while his walk rate rose from 6.8% in Bluefield to 9.1% in Vancouver. Still, Stadler's control at this early stage (particularly considering his height) is encouraging, as is his high ground ball rate at 52.4% in Vancouver.
Another 2018 draft pick, Nick Allgeyer, who was selected in the 12th round, had a solid season in Vancouver. Allgeyer, a 6-foot-3 lefty out of the University of Iowa, started six of his 15 appearances and had a 2.73 ERA and 1.03 WHIP, striking out an excellent 29.0% of batters and walking only 7.5%. Allgeyer's solid stats means that he'll likely be in Lansing next year.
Selected in the 32nd round of the 2018 draft, Joey Pulido came out of the University of Houston and stands just 5-foot-9, on the small side, particularly for a righty. The 23 year old made two appearances in the GCL, striking out four in two innings and giving up an unearned run (among two earned runs) on two hits before moving up to Bluefield. In the Appy League, he allowed three runs on six hits and four walks with seven strikeouts over 10 innings before he was promoted to Vancouver where he didn't give up an earned run in his final 24 2/3 innings, allowing just two unearned runs and posting a stellar 0.81 WHIP, striking out 21.7% and walking 7.2% and getting 48.4% of batted balls on the ground. Pulido looks like he was hard to pull the ball against, allowing just 38.2% of balls in play to the pull side and getting 45.6% of balls hit the other way. I can see Pulido starting in Lansing next year after a stellar debut campaign.
Another Joey, Joey Murray, was also drafted by the Blue Jays in 2018 with Murray getting selected in the eighth round. The 22-year-old righty posted a 1.75 ERA and 1.13 WHIP with the Canadians, striking out a whopping 37.1% of batters and walking 9.5% in 25 2/3 innings, making six starts along the way in 13 appearances. Batters seemed to have a tough time getting around on him, allowing just 38.2% of balls in play to the pull side while seeing 47.3% of those balls going the other way. Murray is another candidate for Lansing or Dunedin in 2019, but he could be a starter next year.
Non-drafted free agent Troy Miller came out of the University of Michigan and pitched decently in his first exposure to professional baseball, tossing 13 innings with the Canadians and finishing with a 3.46 ERA and 1.62 WHIP, striking out 24.6% and walking 16.4%. The walks are obviously problematic and could see the 21-year-old Miller back in extended spring training and then Vancouver in 2019.
Mitch McKown, 22, is a 6-foot-4 righty who had one of the worst professional debuts possible in 2016. Rebounding in 2017 with Bluefield, McKown looked like he was ready to break out with Vancouver, starting his season with the GCL, McKown pitched a scoreless inning on June 30 and moved up to Vancouver for the beginning of July. He allowed a run on a hit and two walks with one strikeout in an inning on July 3 and threw two scoreless innings on July 6, giving up two hits and striking out one before going on the DL and he didn't return in 2018. I would expect McKown to return to Vancouver in 2019.
Hitters
We turn to the hitters of the Vancouver Canadians to see who did what in 2018. We'll start with the catchers and go around the horn to the infield and then to the outfield.
Catchers
Spending most of his season in Bluefield in 2017, Venezuelan catcher Yorman Rodriguez went back to Vancouver in 2018, catching the most games for the Cs. He hit .267/.310/.343 with eight doubles, a triple and a home run striking out in 13.0% of appearances but walking in only 3.8%. Rodriguez threw out a solid 32% of potential base stealers in his Age-20 season and the now-21-year-old catcher will likely be in Lansing next year.
2018 fifth-round pick Christopher Bec came out of the University of Maine, Orono, and had an interesting debut season. Bec hit .245/.351/.365 with eight doubles, a triple and three home runs while stealing 16 bases in 16 attempts. Bec had an impressive walk rate of 14.1% while striking out in 17.8% of his plate appearances. Behind the plate, Bec only threw out 13% of potential base stealers, however.
26th-round pick Brett Wright played in just 24 games with the Vancouver Canadians and had just 83 plate appearances but was third in the team with five home runs, despite hitting .147/.229/.360 and added one double. Wright struck out 26.5% of the time and walked 6.0% but he also threw out 38% of potential base stealers.
Second-year pro Reilly Johnson split his time between Vancouver and Lansing, but got just 99 plate appearances combined with 61 in Vancouver, hitting .164/.246/.236, hitting one home run and one double. Johnson had a strong walk rate (9.8%) while striking out in 23.0% of his plate appearances before moving to Lansing where he hit .257/.316/.286 with a double in 38 plate appearances. Johnson moved around defensively, playing catcher, second base and left field in Vancouver and he only threw out 20% of potential base stealers in Vancouver and none of the potential base stealers in Lansing.
Infield
22-year-old Jake Brodt was the Blue Jays' ninth-round pick in 2018 out of Santa Clara University and, after two hitless games in the GCL (0/6 with two walks), he joined the Vancouver Canadians and played mostly first base. Brodt hit .237/.256/.361 with 15 doubles and two home runs. Possibly the most concerning element of Brodt's debut season was the fact that he walked in only 2.8% of his plate appearances and struck out in 35.8%. Look for him either back in Vancouver or in Lansing next year.
Playing 43 games at second base was the Blue Jays' seventh-round pick of 2018, 21-year-old Nick Podkul out of Notre Dame. In 50 games with Vancouver, Podkul hit .222/.347/.364, hitting 10 doubles, two triples and three home runs, striking out in 19.3% of plate appearances and walking in a healthy 14.2%.
Leading the club in games played at third base was Bryan Lizardo who, in his fifth year of professional baseball since signing out of the Dominican Republic, showed some promise with the bat for the first time. Lizardo hit .268/.347/.433 with seven double, a triple and four home runs in 37 games with Vancouver, walking in 11.1% of plate appearances and striking out in 29.9%. He tempered his strikeouts when he was promoted to Lansing, playing in 18 games and hitting .266/.347/.313 with an 11.1% walk rate and 25.0% strikeout rate. Lizardo should stay in Lansing to start 2019.
Vinny Capra, 22, was the Blue Jays' 22nd-round pick in 2018 and he went to work with Vancouver, posting a .235/.344/.371 slash line as the everyday shortstop in 39 games and 163 plate appearances, hitting 10 doubles, a triple and two home runs while stealing eight bases in 10 chances. Capra's 12.9% walk rate and decent 20.2% strikeout rate helped him get a promotion to Lansing where he hit .266/.324/.351 with eight doubles, a 7.8% walk rate and 18.4% strikeout rate in 103 plate appearances. Capra will likely start back in Lansing in 2019.
The Vancouver Canadians' super utility player was Otto Lopez (Montreal, Que.), who had a strong season with Vancouver in his Age-19 season (he just turned 20 at the beginning of October). Lopez hit .297/.390/.434 in 206 plate appearances, hitting seven doubles, four triples and three home runs after hitting .364/.382/.636 in 34 plate appearances in Bluefield in which he hit five doubles and two triples. Lopez played second base, third base and shortstop in the infield and added time at all three outfield positions with the Canadians. With Vancouver, Lopez walked in 12.6% of his plate appearances while striking out in only 10.2% for a great ratio.
Jesus Severino, a 21-year-old Dominican infielder played all but two of his games in 2018 in Vancouver. after going 3/8 with the Bluefield Blue Jays, Severino moved up to Vancouver where he put up some solid numbers, including the best offensive ones of his career. He hit .270/.323/.412 with 15 doubles and two home runs in 161 plate appearances. Severino walked in 6.8% of his plate appearances and struck out in 21.1%. Severino could easily move up to Lansing next year after a solid year in Vancouver.
Outfield
In his third professional season, Mc Gregory Contreras continued to show some pop and improvement as he moved up another level in his Age-19 season. Contreras hit .260/.318/.460, hitting 11 doubles, four triples and eight home runs over 233 plate appearances, playing mostly left field. Contreras will need to take a few more walks (3.9%) and bring his strikeout rate down (29.6%), but otherwise, for a young hitter, he showed himself more than up to the task of hitting against better competition. I can easily see him in Lansing next year.
Albertan Tanner Kirwer, 22, anchored the outfield for the Vancouver Canadians, playing mostly in centre field and getting into 61 games overall, hitting .280/.333/.450 with 13 doubles, six triples and four home runs while stealing a team high of 28 bases in 34 attempts. Kirwer didn't walk a ton, taking a free pass in 6.5% of his plate appearances but he did improve it from 2017, as he also improved his strikeout rate, bringing it down to 23.5% (down almost 3% from 2017). Kirwer could be ready for a trip to Lansing next year.
In the second round of the 2018 draft, the Blue Jays selected the son of another former major leaguer when they chose outfielder Griffin Conine who went 3/8 with a double and a walk in two games in the GCL before he was assigned to Vancouver. Once in Canada, he started well before struggling a bit but was still among the biggest contributors to the Canadians' offense. Conine hit .238/.309/.427 with 14 doubles, two triples and seven home runs in 230 plate appearances, walking in 8.3% of his plate appearances but striking out in a somewhat high 27.4%. Conine particularly flagged down the stretch, hitting .211/.265/.342 in August and going 0/6 with a walk in two September games. I'm willing to write off his difficulties to fatigue after a long college season followed but the grind of a pro short season and we'll see how he reacts to a full season of professional baseball next year.
Brandon Polizzi played 52 games for Vancouver (and another 10 with Lansing), but he didn't have his best offensive season, hitting .224/.323/.254 with two doubles and a triple in 157 plate appearances while stealing 19 bases in 21 attempts. His 11.5% walk rate got him on base quite a bit and his 19.7% strikeout rate suggests that he wasn't overmatched. In 11 games with Lansing, he hit just .111/.172/.111 with a 6.7% walk rate and 20.0% strikeout rate.
Hunter Steinmetz, the Blue Jays' 11th-round pick in 2018, played 26 games with Vancouver, getting 93 plate appearances and hitting .179/.237/.286 with five doubles and two triples, stealing six bases. He also got into six games with Bluefield, hitting better at a .238/.370/.286 clip with a double and two stolen bases in 27 plate appearances.
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