Nate Pearson is among 13 C’s pitchers on the Blue Jays Instructional League roster.
Baseball America has released the Instructional League roster for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2017.
There are 67 players taking part with 29 of them having ties to the Vancouver Canadians. Of the 29, 25 of them spent time this year in the Pacific Northwest.
Lefthander Joe DiBenedetto is on the Blue Jays Instructional League roster.
Out of the 31 pitchers on the roster, 13 of them wore the C’s jersey. Years are noted in parentheses.
- Travis Bergen (2015-2017)
- Joe DiBenedetto (2017)
- Justin Dillon (2017)
- Colton Laws (2017)
- Zach Logue (2017)
- Patrick Murphy (2016)
- Nate Pearson (2017)
- Marcus Reyes (2017)
- Brody Rodning (2017)
- Donnie Sellers (2017)
- Matt Shannon (2017)
- Graham Spraker (2017)
- Kyle Weatherly (2017)
There are nine catchers who will attending, four of them former Vancouver Canadians.
- Riley Adams (2017)
- Javier Hernandez (2016-2017)
- Matt Morgan (2017)
- Yorman Rodriguez (2017)
Logan Warmoth is among five C’s infielders heading to Dunedin for instructs.
Five of the 15 infielders taking part include five with Vancouver connections.
- Kacy Clemens (2017)
- Cullen Large (2017)
- Samad Taylor (2017)
- Logan Warmoth (2017)
- Christian Williams (2016)
C’s outfielder Reggie Pruitt (left) will be joined by pitcher Marcus Reyes in instructs.
Seven of the 12 outfielders on the roster have passed through YVR.
- Brock Lundquist (2017)
- Josh Palacios (2016)
- Brandon Polizzi (2017)
- Reggie Pruitt (2017)
- Freddy Rodriguez (2017)
- J.B. Woodman (2016)
- Chavez Young (2017)
To get a better idea of what goes on during instructs, Blue Jays From Away has a good article on it and this little blurb is informative as well.
C-Notes
I was surprised to hear about the Blue Jays letting go of manager Rich Miller, the Northwest League manager of the year who led the club to a championship season. I guess winning is not enough sometimes and perhaps it was a case of philosophical differences, I don’t really know.
In the Twitterverse, I’m not the only who was surprised by this development
How was Rich Miller rewarded after managing Vancouver to NWL championship and being named manager of the year? He was fired by the Blue Jays
— steve simmons (@simmonssteve) September 19, 2017
#BlueJays have fired short-season-A Vancouver manager Rich Miller, as @Beezersun first reported. Had been in organization since 2010 https://t.co/uXDdpFZoTM
— Shi Davidi (@ShiDavidi) September 20, 2017
This does not make any sense! #BlueJays fire Vancouver Canadians manager Rich Miller after championship season https://t.co/hVLStJMErr
— Popular Fitness (@bestfitshape) September 20, 2017
Wearing my C’s hat today in honour of Rich Miller, let go by the Blue Jays after leading them to the NWL title. pic.twitter.com/V63aw2HmKK
— Clutchlings (@Clutchlings77) September 20, 2017
One memory that jumps out was a ‘Happy 10th Wedding Anniversary’ greeting address to Miller on the video scoreboard in center field and I remember him tipping his cap towards the press box area in appreciation for the well wishes.
I only spoke to him once during Media Day but he was very cordial and his enthusiasm for the game of baseball was pretty evident. I wish him the very best in his future endeavours.
The Vancouver Whitecaps paid tribute to the Northwest League champions.
My thanks to @whitecapsfc for acknowledging @vancanadians during match vs. Columbus. pic.twitter.com/fpJkuAYMqa
— Rob Fai 🇨🇦 (@RobFaiNation) September 17, 2017
My thanks to @whitecapsfc for acknowledging @vancanadians during match vs. Columbus. pic.twitter.com/fpJkuAYMqa
— Rob Fai 🇨🇦 (@RobFaiNation) September 17, 2017
Thank you to @WhitecapsFC for the shoutout! C’s pitcher Brayden Bouchey hoisting the Freitas Cup! 💍🏆 pic.twitter.com/vaBy5GLKRI
— Vancouver Canadians (@vancanadians) September 17, 2017
2017 Northwest League Champions @vancanadians are in the house today! CC: @WhitecapsFC #VWFC #NWLChamps pic.twitter.com/Y9AIhKQzJX
— Larry Wong (@LarryWong84) September 16, 2017
What a week, got to cover the @vancanadians win the #NWL #Championship and last night got to cover the @PtboLakersLax win the #MannCup2017 pic.twitter.com/jiE5L11CWO
— Jorge Parra (@UnderK9) September 16, 2017
@vancanadians Congrats to friends north of the border. NWL Champions! 4th in 7 years. How ’bout letting the rest of us win one? Geez…
— AquaSox GM (@AquaSoxGM) September 16, 2017