Toronto Blue Jays broadcaster Buck Martinez had glowing reports on three former Vancouver Canadians at spring training in Dunedin, Florida.

On the Blair & Barker show on Sportsnet 590 The Fan, the 17-year major league catcher was asked about which pitching prospect—other than 2022 C’s lefthander Ricky Tiedemann—could make an impact with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2024.

“Chad Dallas, without hesitation. Yeah, he is pretty special. You look at his numbers last year and he was intriguing to me before I ever met him because his numbers are good. He didn’t walk many guys. He kept the ball in the ballpark and he moved up and didn’t have any hiccups as he advanced through the system. I had a chance to visit with him a couple of times already. A very, very aware guy, a very, very heavy pitcher. He’s made some nice adjustments. He’s basically got a world-class curveball and a great slider. Now he’s working on a cutter and a change-up, but he understands the essence of pitching. He’s going to be the guy that’s going to be very interesting to me.”

C's Recap

The 23-year-old Dallas went a combined 9-3 with a 3.85 earned run average between Vancouver and Double-A New Hampshire in 2023. The righthander compiled those totals over 123-1/3 innings in which he struck out 144 batters and walked 49. The Blue Jays fourth-round pick in 2021 out of Tennessee began his pro career with the C’s in 2022.

On the hitting side, Buck Martinez expects 2021 C’s infielder Orelvis Martinez to make his mark with the ’24 Blue Jays. The elder Martinez compared the right-handed hitting slugger to a former Jays teammate of his.

“I talked with (Jays offensive coordinator) Don Mattingly about him in the past. He’s a great guy. And then he’s made some great adjustments and he’s what, 22, I think. And he’s using the big part of the field now where early on, you know, hitters think ‘I got to pull the ball to get it out of the ballpark.’ Well, I’ve said this for the last couple of years. I think there’s an upside in the power department with Martinez that could be somewhere along the lines of George Bell eventually. I think he has that kind of potential. And, you know, he’s an upbeat kid. He’s got a smile on his face all the time. But I think he’s going to be a great guy. And I think he’s a guy that could come very quickly. He made some good adjustments last year,. He got off to a horrible start and everybody was ready to write him off. But he made some adjustments, started cutting down the chase, started striking out less. And I think the power is really going to come to the surface very, very quickly for him.”

Orelvis Martinez slashed .243/.340/.496 with 28 home runs and 94 runs batted in between New Hampshire and Triple-A Buffalo last season. The Dominican slugger signed with Toronto as a free agent on July 4, 2018.

Martinez also shared his early impressions on 2019 C’s hurler Alek Manoah.

“I was thrilled to see him and say hello to him for the first time because he had a big smile on his face. I was kind of concerned that he would come into camp with a chip on his shoulder to say, I’ll show you guys. I’m not as bad as I was last year, but he has come into camp with a terrific work ethic. He’s got himself into great shape. You know, I don’t know what the number is, but he’s obviously very, very trim. He’s never going to be a Chris Bassitt or Kevin Gausman but he’s in great shape for Alek Manoah. That’s good. That’s going to allow him to move better and get his life back on his pitches.”

The Blue Jays open up their Grapefruit League schedule on Saturday when they host the Philadelphia Phillies in a 1:05 p.m. start in Dunedin.

Stephenson Going to St. Marys

Vancouver Canadians Ashley Stephenson

A belated congratulations to Vancouver Canadians position coach Ashley Stephenson for her induction to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in St. Marys, Ontario.

The Mississauga, Ontario native joins former Blue Jays catcher Russell Martin, pitcher Jimmy Key and former Jays president and CEO Paul Godfrey in this year’s induction class along with Canadian National Team member Rod Heisler and Toronto coach, umpire and builder Howard Birnie.

Stephenson joins 1940s All-American Girls Professional Baseball League star Helen Callaghan—the mother of 2019 Vancouver Canadians manager Casey Candaele—as the second woman to be individually inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.

The induction ceremonies will be held on Saturday, June 15.

C-Notes

C's Notes

2018 Vancouver Canadians infielder Otto López is now with the San Francisco Giants after being traded by the Toronto Blue Jays for cash on February 13. He was designated for assessment by the Jays four days earlier.

Two memories of López immediately stand out. Otto was the first interview I did with the help of a translator (2018 position coach and 2024 Dunedin Blue Jays manager José Mayorga) which resulted in this 2018 edition of C’s Chat.

I was also in the house when Otto collected his first major league hit when he singled against former C’s teammate Josh Winckowski when the Jays faced Boston at the Dome in October 1, 2022.

López certainly made a position impression with San Francisco Giants beat writer Susan Slusser.

All the best to Otto in the Bay Area.

2017 Canadians second baseman Samad Taylor has been assigned number 12 with the Seattle Mariners.

Taylor was acquired by the Mariners from the Kansas City Royals for a player to be named later or cash at the end of January.

2022-2023 Canadians reliever T.J. Brock has secured a non-roster invite to Blue Jays Spring Training.

That photo looks awfully familiar! Brock was 4-0 with a 1.77 earned run average with the C’s in 2023 before being promoted to New Hampshire. The 2022 sixth-round pick by Toronto out of Ohio State struck out 31 batters and walked nine in 20-1/3 innings with Vancouver. last season.

Righthander Ben Baggett has been released by the Toronto Blue Jays after spending all of 2023 on the injured list. The Riverdale, Georgia native signed as a free agent with Toronto in 2022 out of Florida Southern University. The 5-foot-10, 195-pound hurler made his pro debut that year by tossing a shutout inning with the Florida Coast League Blue Jays before being bumped up to Low-A Dunedin in June. Baggett put up an earned run average of 0.96 and a 20-0 strikeout/walk total over 18-2/3 innings with the D-Jays. He also converted both save opportunities in the Florida State League semi-final against Fort Myers to help Dunedin reach the final. Baggett allowed just one run in 2-1/3 innings over three appearances and managed not to walk anybody, making it 22 innings without issuing ball four to anyone in his debut season. Friend of the blog Doug Fox had a nice feature about Baggett’s arrival in the Jays system. Baggett was listed on the Vancouver roster before the 2023 season but never set foot at Nat Bailey Stadium. All the best to Ben in his future endeavours.

2017 C’s pitcher Donnie Sellers is staying involved in the sport of baseball as he is turning to the coaching ranks. The former Wake Forest hurler is the new head coach of the Wow Factor Carolinas travel baseball 13U club.

The Vancouver Canadians have released its initial promotions schedule for 2024. Circle Tuesday, June 11 on the calendar because that is the annual Dog Day of Summer as fans can bring their four-legged friends to Nat Bailey Stadium.

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Published by C's Plus Baseball

C’s Plus Baseball strives to deliver plus coverage of the C’s through photos, observations and interviews of the players striving to make it to the major leagues. If you like what you see here, please spread the word about CsPlusBaseball.ca through your favourite social media platform. This blog began just before the C's championship season in 2017 and the goal is to deliver awesome content about Canada’s only affiliated professional minor league baseball club. Thanks a million for being here!

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