Latest news with #minorleague
New York Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Prospect Sam Shaw one step closer to becoming next Canadian-born Blue Jay
TORONTO — Somewhere in Victoria, British Columbia, there's a tiny plastic cup resting on a basement shelf. It's a mini red helmet, emblazoned with a fading Vancouver Canadians logo, that once held Sam Shaw's serving of ballpark ice cream. Shaw, 20, grew up attending Canadians games at Nat Bailey Stadium, the home of the Toronto Blue Jays' High-A affiliate. It's a short drive and two-hour ferry ride from his childhood home. His memories of The Nat are faded and patchwork — swinging in the kids' batting cage down the left-field line, watching rising prospects and scooping soft serve out of a mini helmet. But as Shaw slipped on a much bigger, much more real Canadians batting helmet for the first time last week, the memories flooded back. Advertisement The Jays promoted Shaw to Vancouver after the All-Star break. It's a homecoming of sorts for the lifelong West Coast fan of the Blue Jays, who selected him in the ninth round of the 2023 draft. It's also a hard-earned trial run — a promotion earned by burgeoning power and a test of what it could be like for a rare Canadian player on the country's only MLB team. 'There's going to be a kid like me that gets to watch me play for the first time, that dreams of being a hometown kid in Vancouver or on the Blue Jays,' Shaw said. 'That's kind of what helps me in the weight room, or helps me with whatever. It's like, this is my chance to show that.' Last year, while scuffling in the Florida Complex League for a second-straight season, Shaw said that Vancouver — let alone the big leagues — felt particularly distant. The 5-foot-10 utilityman entered the season as Toronto's 20th-ranked prospect, per The Athletic's Keith Law. He walked at a 16.7 percent clip last year, second best on his FCL team, but a lack of power limited his ceiling. 'I sucked,' Shaw said. Perhaps a harsh diagnosis, but it's a blunt honesty that lives in Shaw's every word. 'What I had last year was I made a lot of contact,' he said. 'I controlled the zone, I didn't swing and miss too much. But my damage, my power, was not very good.' On the field, Shaw's jersey is often drenched with the dirt of a stolen base or diving defensive play. But while discussing his search for power, the second baseman and outfielder sounds more like a data analyst or baseball blogger than a gritty ballplayer. For him, it's swing speed, comparable swing paths, barrel rates, exit velocities and contact quality. His favorite movie, naturally, is 'Moneyball.' 'It's going to sound like I'm overthinking it,' Shaw said. 'And maybe rightfully so. But there's a puzzle in the numbers that I do like to look at to try and figure out how to be better.' Advertisement That mindset made Shaw the perfect candidate to attend Driveline Baseball for an offseason boot camp. He spent a week at the data-driven player development lab in Washington state. They broke down his swing in a batting cage filled with flashing cameras and computer monitors, looking for imperfections and concocting a plan to improve his bat speed and power potential. Shaw ate more, hit the gym more and swung with a weighted bat. 'Sammy is pretty dynamic in the box,' Blue Jays director of player development Joe Sclafani said. 'So with that as a foundation, the recognizing pitches and the plate discipline being there, the next step was an ability to impact the ball.' Shaw entered spring training with harder swings and increased exit velocities, earning a spot with Low-A Dunedin to start the season. In 62 games, he hit seven homers and 10 doubles, posting an .801 OPS — all career-high marks in just half a season. Ahead of every home game, Shaw drove past the Dunedin library, turning into the TD Ballpark players' lot. Each day, pausing for the security fence to open, Shaw looked out at the barren patch of concrete he stood on as a kid. Waiting at that same gate on spring training trips with his family, Shaw hoped that exiting Blue Jays players would stop to sign an autograph after a spring game. Darwin Barney, Shaw recalls with a chuckle, snubbed him for an autograph. But he had better luck with Jason Grilli, J.A. Happ, Troy Tulowitzki and Russell Martin. Shaw sat in TD Ballpark's outfield seats one year, baking under Florida's spring sun. Young Blue Jays right fielder Jonathan Davis drifted back for a ball, snagging it with his glove before turning to the stands. As Davis launched the ball into the crowd, Shaw reached up and caught the souvenir. Now, as Shaw joins High-A Vancouver, Davis is the hitting coach. Advertisement There's an added element to being a Canadian player in the Blue Jays' organization. Shaw cheered on Martin as the hometown catcher for the ALCS runs in 2015 and 2016. He watched Jordan Romano lock down saves the last few years. He knows what fans expect — how much they latch on to that rare Canadian — because he was that fan. Shaw remains several years and many promotions away from Rogers Centre, but this bump to Vancouver, Shaw said, is a hopeful trial run. 'Any Canadian that plays in Canada, you're kind of the hometown guy, ' Shaw said. 'It's gonna be different.' But more than any added bat speed or uptick in power, Shaw's success this season comes from an ability to silence that noise and calm the pressure. Before games, he's a self-proclaimed nerd, poring over swing data and game plans. At first pitch, Shaw looks to his wrist, at the red beaded bracelet his mother, Stephanie, gave him before the season. On it reads a simple message: 'Have Fun' — a gentle reminder to leave the deep dives in the clubhouse. It's helped ease the weight of his dream, Shaw said, simplifying the eight months and 132-game schedule of a minor-league season back to the game he grew up playing in Victoria. In the batter's box, his mind is clear. Playing in front of friends, family and hungry Canadian baseball fans at Nat Bailey Stadium, Shaw knows that mindset will be all the more important. If, one day, Shaw becomes the next Canadian to suit up for the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre, he hopes this Vancouver test will have prepared him. 'He's done a much better job of being where his feet are this year,' Sclafani said. 'Just a focus, locking in on what he needs to do day to day. But he's going to need to continue to do that up there. Because, of course, how cool is that, the prodigal son comes home.'
Washington Post
4 days ago
- Sport
- Washington Post
Mets bolster bullpen with deal for Orioles lefty Gregory Soto ahead of trade deadline
FLUSHING, N.Y. — The New York Mets have acquired help for their bullpen, trading for left-handed reliever Gregory Soto from the Baltimore Orioles for a pair of minor league pitchers. The Mets announced the trade Friday. They are sending right-handed pitchers Wellington Aracena and Cameron Foster for the two-time All-Star. Soto, 30, has a 3.96 ERA with 18 walks and 44 strikeouts in 45 appearances for the Orioles this season. The lefty has held left-handed batters to a .138 batting average allowing just eight walks and 22 strikeouts. He's been even stingier in 21 games since June 4 with left-handed batters 0-for-23.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
John Glenn graduate Colt Emerson finding success in Mariners' minor league baseball system
Former John Glenn standout Colt Emerson is proving that some dreams are worth the wait, as the 2023 Muskies graduate ― now in his 3rd season within the Seattle Mariners' minor league system ― is producing on the field with the Everett Aquasox in the High-Class A Northwest League. Emerson, who was the Mariners' top pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, is putting together a solid season as he continues to progress through the Seattle minor league system. The former Muskies' 2-sport star currently sports a solid .268 batting average with 12 doubles, five triples, nine home runs and 46 RBIs as of July 20th. He has complied a .433 slugging percentage and also scored 54 runs with six stolen bases for the Aquasox who have a record of 45-45 thus far this season. Defensively, Emerson primarily plays shortstop for the Aquasox, but has also seen time at both third base and second base this season. Emerson was recognized as the Northwest League's Player of the Week for the week of June 20th. As of July 22, 2025, Emerson's combined career minor league stats show a .281 batting average with 15 home runs and 29 stolen bases in 172 games. More: Game changer: Girls flag football to join OHSAA varsity lineup in 2026 More: Gridiron Boot Camp: Buckeye Trail football builds brotherhood with 'Military Games' With another strong performance in A-Ball, Emerson appears to be right on track to hopefully someday realize the ultimate dream of earning his way into "The Show" known as Major league Baseball. MLB SCOUTS SAY: Emerson shows a pure hitting ability, with a smooth and compact left-handed swing that stays in the zone. He has an advanced approach at the plate, demonstrating good plate discipline and knowledge of the strike zone. He possesses good instincts and is considered a steady defender at shortstop with an above-average arm. There is a possibility he could move to third base as he develops. Emerson has been ranked highly among Mariners prospects and on numerous national prospect lists. KSutton1@ X: @KSuttonDJSports; Instagram: kevinsutton_dailyjeffsports This article originally appeared on The Daily Jeffersonian: Future bright for Seattle Mariners prospect Colt Emerson
Yahoo
20-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
John Oliver-Branded Minor League Baseball Team the Erie Moon Mammoths Play First Game
The Erie Moon Mammoths, a minor league baseball team rebranded by John Oliver and his Last Week Tonight staff, made their debut Saturday to a record-setting crowd that included Oliver in attendance. Back in May, during a segment about minor league baseball teams and their frequent crowd-drawing promotions, Oliver invited teams to send in proposals about why they deserved a rebrand; nearly 50 teams sent in proposals, with Oliver ultimately opting for the Erie SeaWolves, as that Pennsylvania team and Detroit Tigers affiliate played nowhere near a sea. More from Rolling Stone How to Watch the 2025 MLB All-Star Game Online How to Watch Yankees vs. Mets Subway Series Games Online How to Watch the LSU vs. Coastal Carolina College World Series Final Online 'Erie did stand out to us as being, you know, uniquely eccentric. And I say that as both a compliment and an insult, which is the biggest compliment there is,' Oliver said Saturday during a pregame press conference (via The Associated Press) before serving as the game's bat boy and 'Take Me Out to the Ballgame' singer. 'There was something about the Moon Mammoth that spoke to us for being particularly odd. It felt like it could make a baseball team's theme. You could almost see the logo in your head and it felt like something to be extra surprising.' Just over two months later, the Erie Moon Mammoths — named after George Moon, an Erie man who discovered mammoth bones while scuba diving in nearby Lake Pleasant in 1991 — played their first game Saturday to an attendance of 7,070 people, the largest crowd in UPMC Park's history. George Moon was also on hand to catch Oliver's ceremonial first pitch. 'It's fun. I'm enjoying it,' Moon said. 'From all those years ago to today, I would never have thought anything like this would've been possible. The newspaper did something on its 30th anniversary [in 2021]. Other than that, I haven't heard much.' SeaWolves president Greg Coleman told the AP that, in the three weeks since the Moon Mammoths' rebrand was announced, the team has sold four years' worth of merchandise in their online store, and lines formed at the on-site team store. Despite their popularity, the Moon Mammoths will revert back to the SeaWolves for most games — this is just a minor league promotion, after all — but the Oliver-branded team will play three more times this season, Aug. 19 and Sept. 12 and 13. Moon Mammoths games are also planned for the 2026 season. 'I love minor league baseball. There is a special eccentricity to it,' Oliver said. 'It felt like a nice fit with our show because minor league baseball, as you know, is willing to try anything. That was proven by the fact that over half the league was willing to sight unseen, rebrand and put their trust in the hands of a group of people who are objectively untrustworthy. That's a bad decision, and it's that kind of bad decision making that I love about minor league baseball.' Best of Rolling Stone The 50 Best 'Saturday Night Live' Characters of All Time Denzel Washington's Movies Ranked, From Worst to Best 70 Greatest Comedies of the 21st Century
Yahoo
19-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
A Montreal pickleball tournament hopes to produce the best talent in the province
MTL Pickleball is hosting its first ever minor league tournament that gives athletes a path to compete in the U.S. and from there, a shot at qualifying for the Pickleball World Cup in 2026.
