OTTAWA- The prestigious Arizona Fall League gets underway today at three different Spring Training locations in Arizona, and Canadian baseball fans will recognize three names scattered among the circuits six clubs.
Chicago Cubs farmhand and Langley, BC native Wes Darvill is on the roster of the Mesa Solar Sox, while Canadian World Baseball Classic member Jameson Taillon, of the Pittsburgh Pirates organization, will pitch for the Scottsdale Scorpions.
Seven players from the Toronto Blue Jays organization have been assigned to play for the Salt River Rafters that will see long-time National Team Third Base Coach, Tim Leiper, as a member of the coaching staff.
Operating since 1992, the AFL as it is commonly known is a breeding ground for future major league stars such as Derek Jeter, Albert Pujols and Canadian MVP’s Justin Morneau and Joey Votto. Each Major League club sends six of their top prospects to the AFL each October where each of the six clubs plays a 32-game schedule.
Darvill, a second baseman and graduate of the Junior National Team program, was taken by the Chicago Cubs in the fifth round of the 2009 MLB Draft and made his pro debut with the Arizona League Cubs later that summer. Working his way up the minor league ladder, Darvill opened the 2013 season at Single-A Kane County where he hit .347 in 15 games to earn a promotion to High-A Daytona. Playing as the D-Cubs everyday second baseman, Darvill managed a respectable .253 batting average and swatted three home runs to go along with 14 doubles and five triples. He also added eight stolen bases to his totals.
Taillon, a native of the The Woodlands, Texas with two Canadian parents, is one of the top prospects in the Pirates organization after they took him with the second pick overall in the 2010 MLB Draft right after the Washington Nationals grabbed Bryce Harper. The hard throwing right hander made his debut with the Canadian National Team last March when he tossed four impressive innings against Team USA at the World Baseball Classic in Phoenix. Once Spring Training finished, the 21 year-old was assigned to Double-A Altoona where he had a 3.67 ERA and struck out 106 batters in 110 1/3 innings. In August, he earned a promotion to Triple-A Indianapolis and started six games compiling a 1-3 record with 37 strikeouts in 37 innings pitched.
Leiper, a mainstay as Third Base Coach with the National Team since 2003, joined the Toronto Blue Jays organization prior to the 2013 season working in Player Development as a Senior Advisor. Leiper has managed and coached in the Miami Marlins, Pittsburgh Pirates, Baltimore Orioles and Montréal Expos organizations. His ties to Canada include two separate stints as manager of the now defunct Triple-A Ottawa Lynx in 2002 and 2004. On the international side, the native of Brea, California, has been Canada’s Third Base Coach at all three World Baseball Classic events, the 2004 Athens Olympics and the 2011 Pan Am Games where Canada took home the gold medal.
To follow the Arizona Fall League, please visit www.mlbfallball.com
