OTTAWA-National Team veteran Andrew Albers (North Battleford, SK) will get an opportunity to realize a childhood dream of pitching in the major leagues as the Minnesota Twins today called-up the left-hander from Triple-A Rochester.
Albers will join the Twins on Saturday.
Through 22 starts with the Red Wings, Albers was 11-5 with a 2.86 ERA. His 116 strikeouts are currently tops in the IL and his 2.86 ERA is good for sixth best in the league.
Back in March, Albers tossed three innings for Canada in a win over Mexico at the World Baseball Classic and since then he has been one of the top starting pitchers in the International League.
Albers journey to the big-leagues began after he was drafted by the San Diego Padres out of the University of Kentucky in 2008.
After making his professional debut, Albers journey took a detour as he was sidelined for the majority of the 2009 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery and was eventually released by the Padres.
Fully recovered from the surgery, Albers found himself in the independent Can/Am League pitching for the Québec Capitales where he had a 1.40 ERA in 40 appearances out of the bullpen which caught the eyes of the Minnesota Twins who inked him to a professional contract.
During the 2011 season, Albers pitched mainly with Double-A New Britain and made his debut with the Senior National Team later that fall for the IBAF World Cup in Panama and Pan Am Games in Mexico.
After earning a bronze medal at the World Cup, Albers and his Canadian teammates found themselves playing for a gold medal against the United States.
Manager Ernie Whitt handed Albers the ball and after surrendering a run in the bottom of the first he shutdown the US and struck out eight batters en route to earning the win in the gold medal game. He was later named COPABE Athlete of the Year for his gold medal winning performance.
In 2012, he continued to thrive on the mound for Canada as he earned the win over host Germany at the World Baseball Classic qualifier to gain Canada a spot in the 2013 World Baseball Classic.
For his efforts, he was presented with Baseball Canada’s ‘Stubby Clapp’ Award at the National Teams Awards Banquet and Fundraiser in January.
Earlier this season, the accolades kept on coming as Albers participated in the Triple-A All-Star Game.
The 27 year-old is the 18th Canadian to appear on a major league roster this season.
