‘In the minors’ is a regular feature on Baseball.ca that highlights Canadian players in the minor leagues. In this installment we take a look at three veteran National Team players that are red-hot as of late.
LHP Andrew Albers (North Battleford, SK) – Rochester Red Wings (AAA)
It took Andrew Albers until May 17th to register his first win of the season with Rochester, the Triple-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, but since then, Albers has been on a tear winning four out of fve starts to give him a 5-2 record with a 3.01 ERA which is tops among Red Wings starters. The Pan Am Games hero from 2011 is getting his first taste of action at the Triple-A level after spending the past two seasons with the Twins Double-A affiliate in New Britain and is doing everything he can to earn a spot in the big-league’s. Albers’ finest performance of the season came on June 7th when he tossed a complete-game shutout in an 11-0 win over the Gwinnett Braves. He did not allow an extra base hit or a walk and fanned seven Braves during his 101 pitch outing. The 27 year-old has been a mainstay on National Teams since 2011 having participated in the IBAF World Cup and Pan Am Games, the World Baseball Classic qualifier and most recently the World Baseball Classic where he tossed three innings in a win over Mexico.
LHP Jay Johnson (Sussex Corner, NB) – Reading Fightin Phils (AA)
Another recent National Team member, Jay Johnson, has been very effective, as of late, coming out of the bullpen for the Reading Fightin Phils. In his last 10 appearances (10 2/3 innings pitched), Johnson has only allowed one earned run and has a tidy 0.84 ERA for the Double-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. Johnson has only given-up three hits and punched-out 14 batters through this impressive stretch to date, the graduate of the Prairie Baseball Academy in Lethbridge, AB, has a 0-2 record and 3.08 ERA in 26 1/3 innings pitched out of the bullpen. After being drafted by the Baltimore Orioles out of the PBA in 2009 and again by the Toronto Blue Jays in 2010, after he transferred to Texas Tech University, Johnson was signed by the Phillies in 2011 where he began his professional career with Single-A Lakewood. Johnson earned a gold medal with Canada at the Pan Am Games in 2011 and prior to that won a bronze medal with Canada at the IBAF World Cup.
OF Adam Loewen (Surrey, BC) – New Hampshire Fisher Cats (AA)
Loewen beat the odds in 2011 reaching the major leagues as a position player after ending his big-league career, as a pitcher, in 2008 with the Baltimore Orioles due to arm injuries. The highest drafted Canadian ever (4th overall in 2002) signed with the New York Mets prior to the 2012 season, where he spent the year at Triple-A Buffalo, before signing back with the Blue Jays organization last January. After Spring Training, Loewen found himself back in New Hampshire with the Double-A Fisher Cats where he spent all of the 2010 season. Through his past 10 games Loewen is hitting .333 with five home runs and 16 RBI and yesterday, had a big day at the plate going 4-for-6 with a double and two home runs, while driving in five runs in a Fisher Cats victory over Erie. The long-time National Team veteran and former Junior National Team MVP connected for a grand slam on May 31st against Binghamton and drilled a three-run shot on June 8th to propel the Cats to a 6-2 victory at Erie. Collecting at least one hit in nine out of his past ten games, Loewen looks to be heating up as the Fisher Cats look to get back to the .500 mark on the season.
