Jays draft North Van fireballer McAffer
Will McAffer’s first assignment from the Toronto Blue Jays involves a visit to YVR.
He hopes the second does, too. The fireballing right-hander from North Vancouver is scheduled to fly out this weekend to Dunedin, Fla., for a stint at the Blue Jays’ extended spring training facility after Toronto used a 25th round draft pick to select him on Wednesday following his junior season with the Tulane University Green Wave, an NCAA program based in New Orleans.
McAffer, 21, was back in town this week visiting family.
After a few days in Dunedin, McAffer will be assigned to one of Toronto’s minor-league affiliates. The Blue Jays routinely place their college draft picks with the Vancouver Canadians, their short-season, Single-A Northwest League partner.
That puts McAffer in line to become the latest hometown Canadian, following the likes of Brayden Bouchey, Tom Robson, Justin Atkinson, Brandon Kaye and Eric Brown. The C’s open the regular season in Eugene on June 15. Their home opener is set for June 20 vs. the Everett AquaSox.
“That would be wild,” McAffer said of starting his pro career in Vancouver. “I would go to a number of games at Nat Bailey every summer. I loved to go watch. Some of my friends growing up were billet families for Canadians.
“It would be an honour to play for the Canadians.”
McAffer has touched 97 miles per hour on the radar gun. That single sentence succinctly sums up the Blue Jays’ interest. He can throw the ball through the backstop.
McAffer’s numbers at Tulane were pedestrian: a 6.91 earned run average, 26 walks compared to a 26 strikeouts in 28 2/3 innings. Tulane finished the season 25-33.
It’s his third school, having started out at South Dakota State in 2016 before moving to Central Arizona junior college the following year. The summer season between South Dakota State and Central Arizona was spent with the Victoria HarbourCats. He went 6-2 with a 1.98 earned run average in 12 appearances with the West Coast League college all-star team.
The 6-foot-2, 203-pound McAffer was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in 2015 coming out of high school, but opted not to sign and instead went the NCAA route.
In 2015 he starred in the B.C. Premier League with the North Shore Twins, fashioning a 7-2 record and a 1.35 ERA while striking out 65 in 51 2/3 innings.
One of his coaches with the Twins was Brooks McNiven, the former UBC Thunderbirds’ ace who made it to Triple A in the San Francisco Giants’ system.
McNiven also heads up the coaching staff with the West Vancouver School District Baseball Academy, and McAffer took part in that while attending Sentinel secondary.
“He was just a hair away from making it to the big leagues, and here I am, some 14-year-old kid, and I know everything I’m learning is from someone who’s done it,” said McAffer. “I wasn’t learning from some guy making it up as he went along.
“He taught me the most about pitching.”
The Blue Jays, who have paired up with the C’s since 2011, also
picked Cloverdale Minor Baseball graduate Damiano Palmegiani in the 35th round on Wednesday out of Vauxhall Academy of Baseball, a high school program in Vauxhall, Alta., located about two and a half hours southeast of Calgary.
Palmegiani, 18, a third baseman, has also committed to play in the NCAA ranks next season with Cal State Northridge.
They featured three Vauxhall products this year, including Surrey left-handed pitcher Wesley Moore.
“We’re going to meet with somebody from the Blue Jays and then I’ll sit down with my family and we’ll try to make the most educated decision about which way to go we can,” said Palmegiani, who checks in at 6-foot-1 and 185 pounds.
Should he opt for Cal State Northridge, Palmegiani won’t be eligible for the draft again until after his junior season. If he signs with Toronto for this season, it’s likely that he’ll play rookie ball, one level below Vancouver. That’s generally what Toronto does with players coming out of the high school ranks.
He admit that lining up at the Nat one day “would be a dream.”
“Watching the Canadians play was like watching big-league games growing up. I have a lot of memories from games at Nat Bailey. I love going there,” he said.