Atkinson hopes he’s not home for long
HOT STREAK: Surrey product has sights set on return to full-season in Lansing after taking up catching duties
Justin Atkinson thinks the Vancouver area is a nice place to live in the winter, but he’s not overly keen on working here in the summer for too long.
Atkinson, 21, a Toronto Blue Jays infield/catching prospect from Surrey, is back with the Vancouver Canadians after starting this season a level up the minor-league ladder with the Lansing Lugnuts.
He’s making a case that he shouldn’t be based out of Nat Bailey Stadium very long. Going into Monday, Atkinson had hit .395 (17-for43) in his past 10 games with the C’s, highlighted by two home runs and seven runs batted in. He had also scored eight times in that stretch.
A 2011 26th-round draft pick by the Blue Jays, Atkinson had a .263 career average heading into Monday in four-plus seasons in the minors.
That included spending the 2013 campaign helping Vancouver win the short-season single-A Northwest League banner and playing all of last year with Lansing, a team in the single-A Midwest League.
He hit .291 in 77 games with Lansing last year to go with one home run and 29 RBI. In his first 30 games in Lansing this time around, he batted .212 with no homers and seven RBI.
“It’s always good to come home,” said Atkinson, who missed time in Lansing with a hand injury. “That’s a good part in this, along with playing every day. I wasn’t playing as much as I wanted to in Lansing.”
Another factor is the Blue Jays are trying to turn him into a catcher or at least a guy capable of going behind the plate in an emergency situation.
He had been drafted as a middle infielder. By the time he got to Vancouver, the Blue Jays saw the 6-foot1, 218-pounder as more of a corner infielder and he played 38 of his 64 games with Vancouver in 2013 at third base with another 23 at first.
Toronto brought up the idea of catching soon after that. Atkinson wasn’t keen at first, but tried it in the 2014 fall instructional league and then again at spring training this year.
Oddly enough, Lansing used him behind the plate in just three games. He’s caught in three of his first 11 games with Vancouver during this stint.
“The hardest thing for me was learning to let the hitters swing and then try to catch the ball,” admitted Atkinson, who says he didn’t catch at all as a kid.
“Your natural reaction is to flinch. I’ve gotten better at blocking out the swing now and focusing on the ball. I feel very comfortable back there now.”
Atkinson realizes that adding catching to his resume is an asset.
“Teams are always looking for guys who can catch,” he said. “I’ve always looked at myself as valuable because of the number of positions I can play.”
For the time being, Atkinson could have a familiar face throwing to him. Ladner right-hander Tom Robson, 22, who’s in the midst of rehabbing after Tommy John surgery, was assigned to Vancouver this week. He was slated to pitch three innings Monday against the Eugene Emeralds.
Robson was part of the 2013 C’s team, the one that captured the Northwest League title. He had eight starts in Lansing last year before being shut down for the season and having the elbow operation.
Atkinson and Robson were teammates on the B.C. Premier League powerhouse Langley Blaze. Robson was a 2011 fourth-round pick by the Blue Jays.
“He knows how to really pitch,” Atkinson said. “A lot of these guys will look at what he does. They’ll feed off of it.”
Robson isn’t sure how long he’ll be with the C’s.
“It will depend on how I feel and how I do,” he said.