Canadians lose ace hurler Dallas to double-A

The Vancouver Canadians' pitching rotation requires a rejig.

As expected, the parent club Toronto Blue Jays have promoted right-handed starter Chad Dallas from the high-A C's to the double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats.

Dallas, 22, was 2-0, with a 2.03 earned-run average, in five starts this Northwest League season with Vancouver. He had 37 strikeouts in 262/3 innings. Going into this week, he had been slated to start Wednesday on the road against the Tri-City Dust Devils.

As of Wednesday morning, he led the Northwest League in opponent batting average (.146), while sitting second in ERA and fourth in strikeouts. Vancouver lefty Trenton Wallace is the only hurler ahead of Dallas in the ERA race, carrying a 1.80 mark along with his 4-1 record.

Dallas was the Blue Jays' 2021 fourth-round draft pick out of the University of Tennessee and he spent all of last year with Vancouver.

The C's carried a 17-13 record into the Wednesday meeting against the Dust Devils (16-17). Vancouver is in Tri-City through Sunday, and then at the Spokane Indians for a six-game set next week before opening up a six-gamer against the Eugene Emeralds at Nat Bailey Stadium on May 30.

The C's also announced Tuesday that righty reliever Connor Cooke, 23, is on his way to New Hampshire. He was 0-0, with a 2.89 ERA, in nine appearances with Vancouver. He split last season between the single-A Dunedin Blue Jays and Vancouver.

In corresponding moves, Vancouver's pitching staff has added: righty Hunter Gregory, 24, who had been on the injured list; righty Rafael Sanchez, 23, who was promoted from Dunedin; righty Sam Ryan, 24, who had been on Vancouver's development list; and lefty Braden Scott, 25, who had been on New Hampshire's development list and was reassigned to Vancouver.

According to baseball-reference. com, the C's had utilized 16 position players and 19 pitchers this season as of Wednesday morning. They called on 26 position players and 44 pitchers last season, and 25 position players and 35 pitchers in 2021.

Wallace is slated to start Friday for Vancouver. He's the reigning Northwest League pitcher of the week thanks to giving up no hits or walks and striking out seven in five innings in a 10-2 win over the Everett AquaSox last Friday. Wallace was an 11th-round draft pick in 2021 by the Blue Jays out of Iowa.