Canadians to watch in the 2022 MLB season

Last year, 14 different players born in Canada played in an MLB game. Two were All-Stars, two made their big league debuts, three hit more than 30 home runs and two played in the postseason.

Even though there weren’t many MLB games played north of the border with the Blue Jays being away from Toronto most of the season due to COVID-19, it was still a successful year for Canadians at the big league level.

With a new season one sleep away, TSN.ca takes a look at some of the prominent Canadians at the big league level and breaks down where they’re at heading into 2022.

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Vladimir Guerrero Jr. – 3B, Toronto Blue Jays

Birthplace: Montreal

Born in Montreal while his father played for the Expos, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. needs no introduction.

Fairly or unfairly, Guerrero fell slightly short of expectations in his first two seasons and came into 2021 with something to prove. And did he ever deliver.

In other seasons, Vlad Jr. might have run away with the American League MVP Award. He led the junior circuit in on-base percentage (.401), slugging percentage (.601), OPS+ (169) and finished in a tie with Kansas City’s Salvador Perez for the home run crown with 48. He was probably the best offensive player in baseball last season. The trouble was, he wasn’t one of the better starters, too. And that was the difference in making Shohei Ohtani the unanimous MVP.

Just having turned 23, Guerrero heads into his fourth MLB season as one of baseball’s brightest stars. Does he think he and the Blue Jays can keep climbing this season?

“What we did last year was a trailer. Now, you guys are going to see the movie,” Guerrero said last month during spring training.

 

Jordan Romano – RP, Toronto Blue Jays

Birthplace: Markham, Ont.

Jordan Romano established himself as a reliable late-inning option for Charlie Montoyo’s squad in 2020 but took things to a whole other level last season, taking control of the closer job on the team he grew up rooting for.

And he doesn’t just perform like a closer – the 2.14 ERA, 23 saves in 24 opportunities and 12.1 strikeouts per nine innings speak for itself – he looks like one, too. He’s tall, a bit quirky, can hit triple-digits on the radar gun and can’t ever sit still in the bullpen.

“His two-pitch fastball-slider mix is elite, with both offerings generating expected batting averages well below the Mendoza line,” TSN Blue Jays Reporter Scott Mitchell wrote of the 28-year-old last month.

Romano had surgery in the off-season to correct a torn meniscus in his left knee and sprained his ankle last week when he stepped in a hole walking his dog. Montoyo told reporters he threw a bullpen last Friday and is expected to be ready for Opening Day barring any setbacks.

 

Nick Pivetta – SP, Boston Red Sox

Birthplace: Victoria, B.C.

The Red Sox are counting on Nick Pivetta for a lot this season. Going into their opening series against the New York Yankees as Boston’s No. 2 starter, the 29-year-old will follow Nathan Eovaldi in the rotation, which is going to have to make due without Chris Sale. He figures to be out until at least June with a rib fracture.

Coming off his best year as a pro, Pivetta could be ready to step up. He turned in a career-best 4.53 ERA while striking out an impressive 175 batters in 155.0 innings. He bumped his strikeouts up even more this spring, fanning 22 hitters in 15.2 innings. That’s one of the three true outcomes that works in Pivetta’s favour. The other two could use some work.

The British Columbia native allowed 24 home runs last season and, according to Baseball Savant, finished in the 34th percentile or lower in walk rate, average exit velocity and hard hit percentage. So, yes, Pivetta misses bats, but he also gives up his fair share of hard contact and issues too many free passes. If he’s able to keep the strikeouts high while scaling back in other areas, he could be a key piece for a Red Sox team looking to do big things in 2022.

 

Cal Quantrill – SP, Cleveland Guardians

Birthplace: Port Hope, Ont.

Who was the most valuable pitcher for Cleveland in 2021? Surely it was 2020 Cy Young winner and two-time All-Star Shane Bieber, right?

Nope. It was Cal Quantrill, who began the season in the bullpen but earned a spot in the starting rotation in late May and ran with the opportunity. Originally acquired from the San Diego Padres in an August 2020 trade involving Mike Clevinger, Quantrill proved to be one of the brighter spots for an underwhelming Cleveland rotation that finished the season 23rd across MLB with a 4.84 ERA.

In 40 appearances – 22 of which were starts – Quantrill turned in a 2.89 ERA. He didn’t strike out a ton of hitters, but pitched to contact effectively, limiting his hard hit percentage and keeping walks down.

“It’s a good base to start this year on, knowing what I’m capable of doing, but not allowing it to be all that matters. Everyone starts with a zero again this year,” Quantrill told Cleveland.com last month.

 

Josh Naylor – OF, 1B Cleveland Guardians

Birthplace: Mississauga, Ont.

Like Quantrill, Naylor was also involved in the Guardians-Padres swap two summers ago. But he’s had a bit of a different path since arriving in Cleveland.

A former No. 12 overall pick in 2015, Naylor largely struggled in 2020 and had an up-and-down first three months to the 2021 campaign before suffering a horrific leg injury in a collision with a teammate.  

On June 27 with Cleveland trailing 4-1 in the fourth inning at Target Field, Twins infielder Jorge Polanco checked his swing on a high-inside fastball, sending a pop-up into shallow right field. Second baseman Ernie Clement and Naylor converged, running into one another at full speed. Naylor went flying and came down awkwardly on his right leg, sustaining multiple fractures and torn ligaments and ending his season.
Nine months and quite a bit of rehab later, he’s almost ready to make his return.

“It was difficult, but I tried to take all the positives out of it, be the best teammate I could be,” Naylor said via NBC Sports. “Fill them with energy, love, excitement. That was also important for me in helping me feel better. It was great to not go into that ‘woe is me’ type of mentality.

Naylor will begin the season on the injured list in order to get more at-bats but is expected to re-join the Guardians at some point in April.

 

Abraham Toro – 2B, Seattle Mariners

Birthplace: Longueuil, Que.

Moments after Justin Verlander completed the third no-hitter of his career in September of 2019, a 2-0 win over the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre, he had one question as he celebrated with his teammates.

“Where the f--- is Toro?”

Just over a week removed from making his big league debut, the 22-year-old from suburban Montreal broke a 0-0 tie in the top half of the ninth inning with a home run to left centre field that put the Houston Astros up two runs and gave Verlander the opportunity to finish off the Jays for his second no-no in Toronto. Talk about a ‘Welcome to the big leagues’ moment.

Since then, Toro has gone through his ups and downs, struggling mightily during the 2020 pandemic-shortened campaign before being the centrepiece of a trade that sent him to Seattle and a pair of late-inning relievers to the Astros.

Toro seemed to find a home in the Pacific Northwest, taking over the everyday second base job and driving in 26 runs over the final 60 games of the season as the Mariners stayed in the wild card hunt until the very last weekend of the season.

Still just 25, Toro has impressed at the plate this spring and figures to see time all over the diamond for a team looking to snap the longest playoff drought in the majors.

“We hope he can become our Ben Zobrist,” general manager Jerry Dipoto told MLB.com.

 

Mike Soroka – SP, Atlanta Braves

Birthplace: Calgary

Mike Soroka was one of the more promising young pitchers in baseball. He was coming off an outstanding 2019 rookie season that saw him post a 2.68 ERA in 29 starts, make the All-Star team and finish sixth in Cy Young voting. And then, disaster struck.

In the third inning of his third start in the 2020 season, Soroka’s knee-high fastball was grounded to the right side. Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman lunged to his right to backhand the ball while Soroka shot off the mound to go cover first. His Achilles tendon ruptured, stopping his sophomore season dead in its tracks. But his injury issues were far from over.

The following May, Soroka suffered a setback in his rehab and had to undergo a second surgery, ending any hope of a return in 2021. Soroka’s Braves went on to win the World Series and all the Alberta native could do was watch.

Now 24, Soroka is choosing to find the positives in encountering so much adversity so early in his career.

“I know when you come back from an injury, there’s an edge that you have that others don’t,” Soroka told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution last month. “I know I’ll be even stronger mentally than I was before and just excited to use that.”

Currently on the 60-day IL, Soroka is shooting for a return sometime after the All-Star break.

 

Joey Votto – 1B, Cincinnati Reds

Birthplace: Toronto

Joey Votto had been a productive hitter the past few seasons for the Reds, but he was a few years removed from being the elite middle-of-the-order bat he was for so much of his career. But the Etobicoke, Ont., native recaptured that form last season.

A three-game benching in August of 2020 led to a swing adjustment that gave Votto a strong finish to the season and confidence heading into next year. It paid off, and then some.

After having COVID-19 and overcoming a thumb injury that put him on the injured list for a month, Votto made history, breaking the Reds’ record and matching the major league mark with home runs in seven straight games from July 24 to July 30. All in all, he finished the season with 36 home runs, 99 RBI and a slash line of .266/.375/.563, his highest total in every category since 2019.

“He has honoured every bit of his contract,” former teammate Nick Castellanos said last October. “He could’ve mailed it in and just said, ‘Hey, this is what it is. I’m going to take me and enjoy myself.’ He still puts his occupation and playing baseball at the highest level that he can a priority."

 

Tyler O’Neill – OF, St. Louis Cardinals

Birthplace: Burnaby, B.C.

Coming up through the minors and in his first few seasons in the big leagues, it was clear Tyler O’Neill possessed loads of potential. Power, speed, you name it, O’Neill had it.

Through his first three big league seasons, O’Neill bounced around. Between the majors and minors. The starting lineup and the bench. Even between positions in the outfield. Through his first 171 games, O’Neill slashed .229/.291/.422 with 21 home runs, 58 RBI and six stolen bases. He won a Gold Glove in 2020 but hit just .173, leaving questions about his status as an everyday player going forward.

Questions that no longer exist after last season.

O’Neill broke out in 2021, hitting 34 homers with 80 RBI, 15 stolen bases and slashing .286/.352/.560. According to Baseball Savant, he graded in the 90th percentile or better in average exit velocity, hard hit percentage, barrel percentage and sprint speed. His 5.4 fWAR placed him first on his team and first among left fielders. He also finished eighth in NL MVP voting and took home his second career Gold Glove.

“[O’Neill] has taken his game to a completely different level when it comes to his preparation, video work, how he approaches pitchers and his work in the cage That’s allowed him to have more confidence,” new Cardinals skipper Oliver Marmol told MLB.com.

There’s no longer a question he belongs – only how high he’ll ascend.