Connor Panas (Toronto, Ont.) a graduate of the Toronto Mets program, has hit 15 homers in his first pro season at class-A Lansing while batting .224, with 44 RBIs.

By Alexis Brudnicki
Canadian Baseball Network
LANSING, Mich. _ They knew it was special.

On August 14, the Lansing Lugnuts – the Class-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays – beat the West Michigan Whitecaps 4-2 at Fifth Third Ballpark. Markham, Ont.’s Jordan Romano started the game for the visitors and went six scoreless innings, throwing to his former Team Canada teammate Justin Atkinson, of Surrey, BC, catching and hitting seventh.

In the six-hole, hailing from Etobicoke, Ont., Connor Panas hit ahead of his fellow Canuck. Romano was followed out of the bullpen by Ladner, BC’s Tom Robson, who also suited up with him on the Canadian Junior National Team. After 2 1/3 innings from the right-hander, Saint John, NB’s own Andrew Case closed the game and earned his sixth save of the season.

Five Canadians played in one professional affiliated baseball game.

“I kind of did that on purpose,” Lugnuts manager John Schneider said. “Just because it’s never happened before. I knew Romano was starting, I knew Robson was available to pitch, and I knew Atty was catching the day game, and then we had Case to finish it. So it worked out as well as it could, winning the game and having those guys all in there was pretty cool.”

It was all according to plan, but Schneider wasn’t just running his Canadians out there for something to do. In the midst of a second-half playoff run, the skipper was excited at the idea, but he was also using a lineup that put his club in the best position to win.

“This is not to put the lineup card in the Canadian Hall of Fame,” he said. “They all have roles, with Jordan being the starter, Atty being one of the catchers, and Case pitching late in the game. Then we had Robbie getting a couple innings in there too, and Panas at first, so it was as we planned it. It was cool. It was a fun game.”

Schneider wasn’t the only one who appreciated the win and what it meant.

“It’s cool having so many Canadians here,” Romano said. “Me, Case and Robson, we live together. And two starts ago, me, Robson and Case all pitched in the same game, and all five of us played. I was throwing to Atkinson, another Canadian, so it’s cool.”

Added Atkinson: “Our last game in West Michigan when Romano started, all of us played. I didn’t know it at the time, but I think that’s the first time it’s ever happened. They’re trusting the Canadians to go out there and get a win.”

Atkinson finds his place behind the dish, loses his way at the plate
Justin Atkinson is in Lansing for the third time this year.

He’s been to the Fall Instructional League four times, learning four different positions. The former Langley Blaze is a catcher now, and finally getting into a groove behind the dish. Unfortunately, the 2011 26th-round pick’s defensive improvements have caused a drop in his production, but the 23-year-old continues to help his team.

“Whenever you’re learning a new position, especially catching, and me being a former catcher, it’s very tough,” Schneider said. “There are a lot more things physically demanding, mentally demanding, and not that we expected the hitting to kind of take a dip, but it’s understandable. He started out really, really slow offensively, and he’s really tweaked things.

“If you look at player development and trying to make improvements, he’s been one of our best ones from the midway point of the year. He’s hard on himself. He’s been in this league before and he’s hit much better than he’s hitting right now, so his goal is just to finish strong, don’t worry about his numbers.
He really has improved behind the plate, with his game-calling, catching, blocking, all those things. He’s done more good things than he realizes.”

The backstop from Surrey, BC is hitting .187/.249/.279 with five home runs, one triple, 16 doubles and 46 RBI in 102 games, an improvement after starting the season batting .151 in 16 games in April with just two extra-base hits.

“Atty’s a gamer,” Case said. “He knows it’s his third time here. He is hitting – he’s a timely hitter, with batting .190 or whatever he’s at, but he’s a big part of the wins, he’ll always be a part of that, and he’s the best .190 hitter I’ve ever seen.

“He hits balls and sometimes he gets unlucky and sometimes he’ll lace one right at them and that’s how this year’s been going, but he’s improved a lot with his catching. He’s my favourite guy to throw to. He’s improved a lot. He’s a good clubhouse guy too, he’s just what we need.”

Added Romano: “It’s unbelievable. He always crushes the ball, right to people. I really like when he catches me, we’re always on the same page. He receives really well. I think we’re on the same page because we’re both Canadian, we know what we like. But he crushes the ball, he’s got a great swing, and he’s a great catcher. He’s just a good ballplayer.”

“Man, he’s improved,” Romano said of Atkinson as a catcher. “When he caught my first bullpen he sucked. I’m sorry, he sucked. He was new, but now he’s like really good. I love throwing to him. He improved like a hundred times.”

Said Robson: “I’m really impressed with Atkinson. He just picked up catching this year and he makes it look easy and I know it’s not, so he’s doing really well. Everyone loves throwing to him … And I know his batting average doesn’t show it but I think he’s the best .190 or .200 hitter in the league. He lines out more than anyone. He’s handling it pretty well. Obviously it’s tough for him, he’s a leader of the team, but he’s doing well…

“I’ve thrown bullpens to him, I’ve thrown to him in the game and I love it. He’s great, good receiving, he’s fairly quick behind the plate, he can throw runners out if you give him a chance, and his bat, like I said, his numbers don’t show it but he is a good hitter.”

Despite his struggles at the plate, Atkinson is confident in his abilities and looking to find a better balance between his time behind the dish and at it in the future.

“That’s baseball right?” Atkinson said. “I mean, it was pretty bad at the beginning. Everyone knew it, I knew it, but they say it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.

“The whole catching thing, I guess caught up to me. Trying to be a catcher you have different responsibilities. They always say with catching, hitting comes last. But since I’ve been an infielder, hitting was always first for me. So it’s all that time that I’ve, I guess, lost in the cage, but I’m trying to get back to the same routine, the same mentality I was before.”

Happy with the results he’s getting behind the plate, Atkinson is finally starting to feel like a catcher, and it shows.

“I’ve put a lot of work in the last two years, obviously just getting reps in catching and stuff like that,” he said. “I do feel like a catcher, I feel like I’m a better catcher, I’ve focused more on catching than the infield. I want to be back there on a regular basis … Having these guys say that they want to throw to me is probably the biggest compliment.”

Case comes off suspended list to help Lansing push for playoffs in second half
The season didn’t get off to the start Andrew Case had been hoping for.

Returning to Prairie Baseball Academy in Alberta in order to continue his education and get into better shape ahead of his third season of professional baseball in the Blue Jays organization, the right-hander was looking to head into spring training more ready than ever.

In December, Case got a call informing him that he was scheduled to take a drug test the following day. The only problem was, the testing was to take place in Toronto, where the 23-year-old had informed the organization he was heading for the winter.

One missed test later and suddenly the free agent signed by the Blue Jays out of the inaugural Tournament 12 was looking at a 76-game suspension. With help from the organization, he appealed and the suspension was reduced to 50 games, and Case was allowed to be moved from the short-season Vancouver Canadians roster to the Lugnuts roster, starting the punishment early.

But it wasn’t the beginning he had been hoping for.

“I was disappointed, because not being a huge money guy and flying across Canada isn’t cheap, so I missed the test,” Case said. “I was trying to get myself in a better place, going back to school, working out really hard, and getting myself in better shape for spring, and then I get that phone call and I thought shoot, am I even going to get to play baseball again?”

Not letting it deter him, Case continued to work and did what he could to be ready to face some added performance pressure, feeling that he had to prove himself to the organization more than ever before.

“Coming in this year and getting in better shape and losing 21 pounds, I feel unreal,” he said. “I want the ball every day. Last year it was like, oh I pitched. I would still want the ball every day, but being in better shape, I could actually pitch every day…

“I worked my ass off every single day, 1-on-1 with my strength coach Ryan MacDonald at [Prairie Baseball Academy], sometimes two times a day. I was in swimming programs, I was running, I was lifting, I was doing everything. I was eating better and being more mature about the situation, knowing that professional baseball is not a joke and you can’t take anything for granted.”

In 18 games since returning to Lansing at the beginning of July, the native of Saint John, N.B. has posted a 2.49 ERA over 21 2/3 innings, recording seven saves in eight opportunities, walking five and striking out 20.

“The biggest thing was coming in in shape,” his manager said. “He probably said the same thing. It was tough to have him on the suspended list to start this year but [pitching coach] Jeff Ware and I, we really like him at the end of games. He has better stuff than he realizes with his fastball and slider. He’s been great, he really has. He’s had a couple rough outings but he’s come in and basically done exactly what we had hoped he’d do…

“You can tell he’s a year older, after having him the last two years [as the manager] in Vancouver, and he’s done a good job across the board with everything he has to do to get ready to pitch.”

Added Robson: “He’s throwing harder this year, his command is a lot better, his slider is sharper, he’s improved in all areas of the game. And as we’ve seen, he’s done pretty well. He’s had a couple hiccups the last week or two but we all know what he can do and what he brings to the table and that’s why he’s our closer.”

“I’ve been with Caser the last two or three years now,” Atkinson said. “Each year I feel like he’s gaining more velocity on his fastball, and I always feel like when he goes in in the ninth, the game’s over. Just a couple times [it hasn’t happened that way], but like I said it’s baseball, so you can’t always predict it. But his fastball has got some good sink and he’s got a good slider, and I would put him in the ninth inning over anybody.”

Said Romano: “Case, it doesn’t matter what situation he’s in, it could be bases loaded, no outs, crazy stuff happening, and he’s the same pitcher – it’s like it’s the first inning, no one on, he doesn’t care. He just comes in, gets guys out, pitches the exact same, like he doesn’t have nerves. He doesn’t get nervous. So that’s very impressive. We all think that about him. I mean, I can do it a little bit, but with him it’s crazy.”

Panas uses power to impress in his first full season as a pro
Just before he was taken as Toronto’s ninth-round pick in last year’s draft, Connor Panas played a large part in helping the Canisius College Golden Griffins to their second Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship in four years. Now, the Toronto Mets grad is hoping to head to the post-season with the Lugnuts, looking for his third ring in five years.

“I’m enjoying it,” Panas said. “It’s a long season and I’m having fun here … Obviously I’m thinking about playoffs. We have such a good team here and such good team chemistry, so it would be pretty fun to make a run at the playoffs and maybe get a ring. I got to do it in college and I feel like it would be a different experience here.”

Helping his team make a push for playoffs, the 23-year-old native of Etobicoke, Ont., is hitting .223/.334/.426 with a team-leading 15 home runs, three triples and eight doubles with 43 RBI in his 88 games with Lansing this season, still adjusting with his playing time and learning his way around the Midwest League.

“The beginning of the season, I didn’t really get to play a lot,” Panas said. “I knew my role. Eventually, when I got my chance, I just took advantage of it. I’ve been working hard throughout the season and I just started doing really well and performing. Then of late, you go through stages where you struggle a bit and that’s where I am right now, just finding a way to bounce back to getting back to how I was a few weeks ago.”

Panas ranks fourth in the circuit in home runs, after making small changes with the bat, and has impressed everyone around him with the pop he’s displayed.

“My swing is a bit different now, where I have more power obviously and it’s beginning to show,” he said. “I just need to keep on working. My first year in pro ball [last year in Vancouver] I was just adapting, and it’s really come now. I feel more settled in now.”

Of Panas, Romano said: “Panas hits jacks. A lot of jacks. He has 15 home runs. That’s top five in the league, and he hits huge bombs. They don’t just go over the fence by a little bit, they’re 450-foot mammoths. His power impresses me the most.”

Added Robson: “Obviously he has 15 bombs, so he’s swinging the bat well. When he gets to the plate, you expect it. He leads the team in homers, so he’s doing well. I hope he keeps it going. He’s a big part of the lineup for us.”

Having been around the Midwest League before, Atkinson is confident that Panas can make the adjustments he needs to, in order to find success and continue to move up the ladder.

“He’s a character,” the Canadian catcher said of Panas. “Everyone loves him here. The power numbers he’s putting up are quite impressive, obviously coming from short-season last year, and the home runs are pretty big. He just needs to keep believing in himself.

“This is everyone’s first full year and they’re all caught up in what happened today or what happened yesterday. Sometimes a lot of people have trouble just letting stuff go. If he takes what he did this year into next year and just keeps trying to progress every year, he’s going to have a long career because of his power numbers, and obviously he can play first, he can play the outfield, and DH, so as long as he can believe in himself and put up these numbers, he will see himself in the lineup.”

Added Schneider: “When it’s working, he can obviously hit for a lot of power. He had a week-and-a-half stretch where he had six or seven home runs. He just needs to, like a lot of guys in their first year, first full season, needs to find that consistency. He’s very hard on himself, but at the same time he works extremely hard, which is what you like about him. Finding the fine line of avoiding the ups and downs is going to be big for him.”

Robson struggles to get mental game in line with physical ability
Tom Robson is having a tough time.

Starting the season with the Dunedin Blue Jays, the native of Ladner, BC was demoted to Lansing after six games. Between the two levels, the right-hander has tallied six losses and a 7.62 ERA over 24 games and eight starts in 65 innings with 46 walks and 46 strikeouts.

After a stellar spring training and a minor injury, the 2011 fourth-rounder selected from thhe the former Langley Blaze just can’t seem to find his way back to where he was before the regular season began.

“I got hurt in April and since I got hurt, I tried to change some things,” he said. “It was a shoulder impingement. That was the last week of April and I was out for pretty much a whole month. At the start of the year I was walking a lot of guys, so I changed some mechanical stuff, and then I don’t want to say I screwed myself but I kind of felt awkward and I wasn’t used to what I was doing.

“I tried to go back to what I was doing and I couldn’t do that, and I was kind of in a big mess. But hopefully I can figure it out and work everything out.”

With bases empty this season with the Lugnuts, Robson has posted a 1.74 ERA over 20 2/3 innings, fanning 22 batters. When runners get on base, however, things tend to take a turn for the worse.

“In the past, it was if I walk a guy and give up a double I don’t worry about it,” the 23-year-old said. “But now if I walk a guy, I’m like okay well I can’t throw balls here, I don’t want to walk another guy, and then I end up leaving a ball up, or walking him because I’m thinking about not walking him, so those are kind of some of the things I’m trying to work on not doing …

“I just think too much. I think a lot. Mentally, I’m just struggling right now. I’ve been working with the new mind guys in the organization, the mental strength guys. So Angus Mugford, he’s the head honcho, and then they have Rafi [Rafael Dubois] and Pat [Paddy Steinfort], who also work under him … I can all any one of them whenever I want and talk to them about it, and that’s what I’ve been doing, just trying to work on it.

“Here and there I’ll have an outing where it’s really good and then it will kind of go back to where it was, so I’m just really inconsistent right now. It’s really frustrating, but I’m by no means giving up.

It will all come back but as of now I’m just going to have to grind through it and do my best.”

Despite his struggles, Robson has continued to impress his teammates as the year has progressed, battling through tough outings and coming through when his squad needs him.

“The fight he shows every time he goes out there is what impresses me about Robson,” Atkinson said. “Obviously it’s frustrating when you don’t get the results you want, and I’ve done the same thing this year. You can say I’ve got a [poor] batting average and all that stuff, but he’s just going out there every time Schneider gives him the ball and he’s competing and that’s all you can ask for.

“He obviously still has the great fastball, and a good curveball, and his changeup’s what it is, but when I catch him I always try and get him to be able to trust his stuff. He has good stuff and no one can beat him. That’s going to help him in the long run. If he believes in himself, he’s going to continue to strive higher.”

Said Case: “He is absolutely having some struggles. I’m his throwing partner, and I’m trying to help him get over that hump, but he takes it well. He’ll have his freak outs, but he’s always a good teammate.

He’s a good clubhouse guy. He comes in here, he’s loose, he keeps everyone loose. He has his struggles, but he still wants the ball the next day to go try it again.”

“Robson, his stuff is unbelievable,” Romano said. “We faced a $60-million Cuban sign [Yadier Alvarez] the other day, so his stuff was good, but Robson’s stuff is the second-best I’ve seen in this entire league. His fastball, curveball, his stuff is unbelievable. And when he’s on, he is unhittable. When he’s on, he’s better than anyone in this league.”

Schneider echoed the sentiments of Robson’s teammates, and is just waiting for the moment when everything falls back into place for the right-hander, knowing that day will come and appreciating his hurler’s effort throughout the year.

“I’ve told him, everyone’s told him, he has one of the best arms in the organization, top to bottom,” the Lugnuts manager said. “He knows that. And we’ve all seen him really good and we’ve seen him really bad, so now it’s just consistently showing up every day with the right mindset, and knowing that he can go out and get anybody out at any time with any pitch.

“He’s gotten so much better at it. I know the numbers don’t really dictate it, but he’s a guy we’re really focusing in the ‘pen to really take the good out of every outing and build upon it for the next outing. The stuff is still there obviously, it’s just a matter of consistently throwing it where he wants it. He’ll get there, I know he will. He’s too good not to.”

Romano returns from Tommy John to find consistency in Lansing
It took 14 months to get back into games and throw competitively – longer than Jordan Romano, a former Ontario Blue Jay, thought – after undergoing surgery to repair his ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing elbow, but the 23-year-old native of Markham, Ont., was worth the wait for the Lugnuts.

“He’s doing a really good job,” Schneider said. “The first year coming back from that surgery is always the toughest, but he’s been one of our most consistent starters. He’s working on his changeup and things like that but he’s been pretty good. He’s been fun to watch.”

Through 13 starts and 64 2/3 innings, Romano is 3-2 with a 2.37 ERA with 25 walks and 59 strikeouts. The 2014 10th-pick of the Blue Jays is starting every fifth day for the Lugnuts, limited to 85 pitches in each outing, and finally figuring out how to manage his recovery and find consistency on the mound.

“I’m throwing the ball pretty well,” he said. “The season’s kind of been about what my arm can take, how to find a routine, because this is the most innings I’ve ever thrown before, and I’m coming off Tommy John so it’s been tricky. I like to lift a lot too so maybe sometimes I have to tone it down and stuff like that, because I’ve been throwing a lot. It’s been a learning process, what I can do, what I can’t do.”

Though Romano says this is season is, “tough, because I know I can be pitching better,” his Canadian teammates have been thoroughly impressed by what he’s been able to do out on the hill.

“Before he blew out his arm, I was catching him and I don’t remember him throwing this hard,” Atkinson said. “I mean, he’s got a good arm. He needs to learn how to pitch still. Obviously this is his first actual pitching year in pro ball. He’s got good stuff, he just needs to learn how to trust it and come up with a game plan every five days and just go after it.”

Added Robson: “I always knew he was good. I played with him in high school [for the Canadian Junior National Team] and he was good then. I saw him pitch in 2015 before he tore his elbow, and he was outstanding then. I don’t know if not many people had seen him pitch except maybe me and maybe a couple of other guys, but I always knew he was good.

“Then I rehabbed with him last year and I saw him pitch in spring training this year, and when I was hurt with my shoulder impingement I got to see all his rehab outings down at the complex, and they were just as good as he’s doing now, so I knew exactly what to expect. He’s just carried it all this way and he’s done a great job. He’s doing outstanding.”

Said Panas: “Obviously his bounce back from his injury last year is impressive. To come back, and he’s just pitching amazing, he’s lights out, it’s good to see that.”

“He’s a gamer, man,” Case said. “Coming off of Tommy John and how he’s been throwing – it’s six innings, two-hit baseball every time he’s out there. He competes his ass off, and it’s fun to watch.”

Brudnicki's Maple Nuggets: Atkinson, Case, Panas, Robson, Romano