BWDIK: Caissie, Hicks, Pivetta, Pop, Puhl, Quantrill, Tong, Young
Terriers and Junior National Team alum Cal Quantrill (Port Hope, Ont.) registered his 600th MLB strikeout on Tuesday. Photo: Miami Marlins
July 13, 2025
By Kevin Glew
Canadian Baseball Network
Some Canadian baseball news and notes from the past week:
MLB draft starts today
The MLB draft begins tonight at 6 p.m. E.T. Tune into the Canadian Baseball Network for updates on the Canadians selected. Bob Elliott has done a tremendous amount of work to assemble the 2025 Canadian Baseball Network Draft List which lists the top Canuck prospects heading into the draft. For more information, you can read profiles of the top Canadian prospects here.
Caissie, Tong help National League to win in Futures Game
Chicago Cubs outfield prospect Owen Caissie (Burlington, Ont.) had an RBI double and two walks and New York Mets pitching prospect Jonah Tong (Markham, Ont.) tossed a scoreless inning to help the National League defeat the American League 4-2 in the MLB All-Star Futures Game at Truist Park in Atlanta on Saturday.
Caissie, who turned 23 on Tuesday, doubled home a run in the fourth inning and one of his walks came on an Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) challenge in the bottom of the first. The Fieldhouse Pirates and Junior National Team alum has been red-hot for the triple-A Iowa Cubs. In eight games since the start of July, he is batting .394 and has seven home runs.
Meanwhile, Tong, 22, pitched a scoreless second inning, recording one strikeout, on Saturday. The 6-foot-1 Toronto Mets grad has been dominant with the New York Mets’ double-A Binghamton Rumble Ponies this season, going 6-4 with a 1.83 ERA in 15 starts. He has fanned 125 batters in 78 2/3 innings.
Pivetta moves into third all-time Canadians MLB strikeout list
With his seven strikeouts against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday, San Diego Padres right-hander Nick Pivetta (Victoria, B.C.) has moved past Erik Bedard (Navan, Ont.) into third place on the all-time major league strikeouts list for Canadians. Pivetta now has 1,253 strikeouts. He trails only Fergie Jenkins (Chatham, Ont.) who recorded 3,192 strikeouts and Ryan Dempster (Gibsons, B.C.) who registered 2,075.
In his start against the D-Backs, Pivetta tossed 5 2/3 scoreless innings to improve his season ERA to 3.07. In total, in 18 starts, he owns a 9-2 record with 114 strikeouts in 102 2/3 innings. Somehow that wasn’t good enough to earn him a selection to Tuesday’s MLB All-Star Game.
His snub might have something to do with the fact that he is scheduled to start for the Padres today and would not be available to toe the rubber in the All-Star Game.
The 32-year-old Canuck has never been an All-Star. He is in his ninth big league season, but his first with the Padres after signing a back-loaded four-year, $55-million contract in February.
Quantrill notches 600th career K
In his start against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday, Miami Marlins right-hander Cal Quantrill (Port Hope, Ont.) collected five strikeouts. His second K of that game was the 600th of his MLB career. As the Marlins noted on their X feed, Quantrill is the 15th pitcher born in Canada to register 600 or more big league strikeouts.
Also on that list is his father, Paul, who recorded 725 strikeouts.
The younger Quantrill, who signed a one-year, $3.5-million contract with the Marlins in February, is 3-8 with a 5.62 ERA in 18 starts this season. He has 67 strikeouts in 81 2/3 innings.
The Ontario Terriers and Junior National Team alum is in his seventh major league season.
Most MLB strikeouts by a Canadian in 2025
114- Nick Pivetta
74 – Michael Soroka
67 – Cal Quantrill
60 – Cade Smith (Abbotsford, B.C.)
37 – Jordan Romano (Markham, Ont.)
21 – Matt Brash (Kingston, Ont.)
15 – Rob Zastryzny (Edmonton, Alta.)
13 – Erik Sabrowski (Edmonton, Alta.)
3 – Zach Pop (Brampton, Ont.)
Jared Young (Prince George, B.C.) was recalled by the New York Mets on Friday. Photo: New York Mets
Young recalled by Mets
The Mets recalled outfielder Jared Young (Prince George, B.C.) from triple-A Syracuse on Friday for his second stretch with the big league club this season.
He belted three home runs in 17 games for the Mets between May 24 and June 24.
The Mets signed Young to a major league contract in December, but he started the season in triple-A. In total in 32 triple-A games this season, he has batted .272 with eight home runs, a .388 on-base percentage and a .526 slugging percentage.
Young has had two previous major league stints with the Cubs in 2022 and 2023.
Pop a free agent again
Right-hander Zach Pop (Brampton, Ont.) was designated for assignment by the Mets on Tuesday after he was roughed up for three runs in 1 1/3 innings in his sole appearance with them two days earlier.
Pop cleared waivers on Thursday but he declined his assignment to triple-A and became a free agent.
The 28-year-old right-hander had signed a major league contract with the Mets on July 5.
This came after he posted a 13.50 ERA in four relief appearances with the Seattle Mariners who designated him for assignment on June 26.
Pop spent the bulk of spring training with the Toronto Blue Jays before he was shelved with elbow discomfort and then subsequently released.
The Toronto Mets and Junior National Team grad has recorded a 4.88 ERA in 163 appearances in parts of five major league seasons with the Marlins, Blue Jays, Mariners and Mets.
Hicks a solid Rule 5 pick for the Marlins
Last December, the Marlins took a chance on catcher Liam Hicks (Toronto, Ont.) when they chose him from the Detroit Tigers in the Rule 5 draft. Hicks had never played above double-A and by selecting him, the Marlins had to carry him on their big league roster this season.
It has turned out to be a nice gamble.
In 63 games, Hicks is batting .262 with a team-leading .361 on-base percentage. He also has four home runs and 29 RBIs and has been an above average defender. The 26-year-old is likely to garner some Rookie of the Year votes for his performance.
The Toronto Mets alum was originally chosen in the ninth round of the 2021 MLB draft by the Texas Rangers.
43 years ago today, the MLB All-Star Game was played in Montreal
It was the first time that baseball’s elite had assembled outside of the U.S. for the Midsummer Classic.
Forty-three years ago today, 59,057 fans packed into Montreal’s Olympic Stadium for the MLB All-Star Game.
Five Montreal Expos were on the National League roster, including three – Gary Carter, Andre Dawson and Tim Raines – voted to the squad by the fans. When you add in that Expos ace, Steve Rogers, was the named the starting pitcher, the National League had four Expos in their starting lineup. Expos manager Jim Fanning was also a coach on Tommy Lasorda‘s NL staff.
Rogers was pitted against American League starter Dennis Eckersley. After conceding a run in the first inning, Rogers held the potent American League lineup scoreless for the next two innings. Eckersley wasn’t as fortunate. He surrendered a two-run homer to Dave Concepcion in the second inning and another run in the third when Ruppert Jones tripled and Pete Rose cashed him in with a sacrifice fly.
Two Expos teamed up for the National League’s fourth run. In the sixth inning, Al Oliver – the Expos’ fifth all-star – doubled and Carter knocked him in with a base hit.
Right-hander Jim Clancy, who hurled a scoreless fourth inning for the American League, was the sole Blue Jays representative
Rogers recorded the win in a 4-1 National League victory.
Zastryzny sidelined with rib injury
Milwaukee Brewers reliever Rob Zastryzny (Edmonton, Alta.) was placed on the 15-day injured list on July 1 with a ribs stress fracture. Todd Rosiak, of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, shared that the Canadian lefty is estimated to return in late July.
Prior to the injury, Zastryzny had a 2-1 record and a 2.03 ERA, while striking out 15 in 13 1/3 innings, in 15 appearances for the Brewers this season after being acquired from the New York Yankees on May 17.
Zastryzny took a circuitous route back to the Brewers. After posting a 1.17 ERA with five strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings in nine appearances for them last season, he was claimed off waivers by the Cubs in November.
Prior to spring training, however, the Cubs designated him for assignment, and on February 17, he was signed to a minor league deal by the Yankees.
Anniversary of Puhl’s first MLB hit
Forty-eight years ago today, Houston Astros outfielder Terry Puhl (Melville, Sask.) recorded his first MLB hit. He singled in the 13th inning and scored the game-winning run on a walk-off double by Bob Watson in the Astros’ 3-2 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers at the Astrodome.
26 years ago, Zimmerman makes Canadian history at MLB All-Star Game
On this date, 26 years ago, Jeff Zimmerman (Kelowna, B.C.) became the first Canadian rookie to pitch in the MLB All-Star Game. Zimmerman tossed a scoreless seventh inning and recorded a hold in the American League’s 4-1 win at Fenway Park.
Zimmerman had been selected to the All-Star Game after a dominant first half with the Rangers in which he went 8-0 with an 0.86 ERA in 35 relief appearances. He allowed just 18 hits in 52 1/3 innings.
For the record, Zimmerman was not the first Canadian rookie selected to the MLB All-Star Game. California Angels right-hander Jason Dickson (Miramichi, N.B.) was chosen for the 1997 Midsummer Classic but he did not pitch.
Twenty years after Zimmerman, Atlanta Braves rookie Michael Soroka, (Calgary, Alta.) threw a scoreless inning for the National League in their 4-3 loss to the American League at the All-Star Game at Progressive Field.
Fun Fact of the Week
Did you know that Justin Morneau (New Westminster, B.C.) and Joey Votto (Etobicoke, Ont.) were drafted as catchers by the Minnesota Twins (1999) and Reds (2002) respectively?
And that Russell Martin (Montreal, Que.), the greatest MLB catcher ever born in Canada, was drafted by the Dodgers in 2002 as a second baseman?