Brudnicki's Maple Nuggets: Albers, Fitzsimmons, Hall, Hawkins, Pompey

OF Dalton Pompey (Mississauga, Ont.) is at triple-A Buffalo and had plenty of public support from his brother, Tristan Pompey, who finished his freshman year at Kentucky this spring.

Pompey feels the love from his brother, experiments in Buffalo

By Alexis Brudnicki
Canadian Baseball Network
Tristan Pompey was just looking out for his older brother. 

With injuries to multiple Blue Jays outfielders at the major-league level, and 23-year-old Dalton Pompey manning centre field and hitting .279/.345/.362 in 77 games with the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons, his younger sibling was hoping for a chance to see his switch-hitting brother in a Toronto uniform for the first time this season. 

But after Darrell Ceciliani and Junior Lake were recalled to join the Blue Jays roster, a few frustrated tweets from Tristan – since deleted, but implying that Dalton deserved a shot – made their way from his thoughts to the Internet, where they became a much bigger deal than he thought they would be. 

“He didn’t really understand the whole situation,” Dalton said before Buffalo’s game against Rochester on Monday night. “He was trying to be supportive. And it’s one of those things where you just can’t voice your opinion so other people can see it, because then people might think it stems from me or whatever. And people always have their own opinions on everything, so it was kind of a learning experience for him, that people also watch what he says; not just me.” 

The native of Mississauga, Ont., talked to his 19-year-old brother after his tweets turned into a BarDown story, and hopes that the unintentional incident can be something Tristan learns from as he continues his own baseball career with the University of Kentucky Wildcats and beyond. 

“Tristan realized what happened, and that people had talked about it,” Dalton said. “And just because you’re my brother doesn’t mean that people aren’t going to listen to what you’re going to say. This is kind of a learning experience for you, that when you’re in the same boat as me one day, that you just can’t do that. But he’s a young kid, and he was trying to be a good brother, and that’s how I see it. But not everybody sees it that way.” 

Of course there were others also wondering when Pompey would be called up to return to the roster of his hometown team. With Blue Jays outfielders Jose Bautista, Kevin Pillar and Ezequiel Carrera all landing on the disabled list at the same time, Tristan wasn’t the only one whose mind the thought crossed. 

“You definitely think about it,” Pompey said. “I feel like when you try not to, it bothers you even more. I just try to get it over with, just think about it and try to justify the opinion or solution that I can, try to see everybody’s thought process and then just continue to play, because that’s all I can do. 

“Hopefully I get an opportunity sometime soon, but I feel like the team still values me and that’s why they’re taking the approach they are.” 

Looking ahead to perhaps September, and even into the off-season and next year, the Canadian outfielder has taken the opportunity to Buffalo to work out some of the things that he might not have been able to on the big stage. 

“I’ve just realized that I’m pretty much going to be here for the rest of the year,” he said. “So I’ve been trying different stuff. I’ve been tweaking my swing, and maybe something will click. I mean, I’ve had an okay year but just from my perspective right now, we’ve got two weeks left and I feel like I can experiment. 

“I’m kind of more focused on next year, if anything else, and preparing myself for next year. So I’m trying, I’m lowering my hands a bit, working on my stride, and I feel like this is the time that I can do it, because down here the numbers do count but at the same time it’s just about developing, and I feel like my best chance to develop is trying new things.” 

Hawkins returns to home away from home
Joey Hawkins predicted a call up to the Double-A Springfield Cardinals roster for fellow Canuck Rowan Wick before the move was made, but had no idea that just a few weeks later he would be joining him for the end of the season. 

The 23-year-old shortstop from Whitby, Ont., was manning the middle infield for the advanced-rookie level Johnson City Cardinals when he got the news that he had been hoping would come sooner than later – he was returning to Hammond Field, where he spent four years at shortstop for the Missouri State Bears – but never imagined the day would come as quickly as it did.

“It was a little shocking when I got the news,” Hawkins said. “When you’re sitting in rookie ball you obviously don’t think you’re going to Double-A the next day. But knowing the organization trusts putting me up here in Double-A, and that I’ll be able to help the club win, I just took that as a positive and an opportunity to go up there and showcase myself as a player and person.” 

Springfield shares its home field with the Bears, so joining the club three levels higher than where Hawkins had been playing felt like a homecoming of sorts for the second baseman. 

“It feels like I’m coming back home,” Hawkins said. “And then to play at Hammond Field again was pretty cool, for the first time since we hosted [and won] a regional here, so it’s a pretty special weekend for me …

“There are a lot of people who turned up and talked to me who are Springfield locals who watched me when I was in college. Then I had a bunch of friends come back from when we played together at Missouri State, so it’s been a lot of fun.” 

Hawkins also had a familiar face to welcome him in the clubhouse, with North Vancouver, BC’s Wick already throwing in 14 games for Springfield, after posting a 1.09 ERA over 24 2/3 innings with six walks and 37 strikeouts in Class-A Advanced Palm Beach. Still adjusting to Double-A hitters, the move to the hill from the outfield appears to be working for the 23-year-old former slugger.

“He definitely has a bright future,” Hawkins said of Wick. “He’s got a very good mentality on the mound, and obviously everyone knows he’s got a really plus arm. He can run it up there to 97, 98 [mph]. But he’s just like everyone else, he’s learning, and it’s a big jump for everyone when you get to this level. He’s out there working every day and he’s going to be successful on the mound for sure.” 

Albers enjoyed round-trip ticket to Minnesota
Signed by the Minnesota Twins out of the independent Atlantic League to start the season, Andrew Albers was happy to have another shot in affiliated ball, and was looking to improve on where he left off in Triple-A last season.

After 19 starts for the Rochester Red Wings, posting a 3.51 ERA over 112 2/3 innings with 28 walks and 72 strikeouts, the two-time Pan Am Games gold medallist did even better than that, earning a call up to the big club for its doubleheader against the Houston Astros on Wednesday, first as the 26th man on the roster and then added to the 25-man for an extra day because of injuries.

Albers has since returned to the Red Wings – after throwing six innings, allowing three runs, and striking out five for the Twins – but is happy with the short-lived experience. 

“I was pretty sure I was just going to be up there for the day,” Albers said. “Obviously they needed somebody who could throw up some innings, and it happened to be my start day, so that was probably one of the big reasons that I went up. So I got the call at 11:30 the night before, got on a plane at 6:30 that day, had a three-hour layover in Philly, and went to the hotel. 

“I couldn’t show up until the second game because I still through I was the 26th man at the time, because [Buddy] Boshers didn’t get hurt until the first game had started, so all that happened. That’s part of being the 26th man, you’re only allowed to be at the field for one of the games. I listened to the first game on the radio. It wasn’t on TV because it was a makeup game. Then I went over to the ballpark and was in there in the fourth. It was a whirlwind of a day, and it was what it was, but it was fun.” 

Hall completes summer showcase circuit in San Diego
After a whirlwind several months, 17-year-old Adam Hall completed his summer showcase circuit at the Perfect Game All-American Classic at Petco Park in San Diego on the weekend. 

In March and April, the middle infielder – currently labelled as the country’s top high school prospect heading into next year’s draft – travelled with Team Canada to Florida to match up against spring training competition. In May, the Junior National Team went to the Dominican Republic to play Dominican Summer League squads. 

In June, he participated in a Perfect Game event in Fort Myers, before rejoining Team Canada for their Cuba summer series amidst his Canadian Premier Baseball League schedule with the Great Lake Canadians. After July’s Under Armour All-America Game at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Hall headed to the East Coast Pro Showcase in Tampa before the Area Code Games at Long Beach, Calif. Still on the schedule is another trip with Team Canada to Orlando.

“It’s good to be able to go up against those guys and see what they are, see them all at once and what you’re up against,” Hall said. “You’ve got to use it as a learning experience too. Obviously there’s more work to be done but you can see what you have to do and what you are going up against.” 

Golden Griffs reunite in Lake County
With another shot at affiliated ball, Jon Fitzsimmons also got another chance to share a bullpen with an old friend. 

The London native signed with the Cleveland Indians organization after impressing with the Quebec Capitales in the independent CanAm League, posting a 1.26 ERA over 28 2/3 innings with seven walks and 44 strikeouts. 

Fitzsimmons was assigned to the Lake County Captains, where he joined fellow right-hander Devon Stewart, hailing from Maple Ridge, BC. The two formerly suited up together for Mike McRae’s Canisius College Golden Griffins together during their collegiate playing days.