Under the C’s – OF Devonte Brown called up to Double-A… WHY NOW!?

OK, so I generally try to be evenhanded when writing these articles, in terms of looking at moves from both a Vancouver and a Jays perspective, but man, this one hurts.

Early Wednesday afternoon, the big shots in Toronto made the call to send OF Devonte Brown to the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats. This appears to be the final blow in Toronto’s raid of the Vancouver clubhouse, which already saw the C’s lose RHP Michael Dominguez and human cheat code Alan Roden, along with his .321 batting average.

Devonte Brown has been an Energizer Bunny for the Vancouver Canadians this season, showing off timely hitting, great fielding, and an impressive set of wheels, stealing 18 bases in 83 games in the Northwest League.  At the plate, Devonte had a .240 average, with 49 RBIs and 14 Home Runs.

Call-ups are bound to happen in the minor leagues, especially for High-A, as it’s directly in the middle of the ladder, but the timing is what makes it so painful, as Devonte got the fax (I guarantee the Jays still use a Fax machine) saying he was eastern bound in the final week of the regular season, with Vancouver already having their spot in the Northwest League Championship Series clinched.

Here’s an analogy for you… Hope you like 90s wrestling.

The Vancouver Canadians are ECW.  They’re smaller than the big-time major league promotions like World Championship Wrestling or the World Wrestling Federation, but they have a passionate fanbase, a quality product that is gaining traction in the local area, and local homegrown stars like Rob Van Dam and the Dudley Boys.  As ECW is getting ready to put on their biggest show of the year, which the company has worked towards and built all their storylines up to, Rob Van Dam and the Dudleyz get signed by WWF and leave.  Those are your biggest stars, how are you supposed to build a line-up for the most important show of the year without your biggest stars?

With only five games remaining in the regular season, and a 2.5-game lead on second place Everett, Vancouver is hoping to lock up first place for the second half, and the season as a whole.  In-and-out of the lineup Slugger Alex De Jesus returned to the lineup last night in Vancouver’s 6-3 win over the Hillsboro Hops, which is good news for Vancouver. De Jesus was a yard ball machine in the first half of the season but has struggled with an undisclosed injury since late July, giving him a pair of spells on the Injured List.  De Jesus went 0-3 with one walk in his return.

Elsewhere in the lineup, Gabby Martinez had a three-run shot in the bottom of the 7th inning, helping Vancouver overcome a 2-0 lead.  Cade Doughty also had a 2-run RBI double, and Josh Kasevich had an RBI single, giving the Canadians a 6-2 lead after the 7th, which they rode home to a 6-3 win.

Vancouver continues the final week of the season, hopefully with no more talent raids, at home against Hillsboro tonight with a Double Header at Nat Bailey Stadium. First pitch for Game 1 is scheduled for 5:05 PST, while Game 2 should hopefully go ahead as scheduled at 7:05.