Under the C’s – The Northwest Championship Series begins tonight!

Seemingly since June, many of the eyes in the Blue Jays organization have been directed towards the High-A Vancouver Canadians.

After clinching their spot in the league finals by winning the First Half Title, the C’s more or less played the waiting game for the next two and a half months. The team looked poised to capture the Second Half title as well, before stumbling in the final weeks of the season.

With the stage officially set, the C’s begin the quest for the Northwest League Championship tonight in Everett, as the Canadians battle the Seattle Mariner-affiliated Everett Aquasox. The two clubs split the 24 games in the regular season, going an even 12-12 against one another, so it’s bound to be a tightly contested series.

From the plate, the C’s are going to heavily rely on their power hitters. Josh Kasevich, Cade Doughty, Gabby Martinez, and Garrett Spain are four batters that Vancouver will need firing on all cylinders coming into this post-season, as the quad combined for twelve home runs in the last 30 days of the regular season. First baseman Peyton Williams will be another C’s batter that the fans at The Nat will be hoping to see come alive, as the big farm boy was responsible for seven home runs of his own, since rejoining the club at the beginning of August. Elsewhere offensively, the quick feet of Dasan Brown should be quite the asset to Vancouver in this best-of-5, stealing four bases on five attempts in the last month. Kasevich is also tied for the team lead in stolen bases over the final month of the season.

Left-handed pitcher Adam Macko is scheduled to get the start in Game 1 of the Championship Series for Vancouver, as he’ll be matched up against his former team in Everett. As previously mentioned on Under the C’s, Macko came to the Toronto system last fall in the infamous Teoscar Hernandez trade. Macko went 5-5 in 20 games started this season for the Canadians, with a 4.81 ERA, and finished the year with NWL Pitcher of the Week honours, registering 15 strikeouts and a 0.90 ERA in his final two starts of the season.

Game 1 of the Northwest League Championship Series kicks off tonight from Funko Field in Everett, Washington. Everett will also host Game 2 and then the series will shift to Vancouver for Games 3-5.