September 23, 2026
By Kevin Glew
Cooperstowners in Canada
Some Canadian baseball news and notes from the past few days:
Smith records 40th save of the season for Guardians
Right-hander Cade Smith (Abbotsford, B.C.) tossed a scoreless ninth inning against the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday to secure a 3-2 win for the Cleveland Guardians and collect his 40th save of the season.
With this, Smith has become the first Canadian since John Axford (Port Dover, Ont.) with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2011 to notch 40 saves in a season. Axford had 46 that year.
Overall, Smith is the third Canadian to record 40 saves in an MLB season. Eric Gagne (Mascouche, Que.) did it three times with the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2002 to 2004.
The 6-foot-5 Smith is enjoying an outstanding first full season as the Guardians closer. In 67 appearances, he is 6-1 with a 1.99 ERA and has 104 strikeouts in 72 1/3 innings.
Hartman named Braves’ Minor League Player of the Year by Baseball America
On Monday, Baseball America named outfield prospect Eric Hartman (St. Albert, Alta.) the Atlanta Braves’ Minor League Player of the Year.
The 20-year-old Albertan put together a .249/.350/.456 slash line and had 26 home runs and 56 stolen bases in 128 games between the High-A Rome Emperors and double-A Columbus Clingstones.
“He is the Braves’ most exciting position prospect since Michael Harris II and perhaps their most dynamic one since Ronald Acuña Jr. topped the Top 100 nine years ago,” wrote Baseball America’s Gabe Burns about Hartman.
Selected in the 20th round of the 2024 MLB draft by the Braves, Hartman is proving to be the steal of that draft.
On Canada Day this year, the Okotoks Dawgs alum belted his 20th home run of the season to become the first player in the history of the High-A Emperors to club 20 homers and steal 30 bases in the same season. And he did it in just 71 games.
The 2026 campaign represented Hartman’s second in pro ball. In 2025, he batted .240 with five home runs and 48 stolen bases in 90 games between the FCL Braves and the class-A Augusta Green Jackets.
Tugboat dominates Dodgers
Left-hander Matt Wilkinson (Ladner, B.C.) started and threw five scoreless innings against the reigning World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday. The rookie southpaw allowed just three hits and struck out six without walking a batter.
The Dodgers eventually won the game 3-1.
With that performance, Wilkinson has now tossed 10 scoreless innings in his last three outings with the Giants and has lowered his ERA to 3.65 in seven MLB appearances (five starts).
Nicknamed Tugboat, the young lefty collected his first big league win on September 9 when he pitched two scoreless innings in relief in the Giants’ 7-6 win over the St. Louis Cardinals.
Prior to being called up in August, the 23-year-old Canadian went 3-4 with a 5.15 ERA in 10 starts for the Giants’ triple-A Sacramento River Cats.
On May 9, the Guardians traded Wilkinson, along with the 29th overall pick in this year’s draft, to the Giants for catcher Patrick Bailey.
In total, in parts of four minor league seasons, the Okotoks Dawgs grad owns an 18-21 record and a 3.10 ERA in 70 appearances (69 starts).
Quantrill placed on IL
On Sunday, the Texas Rangers placed right-hander Cal Quantrill (Port Hope, Ont.) on the 15-day injured list with a right lat strain.
The veteran righty was removed from his start against the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday after recording just four outs.
Quantrill’s injury is a big blow to the Rangers’ postseason hopes. The 31-year-old Canuck had recorded a career-high six consecutive quality starts prior to Saturday’s contest and had posted a 1.75 ERA in 11 games (10 starts) since July 28. During that span, that was the second-lowest (qualified) ERA in the majors to New York Yankees ace Cam Schlittler (1.64).
Overall, it has been an outstanding comeback campaign for the Ontario Terriers and Junior National Team grad. He owns a 9-5 record and a 2.86 ERA in 32 appearances (15 starts) for the Rangers.
Roche part of first WPBL championship team
Right-hander pitcher/outfielder Michelle Roche (Burnaby, B.C.) became part of the first Women’s Professional Baseball League championship-winning squad when the Los Angeles Queens defeated the San Francisco Firebells 2-0 on the Wednesday night to claim the league title.
A Women’s National Team member, Roche has been a key contributor to the Queens all season. On the mound, she topped the team in wins (3) and was second in innings pitched (21 2/3) during the regular season.
At the plate, she was 6-for-17, good for a .353 batting average.
She added another win in the postseason.
Roche emerged victorious in the first WPBL final over the Firebells whose roster includes fellow Women’s National Team member Andréanne Leblanc (Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Que.). Leblanc, who plays first base, was outstanding in the postseason, going 11-for-23 (.478 batting average) with a home run and eight RBIs in seven games.
Right-hander Ela Day-Bédard (Gatineau, Que.) and left-hander Liz Gilder (Port Moody, B.C.) also starred for the Firebells, posting 1.24 and 3.65 ERAs in the postseason respectively.
During the 15-game regular season, the Firebells finished atop the standings in the four-team league with a 10-5 record. The Queens were second at 8-7.
Congrats to Michelle.
Can’t wait for the playoffs