For those who weren’t following
my blog last baseball season, there’s a young Canadian-born pitcher who I wrote
about several times. He is Goderich, Ontario-born Brock Dykxhoorn, who makes
his winter home in Delhi, Ontario, and just happens to be my neighbour.
Briefly in recap, Dykxhoorn was
drafted by the Houston Astros in the sixth round of the June Amateur Draft in
2014 and then pitched with the Greenville Astros of the Rookie Appalachian
League for the remainder of the season. In 12 games with Greenville (four
starting assignments) he posted a 3-3 win/loss record, had a 4.88 ERA and
struck out 36 batters in 31 1/3 innings.
In 2015, the Astros assigned him
to the Quad Cities River Bandits (playing in Davenport, Iowa) in the Class A
Mid-West League. In 22 games (18 starts) Dykxhoorn compiled an 8-5 record,
posted a 3.88 ERA and struck out 94 batters in 109 innings. Quad Cities had an
outstanding regular season, securing a post season berth by winning the
first-half Western Division title (with an overall record of 88 wins, 50
losses) but unfortunately were knocked out of the playoffs in the first round.
 |
| Brock Dykxhoorn with Quad Cities in 2015 |
Halfway through the 2015 season,
Dykxhoorn had the opportunity to represent Canada at the Pan-Am Games held in
Toronto, and pitched in two games to help the team win the gold medal.
For 2016, he has been promoted
again, this time to the Advance A Class Lancaster JetHawks of the California
League. This is just another step in the progression of the young right-hander,
who will turn 22 in July. In his first game of the season on April 12 against
the Stockton Ports, Dykxhoorn started, pitched five innings, allowing only one
run, struck out six and picked up the win.
Dykxhoorn says that although he
will miss playing for Quad Cities, he is excited to continue his ascent up the
minor league ladder.
“I'm very excited to advance in
the Astros system and begin the summer with the Lancaster JetHawks,” he says. “It's
always fun to challenge myself at the next level and to continue pursuing my
dream of playing in the Big Leagues.
“Playing in Iowa last year was a great experience and I had a great
summer but it is always nice to move up in the system. I'm always trying to
move to the next level regardless of whether or not I like playing at a certain
place.”
And while he will have some familiar faces around him as well, he is also
looking forward to meeting new teammates.
“We do have a lot of players from last year’s Quad Cities team in
Lancaster this year. It is fun playing with a lot of the same players but also
playing with some new teammates and getting to know each other.”
And asked about what he liked best about his second Spring Training
with the Astros in Florida, Dykxhoorn replied, “My favorite part of Spring Training
was being around some of the Major League guys and learning more about the game
from them.”
To learn more about Brock Dykxhoorn and the Lancaster JetHawks, check
out their website by clicking here. Also our Facebook page will keep you
updated by posting the online article from the team’s website after every game
Dykxhoorn pitches.
Follow us on Twitter at @topofthethird
No comments:
Post a Comment