Upstart Majors showing good signs at plate

Around the Diamond: Bounce-back win a good sign; Jose Arias working to find his groove; Mosher, Osika give Majors infield depth; More movement on the basepaths. Our latest news & notes …

(Photo: Wild Ave Photography).

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A split of two games last weekend has the London Majors sporting a 5-1 record heading into a new weekend of action. And it’ll be a busy one, as the club will play three games in three days, starting Friday at home against the Brantford Red Sox.

They’ll travel to Welland Saturday to take on the defending champs, and then return home Sunday for a matinee against the expansion Chatham-Kent Barnstormers at Labatt Park.

It’s a favourable weekend schedule, which could allow the Majors to improve on their already encouraging record to start the 2024 season – one in which the club is trying to return to contender status after a down year last summer. No games are gimmes, of course, and that was no more evident than last Friday when London dropped its first game of the year, 5-2, to the Kitchener Panthers (2-5 on the year).

But Jose Vasquez was the story of that one. The talented right-hander turned in a complete game effort for the Panthers, allowing just a pair of runs while striking out 12.

“Sometimes you just gotta tip your cap,” said Roop Chanderdat, the Majors’ GM and field manager. “I think we could have adjusted a little bit better, but he kept us off balance. He knows how to pitch. He’s got pro experience. He was attacking the zone, and he’s got a great changeup.”

What was encouraging for Chanderdat was how the team responded to their first loss of the year …

1) Bouncing back. After a rainout Saturday, which postponed a road game against Guelph, the Majors returned to action Sunday against the Hamilton Cardinals at Labatt Park – and they looked a lot better at the plate.

“We saw good execution on Sunday,” said Chanderdat. “We were really locked in, and we did some damage early.”

A lot of that damage came in a five-run 4th inning, which put the Majors ahead 6-0 at the time. After a Byron Reichstein walk and a Victor Plaz double, Brad Verhoeven drove in both with an RBI single. Ty Mosher singled and Tommy Reyes-Cruz brought home a run with a sacrifice fly. Mosher scored on an RBI single from Starling Joseph, who scored himself later on a Hamilton error.

It was a strong bounce-back effort for the Majors, who racked up 12 hits on the afternoon. Both Plaz and Joseph had a trio of hits, while Kaiden Cardoso, the team’s leading hitter (.417 through six games), went 2-for-4 with a walk.

On the mound, London got another strong performance from Travis Keys, who went six innings and allowed just two runs on seven hits. He struck out five and didn’t walk a batter. That makes it two straight for the left-hander, who also turned in a sterling start against Brantford in his previous outing. He’ll get a tough Welland squad this weekend as he continues his debut IBL season.

(Photo: Wild Ave Photography).

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2) Ace Arias getting closer. It’s been a bit of a slow start to the year for the Majors’ best arm, Jose Arias, who was dominant in his first stint with the club back in 2022, when he helped London win the second of its back-to-back league championships.

Through three appearances (two starts) in 2024, the right-hander owns a 5.10 ERA and a 1.70 WHIP. He was dealt his first loss Friday while squaring off against Kitchener’s Vasquez. In 12 1/3 innings so far, Arias has allowed 16 hits and five walks. He’s struck out 15.

“He’s pitching okay, but it’s not yet what we expect from Jose,” Chanderdat said of the pitcher who led the league – and set a franchise record – in strikeouts in 2022. “He hasn’t put together a complete outing yet, but the signs are all pointing to good things.”

Arias did manage a quality start Friday, allowing three runs over six innings. The nine strikeouts were nice to see, and Chanderdat believes his ace is showing improvement every outing.

“The good news is he’s getting better each time out,” the manager said. “Those last two innings (vs. Kitchener), his command was there and he had good feel of his pitches. So, we just gotta get that earlier in the game.”

Chanderdat has nothing but confidence in his star arm. Why?

“He’s the hardest worker on our team,” he said.

3) New face – and another on the way. The Majors welcomed infielder Ty Mosher to the club last weekend for his first action of the summer after a successful collegiate season. The 21-year-old got the start at second base on Sunday after coming in as a defensive replacement Friday night. He should be another strong infield option for London throughout the summer – both in the field and at the plate.

“The early signs are that he can play defense – particularly, a strong second base. He made a couple really good plays in Sunday,” said Chanderdat. “He has the ability to play short and third, as well, but he looks strong at second.

“At the plate, he gives us an element which we value … he can play some of the situational baseball that we need. He’s got a short, compact swing, he puts balls in play and hits line drives. We’ve already used him on some situational stuff already.”

Mosher, who attended Division II Davenport University, is a Dutton, Ont., native who grew up playing within the Great Lake Canadians program and then was a significant part of the junior St. Thomas Tomcats, including last summer.

The next infielder to join the club will be Tristan Osika, a switch-hitter who has three years of IBL experience under his belt – with the Hamilton Cardinals. The 23-year-old just wrapped up his senior season at Indiana Tech University. An Ancaster, Ont., native, Osika can play first base and second base – and maybe the hot corner as well.

4) On the move? One thing that held the London Majors back last season was a lack of team speed. The squad featured a lot of big boys – and a lack of wheels. Not that this year’s team is drastically different in this regard, but at least in the early going they’ve shown that speed won’t be a glaring weakness.

Case in point: through six games, the Majors have recorded 11 stolen bases – while being caught just once. Outfielder Drew Lawrence has led the way with four steals already, while Starling Joseph and newcomers Victor Plaz and Champ Garner have two each.

Chanderdat isn’t declaring the Majors a speed threat, but he is optimistic that they’ll be able to put a bit more speed to work, which will help move runners around – particularly when they need to manufacture runs.

“We’ll be able to use some of that,” the manager said. “Not all the time. We’re not stealing with flat-out speed, but more base smarts and leadoffs and jumps. We’ll utilize the hit and run more than we’ll use the steal. It’s good to know that we can do it.

“We run with a purpose.”