A look back at the Canadians first-half efforts

Despite the fact teams in the Northwest League have a huge change-over in players every season, the Vancouver Canadians came into this season with the expectation of keeping the Freitas Cup north of the border. The C's came into 2018 with only eight returning players from the 2017 roster with names like Bryan Lizardo, Owen Spiwak and Brandon Polizzi making a return appearance while being led by first-year manager Dallas McPherson.
The All-Star break doesn't arrive until August 6^th but this past Monday (July 23) marked the official 'end' to the first half of the regular season. The Canadians had its share of ups and downs over the course of the half but still fought towards the pennant right up until the very end. Everett (20-18) took the first half title with Vancouver (19-19) finishing just one game back. The North Division seemed to be noticeably weaker than the South this season based on wins and losses, as Hillsboro won the South with a record of 24-14 (.632) while Boise (21-17) and Salem-Keizer (20-18) also had records that would have been good enough to secure a first-half pennant in the North.
Perhaps the best way to describe the Canadians first-half might be to say 'consistently inconsistent'. Vancouver's longest winning streak was five games (July 5-9) and its longest losing skid was three, on two separate occasions (June 20-22, July 16-18).   
The pitching has been great all season long (3.34ERA - ranks 1^st through 38 games) but the offense has struggled (.242, tied for 5^th in NWL), especially at the start of the year hitting .189 through first 11 games.  
The 2017 team only got shutout four times all season. This year's squad got shutout four times in the first 11 games. There have been some nice pieces in the line up though. OF Griffin Conine (.255-5-16), SS Vinny Capra (.255-2-17) and 3B Bryan Lizardo (.250-3-11) have all been solid for the C's in the first half. Recent promoted 2B Otto Lopez (.359-1-7) and C Yorman Rodriguez (.302-0-11) have been really nice additions to the lineup as well.
Rodriguez had a hit in each of his first 15 games before seeing his streak snapped with an 0-for-3 night in Everett (7/24) to kick off the second half. Lopez has seen time in the infield and the outfield and sometimes a change of position can bother a young player offensively because they can't get into a routine. This hasn't mattered for Lopez from a statistical perspective as the native of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic hit .281 over his final ten first-half games with hits in eight of them.
The Canadians have been bringing the power this season. Vancouver hit 25 homeruns all of 2017. Through 34 games, they already have 27 on the year, good enough for third in the league. Outfielders Griffin Conine and McGregory Contreras lead the charge with four home runs each. (Note: Conine hit his 5^th on July 24 at Everett)
2017 was also a down year in stolen bases as the team finished with 83. At the half way point, the C's have 61 stolen bases, led by Sherwood Park, Alberta native Tanner Kirwer, who has 13 of them. Canadians manager Dallas McPherson made it a point early on to put his foot down on the C's offensive gas pedal and he hasn't let up or shown any indication that he will.
One thing offensively for the C's is that almost every player is really good at home or really good on the road. There are only a few players that are in between. There are some examples of the splits:
C Chris Bec - .159 at home; .267 on the road
OF McGregory Contreras - .280 at home; .174 on the road
2B Nick Podkul - .121 at home; .303 on the road.
But yet, it evens out because the team batting average at home and on the road are very similar. They finished the first half with a .241 batting average away from Scotiabank Field and a .243 average at home.
The pitching has been the most positive point for the Canadians this season.
Returning pitchers from the 2017 season like RHP Jose Espada, RHP Juan Nunez and LHP Marcus Reyes have been great for the C's in 2018. Some pitchers have had some ups and downs but ultimately, the C's have been first in the Northwest League in earned run average (ERA) for a majority of the season. Out of the bullpen, Reyes in particular has been spectacular, as he's only allowed one unearned run and holds a 0.49 ERA. Jose Espada has a losing record of 1-3 but shares the league-lead with 46 strikeouts. Nunez was used as a reliever more at the start of the season but has made the start in his last two appearances.
RHP Will McAffer had a great start to the season but has struggled in July. The North Vancouver native had a 1.17 ERA in June and a 12.00 ERA in July. Eighth-Round pick RHP Joey Murray has been great for the Canadians coming out of the bullpen at times and starting on four other occasions. In 12 innings pitched, he hasn't allowed a run and has struck out 19 batters. Bullpen arms LHP Nick Allgeyer, RHP Cobi Johnson and RHP Connor Law have been very effective out of the bullpen as well, combining for seven of the team's nine saves on the season.
All four teams in the North Division played relatively evenly-matched against each other in the first half. Here is how they stacked up with Vancouver starting to play a lot better as of late both chasing toward the first-half pennant and now into the second-half.
If the C's can play a little more consistently, there is no reason why they can't clinch a playoff spot in the second half of the season. They will start the second half in Everett on July 24^th.   Starting August 1^st, the team will be out of town for 13 games between a five-game series at Hillsboro, the 2018 All-Star Game in Grand Junction, CO and then another five-game road trip at Salem-Keizer. That said, Vancouver will play a boat load of games in late August including 14 of the last 17 (August 14-16 vs. Tri-City, August 17-19 vs. Spokane, August 23-27 vs. Boise and August 29-31 vs. Everett).
Tickets are available for the second half of the season by visiting www.canadiansbaseball.com, calling the Canadians Box Office at 604.872.5232 or by coming by the Nat Bailey Stadium Box Office at 4601 Ontario Street, Vancouver B.C.
Offensive Leaders:
Games - Vinny Capra - 32
AVG - Otto Lopez - .367
H - Tanner Kirwer - 32
R - Bryan Lizardo - 17
2B - Vinny Capra/Griffin Conine/Tanner Kirwer - 7
3B - Tanner Kirwer/Otto Lopez/Nick Podkul/Hunter Steinmetz - 2
HR - McGregory Contrears/Griffin Conine - 4
RBI - Vinny Capra - 16
BB - Vinny Capra - 18
K - McGregory Contreras - 35
SB - Tanner Kirwer - 13
Pitching Leaders:
ERA - Joey Murray - 0.00
W - Will McAffer/Justin Watts - 3
L - Randy Pondler/Josh Winckowski - 4
SV - Cobi Johnson - 4
IP - Jose Espada - 34.1
BB - Jose Espada - 10
K - Jose Espada - 46