It was a lucky day for Matthew Clarke [North York Blues Minor Peewee AAA] who was attending a ‘Train Like A Pro Clinic’. Not only was it hosted by pro ball player Connor Panas (L) but his long-time teammate Jordan Romano  (R) was one of the trainers. 

What’s so special about Jordan and Connor? 

They were both Blues as well, having played on one of the rep teams of the North York Baseball Association.

Jordan Romano has been quickly working his way up through the MLB minors and today is on the Texas Rangers MLB Roster.

Jordan – [Pitcher, Bat/Throw Right] – was first selected in the 10 th round of the 2014 Major League Baseball draft by the Toronto Blue Jays. He was assigned to the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League. After two appearances, he advanced and finished his 2014 season with the Bluefield Blue Jays of the Rookie-Advanced Appalachian League.

Jordan missed the entire 2015 season due to an injury, but recovered in June 2016 to make his first start as a professional ball player.  He spent the entire 2017 minor league season with the Dunedin Blue Jays of the Advanced-A Florida State League.

In 2018, the Blue Jays invited  Jordan to spring training where he began the season with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats of the Double-A Eastern League. On May 16, Jordan pitched six no-hit innings against the Hartford Yard Goats, and became the first pitcher in the minors to reach seven wins.  After reaching an 8-0 record with a 2.04 ERA, Jordan was promoted to the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons on May 27.

In December however, he was picked up by the White Sox in the Rule 5 draft and was quickly traded to the Texas Rangers, where he is officially on the MLB roster.

Connor Panas, another North York Blues alumni is currently playing RF with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats.

Connor [Bats L/Throws R] was first selected in the 9 th round, 272nd overall by the Blue Jays out of college in Buffalo in 2014.

In 2015, Connor played 51 games (Vancouver 45, GCL Blue Jays 6) with a respectable .270/.356/.433 line with 5 home runs. Connor made the jump to Single-A, playing the entire season with the Lansing Lugnuts.

2016 has been described as a breakout  year for Connor when he played 114 games with the Dunedin Blue Jays and was an integral part of their Championship season.  

In 2017, Connor hit .276/.364/.475 with 18 home runs and a better strikeout rate than the previous campaign. Defensively he played 54 games in right field, 34 games in left and 13 games at first base throughout the course of the season. 

He finished the 2018 season with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats in the Eastern League having played 105 games, .232/.296/359 and 9 home runs.

On December 30, 2018, the Blues Jay announced that Connor had been traded to the San Diego Padres for left-handed pitcher Clayton Richard and cash consideration. 

The North York Baseball Association congratulates both Jordan and Connor on their career highlights – and thanks Matthew for sharing his story. 

Sources: Wikipedia, FanSided, MLB.com

Posted in Special Events