The West Coast League, a summer collegiate baseball circuit, is nothing if not about player pipelines. If WCL teams have some good ones to the NCAA Div. 1, they will do just fine. The Victoria HarbourCats鈥� relationship with the Cal Baptist Lancers of the WAC has produced some of its most popular players, including Nick Plaia and Harrison Spohn.
鈥淚 would say Nick Plaia was one of our two most popular players in the history of the club, along with [Houston Astros Triple-A prospect] Alex De Goti,鈥� said HarbourCats GM and managing-partner Jim Swanson. The HarbourCats went back to the well this week with the signings of right-handed pitchers Liam Rocha and Spencer Bengard and infielders David Martin and Mitch Simon from the Lancers.
鈥淓veryone remembers what Nick [Plaia] and Harrison [Spohn] did for us, but we also had Matt Amrhein, who was lights out in a closing role for us in 2019. And also out of Cal Baptist a few years ago was D.J. Porter, who played a huge role in getting us to the 2017 finals against Corvallis. We have no doubt these four latest Lancers players will contribute in the same way in 2021.鈥�
It鈥檚 all about building 颅relationships with NCAA Div. 1 programs, noted Swanson
鈥淐al Baptist has seen value in the relationship with us. We provide a pro-type atmosphere,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why Cal Baptist, San Diego, Baylor, Illinois State, Hawaii, Purdue and Sacramento State keep sending players back to us in Victoria. They return to their NCAA teams better.鈥�
Case in point league-wide is pitcher Shane Bieber, an NCAA Div. 1 UC-Santa Barbara walk-on who played in the WCL with the 2014 Cowlitz Black Bears, and was named 2020 American League Cy Young Award winner.
Five WCL alumni were selected in this year鈥檚 abbreviated five-round MLB draft. Former WCL players have been drafted in the first round in each of the past four years. Ninety alumni or then-current WCL players were selected in the 2019 MLB draft and 73 in 2018.
The HarbourCats are scheduled to begin their 2021 WCL season June 1 in Edmonton against the expansion Riverhawks. The HarbourCats鈥� home opener is the cross-strait border rivalry against the Port Angeles Lefties on June 4 at Wilson鈥檚 Group Stadium at Royal Athletic Park.
