Abdiel Mendoza Named NWL Pitcher of the Week

VANCOUVER, BC – Minor League Baseball has named Canadians reliever Abdiel Mendoza as the Northwest League Pitcher of the Week for June 12-18. It’s the sixth time a C’s pitcher has earned the honor this season after Chad Dallas, Trenton Wallace, Devereaux Harrison (twice) and Dahian Santos took home the award and the sixth time in the last seven weeks a Vancouver arm has topped the circuit.

Mendoza, 24, climbed the slope twice in last week’s first half-clinching series with the Hillsboro Hops [D-Backs] and baffled the Baby Snakes in each of his turns. He first worked on Wednesday, June 14 when he was called upon in the third inning to provide long relief with the C’s down 3-0. The right-hander surrendered a single to the first batter he faced then promptly picked him off to face the minimum in that inning then went on to post three scoreless stanzas with no walks and three strikeouts. He left the game with the Canadians trailing 3-2 and they went on to win 5-4 on Garrett Spain’s two-out walk-off homer in the ninth.

The Chitre, PAN native ran out there again on Saturday, June 17 and earned his first save of the year with three innings of scoreless relief. He retired the first seven batters he faced before giving up a one-out double to #7 D-Backs prospect Ivan Melendez in the ninth, but Mendoza struck out the next man then got a ground out to end the game and secure a 2-0 C’s win that put them on the precipice of the Northwest League’s first half crown.

Mendoza – who is in his second season with Vancouver – has been especially good in June. He has posted a 1.59 ERA with two walks and nine strikeouts over 11.1 innings out of the bullpen and has limited opponents to a .184 batting average this month.

Claimed off waivers from Texas in December 2021, Mendoza is a two-season member of the Blue Jays organization after five years in the Rangers system.

With their ticket punched for the 2023 playoffs, Mendoza and the C’s are on the road in Eugene this week and return to Rogers Field at Nat Bailey Stadium on Tuesday, June 27. Tickets for those games and the rest of the season are available now at CanadiansBaseball.com.