Music: {allcanada} VOTTO LEADS STRONG CONTINGENT OF CANADIAN MAJOR LEAGUERS

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

{allcanada} VOTTO LEADS STRONG CONTINGENT OF CANADIAN MAJOR LEAGUERS

With the Major League Baseball season about to get underway in just over three weeks, TSN.ca takes a look at players from north of the border. A great number of them are as prominent as ever in the big league game, so here's where the big-name Canadians stand as the season looms.

The Star Attraction: Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds

Votto had a monster 2010 season that resulted in him being named the National League's Most Valuable Player. The 27-year-old posted a .324 average to go along with 37 home runs, and 113 RBI. His huge season helped the Cincinnati Reds into the playoffs. He's entering his prime now and there's no reason to not expect Votto to battle for the Triple Crown again in 2011.

Battling Back from Concussions: Justin Morneau, Minnesota Twins and Jason Bay, New York Mets

It was a frustrating season for both Canadian sluggers from British Columbia.

Morneau was having an incredibly successful campaign in 2010, hitting an astounding .345 when he suffered a concussion on July 7 while he was sliding into second base. Morneau missed the rest of the season and only returned to game action on Tuesday. Barring any setbacks, he should be ready to start the season and along with Joe Mauer lead the Twins offense.

Jason Bay had a less-than-stellar go at things in his first year with the New York Mets. Bay was hitting just .259 with six home runs and 47 RBI in 95 games when he suffered a concussion on July 25th. Like Morneau, he was also lost for the season because of the injury. Bay was cleared for baseball activities in November and he's on pace to once again hit in the middle of the Mets lineup in 2011.

Replacing a Legend: John Axford, Milwaukee Brewers

John Axford won't be nervous replacing the recently retired Trevor Hoffman as the Brewers closer in 2011, as he already did that in 2010. Last season, the Ontario native was called up in May to replace the struggling Hoffman. Axford thrived in the closer's role, posting a 2.48 ERA with 76 strikeouts in only 56 innings pitched. He also converted on 24 of 27 save chances.

Mr. Consistent: Ryan Dempster, Chicago Cubs

The 33-year-old posted a 15-12 record with a 3.84 ERA for a disappointing Cubs squad in 2010. He's thrown at least 200 innings in each of the last three seasons and was one of only 15 pitchers in the majors last year to record 200 or more strikeouts. Because of his age and the fact that he doesn't have the stuff that some of the other Canadian hurlers like Rich Harden or Erik Bedard have, Dempster sometimes tends to get overlooked, but he's shown that he's a durable innings-eater that every team needs.

For more information on the players mentioned, as well as Canucks that have switched teams like Harden, Jesse Crain, Russell Martin and Jeff Francis, as well as Bedard's chances of returning to the Mariners after not pitching in 2010, see our complete list of Canadians in the MLB.