Music: {allcanada} Onward and upward

Four years ago, Michael McDade was lost.

Just 18 at the time, the first baseman from Las Vegas was completing his first professional season with the rookie level Gulf Coast League Blue Jays when his father, Michael Sr., died in his sleep at the age of 45.

Devastated by the grief of the sudden and unexpected loss, the game his dad introduced him to and taught him to love became far too difficult to play. On days when he wasn't asking himself "is this what I want?" he wondered about walking away from the sport entirely.

If not for his mother Dedy (pronounced Deedee), he very well might have.

"My dad pretty much got me into baseball, that was his first love," McDade recalls during a recent interview. "After my dad passed away, playing was not even in the question, and she was a big part in me coming back playing the next year.

"Without her being so strong, I don't know if I'd even be playing right now."

With the encouragement and support of his mom, McDade "stuck in there," and his career is trending upward after a strong developmental season with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays.

Hitting predominantly in the cleanup spot, McDade batted .281/.328/.457 with 16 homers, 37 doubles and 74 RBIs in 125 games, earning an Eastern League all-star nod. And as a switch-hitter with power from both sides of the plate (even though his slugging was more than .100 points higher from the left side), he is a rare commodity in the Blue Jays system, someone who also draws rave reviews for his defence, particularly an uncanny ability to pick out balls in the dirt.

The total package made him one of the driving forces on a Fisher Cats team that finished atop the Eastern League's Eastern Division standings and was scheduled to open the first round of the playoffs against Reading on Wednesday.

After being so lost, McDade has now found his way again.

"After my dad died we talked about it and my mom said, finish up, go to Instructional League the last two weeks, just get away, go do what you love and we'll talk about it when you get back in the off-season," says McDade, who was promoted to single-A Lansing to open the 2008 season. "It was tough, I struggled all the first half, got demoted to the Penn League, and from there it started picking back up.

"I started to focus back in."

After batting just .194 with two homers and 19 RBIs in 60 games with Lansing, McDade recovered in Auburn, batting .257 with three homers and 27 RBIs in 52 games, earning a New York Penn League mid-season all-star selection.

Back in Lansing for 2009, he enjoyed a breakout year by batting .277 with 16 homers and 57 RBIs, and continued his progress at high-A Dunedin in 2010, hitting .267 with 21 homers and 64 strikeouts, earning an organizational R. Howard Webster Award as team MVP.

He credits the adversity he faced after his father's death for helping him turn things around.

"It just hit me like, I just got to focus," he says. "I matured so quick compared to other 18-year-olds, and it actually did help me be a stronger person after that happened, especially to deal with this game.

"You really need to be mentally tough in this game, there are days it's just not going to go your way, and you've got to keep on pushing."

One notable area of improvement between last year and this one for the sixth-round pick in 2007 was the cut in his strikeouts despite advancing a level.

In 2010, McDade struck out 141 times, a number reduced to 101 with the Fisher Cats.

"That's more commanding my zone, getting good pitches to hit, putting good swings on the ball and not missing my pitch," he says. "I'm trying to lay off the pitchers' pitches … staying within what I can handle and putting a good swing on it."

Drafted as a catcher but moved to first base once he signed, working on his body has been another constant for the six-foot-one McDade.

He's mostly played this season at 260 pounds, although he's been down as low as 250, and finds that's a good weight for him, allowing him to be agile and quick at and around the bag. The time he spent catching in high school helps, too.

"I try to help out my infielders," McDade says of his ability to pick throws from the dirt. "It was mostly from catching, being back there, having soft hands, picking balls back there. Just using my hands really helped."

Growing up McDade listened to both Dodgers and Angels on the radio, but his favourite player was Ken Griffey Jr. Asked which player he'd like to model his game after, the answer is Prince Fielder because of "the way he goes out there, with his offence and his defence."

The admiration, however, ends at Fielder's vegan diet.

"No, no, no, no, I can't do that," he protests. "I like my meat."

McDade also likes his current path.

Having nearly given up on his dream after his father's death, he now finds inspiration and perspective in his loss.

"Just going out here I know he's watching me and I always play as hard as I can," says McDade. "That's all I can do."