Signed, Healed, Ready to Deliver

It’s been a tough couple of years for Calgary’s Mike Soroka.

The Atlanta Braves ace has torn his Achilles tendon twice, requiring three surgeries, all while navigating the restrictions around COVID-19.

He got back onto the field in 2022, albeit briefly, and believes he’s finally in line for a “normal” off-season heading into the new year.

Opening It Up

The last time we saw Calgarian Mike Soroka take the mound for the Atlanta Braves, he was breaking new ground.

It was Game 3 of the National League Division Series (NLDS) against the St. Louis Cardinals – an exciting 3-1 victory for Atlanta – and Soroka struck out seven batters through seven innings while surrendering no walks, just two hits and one earned run.

It’s been a long time since that game at Busch Stadium on Oct. 6, 2019, and it feels even longer with the COVID-19 pandemic that has cancelled and postponed baseball games at all levels this year.

What to Expect from Soroka in 2020

The 2019 Major League Baseball (MLB) campaign was a revelation for Calgary pitcher Mike Soroka.

A quick look at his accomplishments from last year shows that. He was a National League (NL) Rookie of the Year runner-up; he finished sixth in NL Cy Young voting; he won the Tip O’Neill Award, which honours Canada’s best baseball player; he pitched a three-up, three-down inning in the MLB All-Star Game; and he was a finalist for the Lou Marsh Award, given annually to the nation’s top athlete. Those are just the Coles Notes on a season filled with impressive firsts for the young man.

So, what can we expect from the 22-year-old during his sophomore season?

Historic Performance

We are still buzzing from Calgarian Mike Soroka’s historic outing for the Atlanta Braves in Game 3 of the National League Division Series (NLDS) against the St. Louis Cardinals.

The former Calgary PBF Redbirds pupil pitched seven innings of one-run baseball, allowing just two hits and no walks. The 22-year-old also struck out seven batters and, while he didn’t personally get the win, Soroka set the table for a dramatic ninth-inning comeback that earned the Braves a 3-1 victory.

During the Busch Stadium performance, the righthander put himself in the record books for several reasons.

2019 Projections for Mike Soroka

As pitchers and catchers report for spring training duty in Florida, Calgarian Mike Soroka finds himself on the cusp. On the cusp of what exactly remains unclear, but suffice to say, it’s a big season for the 21-year-old Atlanta Braves right-hander.

Last year at this time, Soroka was chasing the dream of his first start in Major League Baseball (MLB). He achieved that on May 1, 2018 during an impressive victory over Noah Syndergaard and the Mets at New York’s Citi Field.

The 2015 first-round pick of the Braves followed that up with four more starts – posting a 3.51 earned run average (ERA), a 2-1 record and 21 strikeouts over 25.2 innings pitched in the majors – before injuries sidelined him for the remainder of the season.

What will a healthy Soroka do for an encore? If 2018 proved anything to the PBF Redbirds alumni it’s that getting there is only half the battle – staying up with the big club is the other half.

1 Thru 9: Jaxson Hooge

He’s a Calgary kid who grew up playing all the time at Tourmaline Field in Okotoks, but outfielder Jaxson Hooge has always been a rival of the Dawgs.

It makes sense then, that the former Pro Baseball Force (PBF) Redbird ended up playing for the Medicine Hat Mavericks.

The 6-foot-1 right-handed batter is back for a second season with the Mavs this year, after putting in a second-team, All-American campaign with the Tabor College Bluejays in Kansas.

We caught up with Hooge and gave him our batting lineup full of questions. Here’s what he had to say for our “1 Thru 9” feature.