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Brown, who finished his time with the Thunderbirds last year, will start on June 15 in Spokane and on June 20, when the Canadians host their home opener at historic Scotiabank Field at Nat Bailey Stadium.
“It has been very exciting to see what the Vancouver Canadians are doing for baseball in Vancouver and in BC,” said UBC head coach Terry McKaig. “They are running a first class operation under Jake Kerr, Jeff Mooney and Andy Dunn.”
“To have a UBC baseball alumni named opening day starter and home opener starter is a big achievement for Eric and our program. We are very proud of all our professional players and I’m sure this is a big opportunity for Eric to show the Toronto Blue Jays organization what he is capable of.”
Brown, a native of Thunder Bay, Ont., pitched in 18 games for the 2011 Northwest League Champion Canadians before he was promoted to Lansing of the Midwest League.
Vancouver will play a five-game series in Spokane starting on Friday, June 15 at 6:30 p.m.
The C’s will then return to open up the 2012 home schedule on Wednesday, June 20 at 7:05 p.m. against the Tri-City Dust Devils.
-with files from the Vancouver Canadians
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The storied franchise chose Briscoe, a second baseman, in the 24th round, 751st overall, on Wednesday.
He is the 19th Thunderbird to be taken in MLB draft since 1997, when the baseball program was re-started at UBC.
The Milwaukee Brewers picked up teammate David Otterman in the seventh round on Tuesday.
“We are really proud of Keaton and congratulations to him on being selected by the Boston Red Sox,” said UBC head coach Terry McKaig. “It is a unique situation given he couldn’t play this year because of academic ineligibility, but he stayed dedicated to improving in the classroom and on the field this spring. He deserves this opportunity and we wish him luck as he chases his dream.”
The 6-foot, 190-pound Keaton was an integral part of the UBC team for two seasons.
He batted .318 in 100 career games with the Thunderbirds, hitting four home runs and recording 51 runs batted in. Briscoe also stole 25 bases and scored 77 runs.
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The Milwaukee Brewers selected the left-hander in the seventh round (245th overall) of the draft today.
“It is a dream come true,” said Otterman. “As a kid you dream of playing in the MLB and this is one of the steps to get there. When it happened, i was shocked. I had to sit with my head in my hands for a couple minutes to try and let it sink in, and it still hasn’t.”
The 6-foot-3, 215-pound Otterman is UBC’s 18th MLB pick since the school’s baseball program was resurrected in 1997.
“A very exciting day for David, his family, and the UBC baseball program,” said Thunderbirds head coach Terry McKaig. “David has worked very hard at UBC for three years and we are proud to develop another high draft pick. This continues our trend of showing top Canadian players that attending UBC is both a great academic decision as well as a path in baseball that can lead to a pro career.”
Otterman started 13 games for the Thunderbirds in the 2012 NAIA baseball season, going 5-4 with a 2.96 earned run average (ERA) in 76 innings pitched.
He gave up just 52 hits this year, holding his opponents to a .196 batting average. Otterman ranked 18th in the NAIA in that statistical category.
In his three seasons at UBC, Otterman started 20 games and appeared in 15 others as a reliever. His record is 8-7 with a 2.86 ERA.
“When i got to UBC, I was a long from where i am today. It’s a testament to the coaching staff at UBC because it shows that they can take young ballplayers (like myself) and shape them into professionals. There is no question that i wouldn’t be in the position i am today without the program at UBC,” said Otterman.
“David now gets to realize his childhood dream of playing professional baseball. He will need some time to develop in the minors, but we really think he is capable of doing some special things in the next three to five years of his professional career,” said McKaig.
The 40-round MLB draft will conclude on Wednesday.
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