By Randy Palmer
December 22nd, 2022

Moose Jaw Minor Baseball product saw WCBL time as affiliated player last season

The Moose Jaw Miller Express apparently liked what they saw from affiliated player Nathan Varjassy last summer. 

Now the Moose Jaw Minor Baseball product will be joining his hometown Western Canadian Baseball League club full-time for the 2023 campaign

Varjasssy, 18, was the latest signing announcement by the team and will be part of what’s expected to be plenty of hometown flavour to the Miller Express this season.

A 5-foot-11, 155-pound pitcher and utility player, Varjassy spent the majority of last summer with the Moose Jaw 18U AAA Canucks in the Saskatchewan Premier Baseball League.

The Canucks relied heavily on Varjassy’s pitching prowess, and for good reason — through his 10 starts, Varjassy would put together a 3-3 record with a 3.16 earned run average and 1.44 walks and hits per inning pitched. All told, he’d finish with 66 strikeouts and 30 walks on the campaign for the 10-20-0 Canucks.

Varjassy also did plenty of damage at the plate, hitting .337 with four doubles and 15 RBI to go along with a solid .865 on-base-plus-slugging percentage.

Things were a little tougher facing college juniors and seniors when Varjassy took the mound with the Millers — in his seven appearances, he’d put together a 9.28 ERA and struck out nine against 10 walks. 

Varjassy did give an idea of what he’s capable of in his lone start of the season with the Express, as facing the eventual East Division finalist Medicine Hat Mavericks he’d pitch 4 ? innings, allowing a single run on three hits as Moose Jaw went on to a 10-2 win. Varjassy had the no-decision, but fellow Moose Jaw product Cam O’Reilly would pick up the win.

One of the highlights of the season came in early August, when Varjassy was named the recipient of the prestigious Baseball Sask Brennan Luffman Scholarship. The award is named in honour of the former Miller Express pitcher who died in a car accident in 2012 and is presented annually to an elite Saskatchewan player moving on to the post-secondary level.

For Varjassy, that means the University of Calgary Dinos, where he’ll suit up in the eight-team Canadian College Baseball Conference. The Dinos are coming off a 17-15 campaign in 2022 but fell in two games in the Canadian College World Series tournament.

Varjassy and the Dinos open their 2023 season on Friday, Mar. 24 when they take on the Thompson Rivers University Wolfpack. Their 32-game season wraps up on May 13, followed  by the World Series tournament

The Moose Jaw Miller Express open their 2023 WCBL season on Saturday, May 27 when they host the Weyburn Beavers at Ross Wells Park.

You can follow along with Varjassy’s season in Calgary at www.pointstreaksites.com/view/ccbc