Waterloo’s Yari is heating up for Reds’ A-ball club
Bruce Yari fought the urge to approach one of his heroes.
The Waterloo native saw Cincinnati Reds superstar Joey Votto on the field during spring training earlier this year but didn’t want to bother the slugger.
“We were around each other a little bit, but the big-league guys and minor leaguers are kept a little separate,” said the 23-yearold. “I thought about (saying hi). But every time I had the chance, he was always in the cage working or on defence. You don’t really want to interrupt him. You want to let him get his work in and at the same time I’m trying to do the same thing.”
Make no mistake, Votto is the man at first base for the Reds. But there is another Canadian catching fire at the corner for the Major League Baseball club. Yari is hitting .382 over his past 10 games for the Class-A Advanced Daytona Tortugas in the Florida State League, which is three levels down from the bigs.
The recent clip gives him a healthy .283 season average with three home runs and 37 runs batted in through 73 games. It’s a nice rebound for Yari after hovering around the Mendoza Line (.200 batting average) early in the season.
“I got off to a slow start,” he admitted. “I think in part it was a bit of bad luck. I felt like I was hitting better than the numbers suggested. I was hitting a lot of balls right at guys.”
It has been a steady ascension for the former University of British Columbia student since being drafted by the Reds in the 24th round of the 2016 MLB draft. Yari started in rookie ball and posted a solid .270 average and followed that up by banging 13 dingers with the Dayton Dragons in the Midwest League Low-A loop last summer.
“As you progress to each level there are different challenges,” he said.
“The biggest adjustment was just facing velocity every day. Last year, pitchers started to throw with a little bit more command. This year, you start to get guys commanding the fastball and having secondary pitches.”
And that makes it tough on young hitters. But Yari remained patient through his early season batting struggles, and it paid off.
“There are days when you doubt yourself a little bit and question if what you’re doing is the right way,” he said. “I just tried to stick with my approach and with what makes me a good player. Now, it’s turning around for me.”
The Tortugas are kings of Daytona Beach. The club finished first in the North Division with a record of 37-29 in the first half of the season which, in the FSL, means they have already secured one of four playoff spots. The crew was 14-14 in the second leg, heading into Friday’s action. Yari is just trying to do his part to help the team and move up the ranks in the Reds’ system, just like his idol Votto once did. “I’ve always looked up to him with him being from Etobicoke and me from Waterloo, which isn’t too far,” he said. “I remember when I was in high school when he won the (National League) MVP.”
If he keeps up his current pace, one day Yari may finally get a chance to actually meet the sixtime MLB all-star.