Darvill
Impresses with
Goldeyes Early
By Scott Taylor, Photo by Tara Miller
It was a pretty great opening week for
Wes Darvill.
The Winnipeg Goldeyes new third
30 / sportslife
baseman was the best player on the
field in the pre-season opener, a 4-2
loss to Fargo. He produced two of the
Goldeyes six hits and drove in one
of the two runs and was flawless in
the field. In game 2 of the pre-season
series against Fargo. In Game 2, he
had a hit, a walk and scored a run as
the Fish whipped Fargo 9-3.
“It was great to get the win,” said
Darvill with a smile. “It felt nice to put
the ball in play and spray some hits
around, but it’s still early. It just feels
great to get the W.”
The Goldeyes have high hopes
for the 24-year-old Darvill. After
all, the former national junior team
member and former fifth-round draft
pick of the Chicago Cubs, comes
into Winnipeg with more than 1,900
professional at bats in seven minorleague seasons.
Throughout training camp and in
the first two games of the pre-season,
Darvill was hard to miss. He has
looked comfortable and athletic at
third base and if things go as planned
he will be the replacement for Josh
Mazzola that the Goldeyes were after.
“Wes became a free agent this past
November and Tom (Vaeth) and I were
looking to add another infielder who
bats from the left side and can play
multiple positions,” said Goldeyes
manager Rick Forney. “Wes is an
athletic infielder with plus-defensive
skills and speed.”
Last season, Darvill, suited up for 89
games between the High-A Carolina
League’s Myrtle Beach Pelicans and
the Double-A Southern League’s
Tennessee Smokies. A left-handed
hitter, Darvill finished with 27 runs
scored, three home runs, 30 RBI, and
30 walks.
During his time with the Smokies—
which marked the second time he
reached the Double-A level—Darvill
committed just one error in 64 games
on the infield. The imposing looking
6-foot-2, 190-pounder ranked third
in the Southern League with a .982
fielding percentage at third base.