MANCHESTER -- It's late, an hour after the game, and beads of sweat are rolling off Mike McDade's forehead.

He's in the clubhouse hallway, powering through lunge squats while strapped to resistance bands or some type of apparatus fit for a moonwalk exhibit.

Other Fisher Cats are crushing the food spread or watching the Blue Jays on TV from a leather couch. Down the hallway, past the weight room, McDade is acting like someone dedicated to reach the majors.

He's certainly been playing like a big leaguer. The switch-hitting first baseman entered Wednesday night leading the Fisher Cats in nearly every offensive category. McDade (.324, nine homers, 29 RBIs) homered from both sides of the plate against Portland on May 23, a doubleheader.

Strikeouts (34) have gone down this season. Walks (19) have gone up. Defensively, McDade is the best first baseman in the club's nine-year history.

He's peaking at the right time. The Blue Jays sent first baseman Adam Lind (.196) to Triple-A first baseman and will have a revolving door at the position for the immediate future. David Cooper, Yan Gomes and Edwin Encarnacion all have played first base recently. Gomes was demoted to Triple-A Las Vegas this week.

McDade, quietly waiting his turn, took a team-high nine-game hitting streak into Wednesday's game against the New Britain Rock Cats. He won the Eastern League All-Star Game Home Run Derby last season. He'll probably be competing again this year unless the Blue Jays promote the 23-year-old to Las Vegas or Toronto. McDade, who is on Toronto's 40-man roster, is ready for that call.

“Right now, I have a game plan when I go up to the plate, and I'm sticking with it. Just try to get my pitch,” said McDade, a Las Vegas native. “Here, the goal is to get better every day. I know the ultimate goal is to be a big leaguer, but all I can do is take care of what's in front of me.”

McDade, at 6-foot-1, 250 pounds, is a big guy with soft hands. Pro scouts — the guys writing reports on every player in the EL — love his glove but they question his weight and conditioning. One long-time American League scout said there isn't a big-league position player on the field for New Hampshire right now.

Lately, McDade seems to be spending extra time with Fisher Cats strength coach Brian Pike, a Gorham High and Plymouth State University graduate. In the hallway after games, Pike counts out repetitions, and McDade does the exercises.

“I have to work out every day or the next day I feel terrible,” McDade said. “I really focus on my legs, hips, abs, just trying to get that extra power and quickness to the ball. The biggest thing for my swing is getting my legs involved.”

McDade, a sixth-round pick in the 2007 draft, helped lead New Hampshire to a championship last season, batting .281 with 16 homers. He set a club record with 37 doubles, most in the Toronto organization. McDade also played through a knee injury at the end of the season, earning praise from manager Sal Fasano and members of Toronto's front office.

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GAME DAY: Right-hander Joel Carreno (1-1, 4.38 ERA), who began the year with the Blue Jays, gets the start for today's 10:35 a.m. contest against the Rock Cats. The versatile Carreno has made 16 career appearances for Toronto, including a start against the Indians in April. New Britain sends to the mound lefty Andrew Albers (1-1, 3.98 ERA), who beat the Fisher Cats here at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium last month.

New Hampshire hits the road to Trenton following today's game. The team returns home for a six-game homestand beginning Tuesday against the Richmond Flying Squirrels, a rematch of the 2011 Eastern League Championship Series.

Staff writer Kevin Gray covers pro baseball for the New Hampshire Union Leader and New Hampshire Sunday News. His email address is kgray@unionleader.com.