By: Nick Ashbourne

Canadian Baseball Network

Jaden Griffin has been on the move a lot since he made his Tournament 12 debut last season.

After becoming the youngest member of the Canadian Junior National Team at the age of 15, the Atlantic Maroon pitcher got to travel to Florida, Cuban and the Dominican Republic with the squad, and the latter two locales left a real impact on the Nova Scotian.

“They are entirely separate from us and live a completely different lifestyle,” he says. “So it’s amazing to getting the opportunity to go there and play against those teams.”

Not only was Griffin interested in the cultural differences, he found that the Cubans and Dominicans had a different style on the diamond.

“In the Dominican Republic and Cuba they’re all grit and grind,” he says. “They don’t slow down and they don’t stop.”

Having the experience traveling and playing against top competition, as well as a T12 appearance under his belt, puts Griffin in the position to be a leader for the Atlantic squad, and it’s a role he intends to embrace.

“I’m hoping to be a leader for that team this year,” he says. “Hopefully I can help some of the younger guys and even some of the older guys where it’s their first time.”

His advice to his team’s newcomers is to stay within themselves and do what they do best. With so many scouts present the temptation to try and do too much is strong, but must be ignored.

“You have to relax and have fun,” he says. “The worst thing you can do coming to a tournament like this is tense up and try to do things you can’t do. You just have to relax and play your game and realize why you’re there.”

Kevin Richardson, who coaches Griffin with the Nova Scotia 17U Selects team has already seen the left-hander has a knack for leadership and believes he can be an asset to the Atlantic team that way.

“Our younger guys look to him and he’s able to provide tips and advice,” he says. “Whether it’s little things like pickoffs or just mental prep, telling the guys ‘deep breaths’ or ‘one pitch at a time’, he’s been a really valuable resource for them.”

Rarely does such a young player display these qualities, but Richardson sees Griffin as mature well beyond his years.

“He’s got very good self-awareness and is very mature,” he says. “He’s got very strong composure and confidence on the field.”

Griffin believes the difference between himself and other pitchers his age is the ability to stay focused when things go wrong and maintain a consistent approach.

“I feel like I’m a little more mature than a lot of pitchers,” he says. “I feel like I can hold myself together on the mound no matter what.”

Last season Griffin’s mental game was not as strong. When he came to Tournament 12 he was too focused on impressing onlookers and feels that he probably ending up overthrowing and not playing to his strengths. He doesn’t intend to make the same mistake again.

“My main focus is to try to throw more strikes instead of trying to overthrow and impress everybody,” he says. “I just want to throw strikes and get the job done.”

Griffin is not a power pitcher and he knows it. The right-handers usually sits 82-84 mph with his fastball and knows it takes more than him throwing his hardest to retire quality competition.

“I’m not going to overpower anybody so I need to use all of my pitches to set up batters and read swings,” he says “I just try to mix it up and keep hitters off-balance.”

Over the course of the season, Griffin has been focusing on sharpening his mechanics to improve his command. With less margin for error than some higher velocity pitchers, ironing out a repeatable delivery and a consistent release point is essential.

“One of the biggest things for me is mechanics,” he says. “I’ve had a lot of trouble with that the last year or two and I just want to find my comfortable spot and stick with it.”

If his mechanics are in line there’s no reason Griffin can’t excel at Tournament 12 this time around. He’s experienced a lot since last year.