December 30, 2021

By Matt Betts

Canadian Baseball Network

MLB.com’s Jim Callis knows a thing or two about the top up-and-coming prospects in Major League Baseball.

He has been covering the draft since 1988 and currently oversees MLB Pipeline, a ranking of each teams’ top 30 prospects and the top 100 overall.

As we get set to ring in the new year, let’s take a look at the 17 Canadians Callis has identified in his organizational lists.

Atlanta Braves - No. 21 RHP Indigo Diaz (North Vancouver, BC)

Diaz comes in at No. 21 on the Braves’ top 30 after a strong 2021 across two levels. The 6-foot-5, 250-pound former Iowa Western Reiver and Michigan State Spartan threw 27 innings for High A Rome and held opponents to a .117 batting average to go along with a 4-1 record and a 1.00 ERA. He was promoted to double-A Mississippi on July 13 and continued his strong campaign, hurling 18 innings and posting a 2-1 record with a 1.50 ERA.

Callis thinks Diaz’s ETA in the big leagues could be some time in 2022.

Baltimore Orioles - No. 15 INF Adam Hall (London, Ont.)

Speedy infielder Adam Hall has swiped 83 bases in 267 games over four professional seasons since being Baltimore’s second round pick, 60th overall in 2017. The former Great Lake Canadian spent 2021 in High A Aberdeen and produced a .248 average and stole 26 bases over 81 games.

Chicago Cubs - No. 9 OF Owen Caissie (Burlington, Ont.) and No. 26 OF Jordan Nwogu (Ottawa, Ont.)

The Cubs have two Canucks on their top 30 prospect list. The first is Fieldhouse Pirates grad Caissie. An original second round pick, 45th overall by the San Diego Padres, Caissie was part of the package that sent Yu Darvish to the Friars on December 29, 2020, before he had ever played a professional game. The left-handed hitting outfield made two stops in 2021. His first came with the Rookie league ACL Cubs where he hit .349 with six home runs and 20 RBIs over 32 games. He was then promoted to class-A Myrtle Beach in August and hit .233 in 22 games.

The second Cub on the list is Michigan Wolverine standout Jordan Nwogu. The athletic outfielder is no stranger to the big stage after being a key contributor to the Wolverines College World Series runner-up finish in 2019. He hit the ground running in his first pro season in 2021. In 94 games for class-A Myrtle Beach, he swatted 10 home runs, drove in 40 and batted .248.

Cleveland Guardians - No. 6 Bo Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.)

Callis called Naylor one of the best pure hitters in the entire 2018 draft, which led Cleveland to take the Canadian backstop in the first round, 29th overall. Over three professional seasons, Naylor owns a .227 batting average with 23 home runs in 227 games. In 2019, he threw out 37% of base stealers. He spent all of 2021 with double-A Arkansas.

He’ll look to join brother Josh on the Guardians’ big league roster in the next couple of seasons.

Detroit Tigers - No. 20 Trei Cruz (Toronto, Ont.) and No. 28 Jacob Robson (Windsor, Ont.)

The Detroit Tigers also feature a pair of Canadian top prospects, one with big league lineage and another that made his major league debut in 2021.

Trei Cruz, son of former Blue Jay Jose Cruz Jr., was well travelled in 2021. He made four stops in his first professional season, playing 63 games. He hit .161 with 12 doubles while dealing with a shoulder injury. If Cruz can climb the ladder, he’ll become a third generation big leaguer.

Robson is one of two players on the list to make his big league debut. The former Mississippi State Bulldog played his first game against Cleveland on August 12 going 0-for-2. In total, he scored a run over four games with the big club. He spent the bulk of his season in triple-A Toledo where he hit .259 and stole 15 bases in 78 games.

Los Angeles Angels - No. 24 OF David Calabrese (Richmond Hill, Ont.)

Calabrese passed on his commitment to the powerhouse Arkansas Razorbacks to sign with the Angels after they selected him in the third round, 82nd overall in the 2020 draft. Calabrese spent all of 2021 getting his feet wet with the Angels Rookie League affiliate. In 42 games, he hit .201 in 144 at bats. The former Ontario Blue Jays best tool is his speed, having received an 80 grade on the 20-80 scale from some scouts. Just 18 years old for the entire 2021 season, there’s plenty of time for him to develop into what the Angels envisioned when drafting him.

Milwaukee Brewers - No. 7 INF Tyler Black (Stouffville, Ont.)

Black was the first Canadian selected in the 2021 draft when the Brewers made him the 33rd overall pick after a stellar career at Wright State University. It was a busy season for the former Toronto Met as he led the Raiders to the Knoxville Regional and then played 26 professional games. After just three games with he Brewers’ Rookie League affiliate, Black made the jump to class-A with the Carolina Mudcats where he hit .222 with a .388 on-base percentage in 23 games. It will be fun to see what Black can do over the course of an entire pro season.

Minnesota Twins - No. 3 RHP Jordan Balazovic (Mississauga, Ont.)

The highest rank Canadian prospect on this list is former Ontario Blue Jay and current Twin minor league pitcher Jordan Balazovic. Not only is Balazovic the Twins No. 3 prospect, he’s also No. 81 on Callis’ top 100.

Signed by legendary Canadian scout Walt Burrows (Brentwood Bay, BC), Balazovic was the Twins’ fifth round pick, 153rd overall in 2016. Since then, he has steadily made his way through the system, pitching all of 2021 with double-A Wichita where he went 5-4 with a 3.62 ERA. In 69 minor league appearances, 58 of which have been starts, the righty is 23-16 with a 3.41 ERA over 324 2/3 innings.

Balazovic seems to have a legitimate chance to make his major league debut in 2022.

New York Mets - No. 13 RHP Calvin Ziegler (Heidelberg, Ont.)

The New York Mets may not have been able to sign Vanderbilt star Kumar Rocker, but they were able to lock up flame-throwing right hander Ziegler after scooping him up in the second round, 46th overall in the 2021 draft. Armed with a fastball that has touched 97 mph, there’s a lot to like about the former Great Lake Canadian. He has yet to make his professional debut but will certainly be one to keep an eye on in the coming years.

New York Yankees - No. 23 OF Jake Sanford (Dartmouth, NS)

Sanford has hit everywhere he has played, whether it was at McCook Community College, Western Kentucky University, or now in the Yankees’ system. His smooth left-handed stroke led him to a .285 batting average, 16 home runs and 61 RBIs in 101 games between class-A Tampa and High A Hudson Valley. When the Yankees took Sanford in the third round, 105th overall in 2019, Callis called him one of the best power prospects in the draft.

Oakland Athletics - No. 9 OF Denzel Clarke (Pickering, Ont.)

After high school, former Toronto Met Clarke took his talents west to California State University Northridge where he was a key player for the Matadors for three seasons. In 2021, he played 38 college games and hit .324 with a 1.016 OPS, which intrigued the Athletics enough to take him in the fourth round, 127th overall in the draft. He played just seven games with the A’s Rookie League affiliate this past summer, hitting .316 with a home run.

Seattle Mariners - No. 10 RHP Matt Brash (Kingston, Ont.) and No. 12 Adam Macko (Stony Plain, Alta.)

The Mariners are the third team to have two top prospects hailing from north of the border.

Brash was added to the Mariners’ roster late in the season but didn’t make an appearance in the big leagues. The 6-foot-1 righty was lights out across two minor league levels in 2021, which eventually led to his promotion. He made 10 appearances apiece at both High A Everett and double-A Arkansas, going a combined 6-4 with a 2.31 ERA and 142 punch outs in 97 1/3 innings.

Look for Brash to make his big league debut in 2022.

Southpaw Macko comes in just behind Brash on this list. The Vauxhall Academy alum had a very respectable season with the class-A Modesto Nuts, going 2-2 with a 4.59 ERA over nine starts. Macko was born in Slovakia, grew up in Ireland, but graduated high school in Alberta.

Toronto Blue Jays - No, 5 INF Otto Lopez (Montreal, Que.) and No. 19 OF Dasan Brown (Oakville, Ont.)

It’s only fitting that the Toronto Blue Jays have a couple of Canadians in their top 30.

Lopez is the other player on this list to have made his MLB debut in 2021, having played one game for the Blue Jays. He split the majority of the season between double-A New Hampshire and triple-A Buffalo where be compiled a .315 batting average with 22 stolen bases and an .816 OPS.

Initially committed to Texas A&M, Brown opted to sign with the Blue Jays after being taken 88th overall in the 2019 draft. He hit .212 and swiped 22 bases for class-A Dunedin this past season. Speed is the former Ontario Blue Jays best tool and he’ll look to race up the organizational ladder in 2022.