Day IV: Who fared best? Hall, Davis Yerzy, Burgmann, Hyland, Deneault-Gauthier?
SS Taylor Hall (London, Ont.) arrives safely at third after a head-first slide. Photos: Tyler King.
By Bob Elliott
Canadian Baseball Network
The eight teams have had their one hour workout.
A total of 24 games have been played.
Round robin play and the semi-finals have been completed.
One day and one game remains in the third annual Tournament 12.
At 9 am defending champion Quebec Blue meets Prairies Purple at the Rogers Centre.
So who do you like?
Who is the most impressive of the 160 players you saw?
That was the question and these was the teenagers the pros enjoyed watching since Monday morn:
Lloyd Moseby, former Jays No. 1 pick, who played centre field for Toronto for 10 years:
1. OF Isaac Deveaux (Montreal, Que., Ohio Warhawks/Upstate Mavericks) Quebec Blue: “Maybe the best player on the field on Scout Day, then he backed off and didn’t show a lot for a couple of days, but he got it back.”
2. INF Jason Willow (Victoria, BC, Victoria Mariners) Futures Navy: “Watch this kid. He has quick hands. The ball makes a sound off his bat.”
3. INF-C Noah Naylor (Mississauga, Ont., Ontario Blue Jays) Futures Navy: “People are going to compare him to his brother (Josh) and that’s unfair. He’s his own man. I think he’s an infielder.”
4. RHP Jameson Hart (Sarnia, Ont., Great Lake Canadians) Futures Navy: “An opposite-field hitter, who can take the ball up the middle.”
5. SS Kobe Hyland (Spruce Grove, Alta. Spruce Grove White Sox) Alberta Red: “He has quick feet and Kobe’s arm is a lot better than last year. “
Others
INF Sam Avila (Kamloops, BC, Okanagan Athletics) BC Orange: “Quick hands, short swing.”
OF Brett Resch (Saskatoon, Sask., Vauxhall Acadmey) Prairies Purple: “Has a strong arm, bat will play.”
OF Cooper Davis (Mississauga, Ont., Ontario Blue Jays) Ontario Green: “We had him on the Futures team before and we knew his speed, but his power shocked us.”
SS Adam Hall (London, Ont., Great Lake Canadians) Ontario Green: “Yes, yes, YES! Quick hands.”
INF Thomas Grilli (Mississauga, Ont., Great Lake Canadians) Ontario Green: “He has fast hands and has an upside.”
C Max Wright (Toronto, Ont, Great Lake Canadians) Ontario Green: “Has some power, likes to pull the ball.”
C Andrew Yerzy (Toronto, Ont., Toronto Mets) Ontario Black: “Didn’t have the tournament he wanted probably. He’s going to be a player.”
Seven-time Gold Glove winner Devon White, who has three World Series rings, two with the Blue Jays.
1. SS Adam Hall (London, Ont., Great Lake Canadians) Ontario Green: “He’s going to be special. He impressed me as a good level-headed kid.”
2. OF Cooper Davis (Mississauga, Ont., Ontario Blue Jays) Ontario Green: “I have never seen a kid run like him. I saw Bo Jackson run. I saw Deion Sanders run. No one runs like Cooper. He’s so small and his legs move so quickly. Bo, Deion and guys like myself all take longer strides.”
3. RHP Josh Burgmann (Nanaimo, BC, Vauxhall Academy) BC Orange: “A real good power arm, he needs to get stronger.”
4. SS Kobe Hyland (Spruce Grove, Alta. Spruce Grove White Sox) Alberta Red: “He’s a big-time prospects with a high ceiling.”
5. RHP Mathieu Deneault-Gauthier (Candiac, Que. Canadian Junior National Team) Quebec Blue: “He was only 86 but man he had pinpoint control. He was relaxed. I never saw him get up tight during his no hitter. He flew in this morning, had cramps on his legs during the game and STILL pitched a no hitter.”
Others:
C Andrew Yerzy (Toronto, Ont., Toronto Mets) Ontario Black: “A big bodied catcher.”
1B Soren Graversen (Calgary, Alta., Okotoks Dawgs) Alberta Red: “He’s a good looking hitter.”
OF Justin King (Okotoks, Alta., Okotoks Dawgs) Alberta Red: “He made a fine catch diving in right field.”
RHP Jordan Balazovic (Missisauga, Ont. Ontario Blue Jays) Ontario Black: “One of the few guys to hit 90 mph.”
INF Declan Buckle (Dieppe, NB, Team New Brunswick) Atlantic Maroon: “He showed a compact, short swing, which I really liked.”
1B Ari Sechopoulos (Windsor, Ont. Great Lake Canadians) Ontario Black: “He has big-time power.”
Duane Ward, who picked up the win in the Jays last post-season game in 1993 when Joe Carter homered, has two World Series rings:
Pitchers
1. RHP Mathieu Deneault-Gauthier (Candiac, Que. Canadian Junior National Team) Quebec Blue: “Knows how to pitch and mixes his pitches.”
2. RHP Josh Burgmann (Nanaimo, BC, Vauxhall Academy) BC Orange: “He’s aggressive and goes after hitters, I like that.”
3. RHP R.J. Freure (Burlington, Ont. Ontario Blue Jays) Ontario Green: “He has the ability to throw hard.”
4. RHP Jordan Balazovic (Missisauga, Ont. Ontario Blue Jays) Ontario Black: “His velocity was 91 mph, he looked impressive.”
5. RHP Carter Loewen (Abbotsford, BC, Abbotsford Cardinals) BC Orange: “Great size (6-foot-4, 205 lbs.) and poise.”
6. RHP Carson Perkins (Bienfait, Sask., Vauxhall Academy) Prairies Purple: “He’s green, but he will develop, I had him at 88 mph.”
7. RHP Nick Trogrlic-Iverson (Oakville, Ont., Langley Blaze) Ontario Black: “He’s a converted guy, he’s thrown 91 but he hadn’t thrown since the final T12 tryout.”
8. RHP Conor Angel (Lachine, Que., Les Ailes du Quebec) Futures Navy: “Great mechanics with a big upside.”
9. RHP Ben Abram (Georgetown, Ont., Ontario Terriers) Futures Navy: “Throws hard and I like his size. A real young one.”
Hitters
1. OF Cooper Davis (Mississauga, Ont., Ontario Blue Jays) Ontario Green:
2. INF Kobe Morris (Victoria, BC, Victoria Eagles) BC Orange:
3. SS Adam Hall (London, Ont., Great Lake Canadians) Ontario Green:
4. C Andrew Yerzy (Toronto, Ont., Toronto Mets) Ontario Black:
5. INF Travis Horanski (Dugald, Man., Langley Blaze) Prairies Purple:
George Bell, winner of the 1987 MVP award:
1. C Andrew Yerzy (Toronto, Ont., Toronto Mets) Ontario Black: “He receives well, he throws well, but sometimes he gets caught in between on a breaking ball and a fastball.”
2. 1B Soren Graversen (Calgary, Alta., Okotoks Dawgs) Alberta Red: “He’s a big bat, I like him.”
3. OF Isaac Deveaux (Montreal, Que., Ohio Warhawks/Upstate Mavericks) Quebec Blue: “He throws with accuracy and I like the way he runs.”
4. SS Kobe Hyland (Spruce Grove, Alta. Spruce Grove White Sox) Alberta Red: “He’s cool man. Nice hands. He reminds me of Alfredo Griffin.”
5. INF Aidan Huggins (Edmonton, Alta. Prospects Academy) Alberta Red: “He has quick hands, that’s a tremendous pairing at second base with Hyland and him.”
6. INF-C Noah Naylor (Mississauga, Ont. Ontario Blue Jays) Futures Navy: “He’s a player.”
7. INF Sam Avila (Kamloops, BC, Okanagan Athletics) BC Orange: “Talk about fast hands. He never gets cheated. He jumps on the breaking ball the way he hits a fastball.”
Hall of Fame father Sandy Alomar, who played 15 years in the majors and coached 17:
1. OF Cooper Davis (Mississauga, Ont., Ontario Blue Jays) Ontario Green: “I’m really bias on the first two guys. They both have the whole package: youth, speed and defence.”
2. SS Adam Hall (London, Ont., Great Lake Canadians) Ontario Green: “He has an outstanding arm.”
3. SS Kobe Hyland (Spruce Grove, Alta. Spruce Grove White Sox) Alberta Red: “He has all the tools. He’s very smooth. I told him he has to show his presence on the field. I asked him ‘do you know good you really are?’ He didn’t.”
4. INF Sam Avila (Kamloops, BC, Okanagan Athletics) BC Orange: “He might have the quickest hands here, needs to work on his speed.”
5. INF Rhys Cratty (Langley, BC, Langley Blaze) Future Navy: “You know he’s going to be a player.”
6. INF Kobe Morris (Victoria, BC, Victoria Eagles) BC Orange: “He’s going to improve as he gets older, good hands.”
7. OF Clayton Keyes (Calgary, Alta. Oktokos Dawgs) Alberta Red: “He’s a power hitter. He needs to learn to use his lower body more.”
8. INF Jason Willow (Victoria, BC, Victoria Mariners) Futures Navy: “He’s going to be outstanding.”
9. RHP Josh Burgmann (Nanaimo, BC, Vauxhall Academy) BC Orange: “Big arm. I like him.”
10. RHP Mathieu Deneault-Gauthier (Candiac, Que. Canadian Junior National Team) Quebec Blue: “He has a real loose arm and a knowledge of what he’s doing on the mound.”
11. LHP Vincent Beauregard (Laval, Que. Orioles de Montreal) Quebec Blue: “He’s 87-88 mph but he’s concerned that he doesn’t have enough velocity. I asked if he had seen Mark Buehrle win 10 or more games a year for 14 years throwing 84 mph?”
Others
RHP Jordan Balazovic (Missisauga, Ont. Ontario Blue Jays) Ontario Black: “Impressed with his velocity.”
RHP Devlin Jovetic (Hamilton, Ont., Ontario Nationals) Ontario Black: “Good loose arm, 87-88 mph.”
Mario Diaz, who went to Dunedin with the Jays in 1997 and played nine years in the majors
1. SS Adam Hall (London, Ont., Great Lake Canadians) Ontario Green: “Great defensive shortstop.”
2. INF Declan Buckle (Dieppe, NB, Team New Brunswick) Atlantic Maroon: “He’s always on his game, loves to play.”
3. INF Sam Avila (Kamloops, BC, Okanagan Athletics) BC Orange: “He showed very quick hands.”
4. C Andrew Yerzy (Toronto, Ont., Toronto Mets) Ontario Black: “Showed good situational hitting along the way.”
5. RHP Josh Burgmann (Nanaimo, BC, Vauxhall Academy) BC Orange: “Had an excellent fastball, 88-91 mph.”
6. RHP Mathieu Deneault-Gauthier (Candiac, Que. Canadian Junior National Team) Quebec Blue: “Good downward plane on the ball, threw all three pitches for strikes.”
7. SS Kobe Hyland (Spruce Grove, Alta. Spruce Grove White Sox) Alberta Red: “A great defensive infielder.”
8. OF Isaac Deveaux (Montreal, Que., Ohio Warhawks/Upstate Mavericks) Quebec Blue: “He can hit ... and hit for power.”
9. INF Kobe Morris (Victoria, BC, Victoria Eagles) BC Orange: “He had an outstanding first day.”
10. OF Brett Brittany (McLeod Hill, N.B., Fredericton Royals) Atlantic Maroon: “Hit the ball consistently throughout.”
T.J. Burton, coordinator of amateur baseball, who pitched nine seasons in the minors:
1. OF Cooper Davis (Mississauga, Ont., Ontario Blue Jays) Ontario Green: “Everyone knew about his speed, but his power has shown to be special.”
2. SS Adam Hall (London, Ont., Great Lake Canadians) Ontario Green: “He’s a gap-to-gap hitter and a plus defender.”
3. INF-C Noah Naylor (Mississauga, Ont. Ontario Blue Jays) Futures Navy: “Has a high upside. There weren’t many that he didn’t barrel up.”
4. INF Jason Willow (Victoria, BC, Victoria Mariners) Futures Navy: “He’s a good infielder, he played all over.”
5. INF Travis Horanski (Dugald, Man., Langley Blaze) Prairies Purple: “He’s a ball player. He’s a good defensive player from what I saw.”
6. OF Isaac Deveaux (Montreal, Que., Ohio Warhawks/Upstate Mavericks) Quebec Blue: “Another high ceiling guy.”
7. SS Kobe Hyland (Spruce Grove, Alta. Spruce Grove White Sox) Alberta Red: “Just a great athlete who has improved.”
8. RHP William Sierra (Montreal, Que., Ailes Du Quebec) Quebec Blue: “He has a good live arm, he uses his arm well.”
