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Baseball Canada announces extended spring training JNT roster

Photo: Baseball Canada

April 11, 2019

By Adam Morissette

Baseball Canada

OTTAWA- Baseball Canada is pleased to announce the names of 28 athletes that have been invited to the Junior National Team’s (U-18) annual Extended Spring Training Camp in West Palm Beach, Fla. from April 18-27.

The camp will take place at FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches and surrounding minor league complex, the state-of-the-art spring training home of the Houston Astros and Washington Nationals.

The camp will consist of an eight-game professional schedule against extended spring training squads from the Astros, Nationals and St. Louis Cardinals organizations, along with two contests against the Fort Lauderdale Stars independent club and one inter-squad game.

The Extended Spring Training Camp is sandwiched in between the Spring Training Camp that took place in St. Petersburg, Fla., in March and May’s Dominican Summer League tour. These three camps are integral components of the Junior National Team program and aid in the selection process of Canada’s roster for the 2019 WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup that will take place in Gijang, South Korea from August 30 – September 8.

Roster Highlights:

-All 28 players named to the roster have participated in previous events with the Junior National Team program.

- OF Dasan Brown (Oakville, Ont.), C/1B Owen Diodati (Niagara Falls, Ont.), LHP Antoine Jean (Montréal, Que.), RHP Theo Millas (Burnaby, BC), LHP Connor O’Halloran (Mississauga, Ont.), C Raphaël Pelletier (Mascouche, Que.), LHP Keegan Pulford-Thorpe (Newmarket, Ont.), INF TJ Schofield-Sam (Brampton, Ont.) and INF Cesar Valero (Calgary, Alta.) helped Canada win a bronze medal at the 2018 COPABE U-18 Pan Am Championships in Panama.

-Greg Hamilton takes his familiar post as Head Coach of the club and will be joined by coaches Chris Begg, Hyung Cho and Robert Fatal while former big leaguers Jeff Francis, Pete Orr and Adam Stern will attend as guest coaches along with Mike Lumley.

Extended Spring Training Roster
2019 Junior National Team Schedule
Extended Spring Training Pitching Rotation