January 28, 2020

By Adam Morissette

Baseball Canada

OTTAWA - Baseball Canada is pleased to announce the names of 32 athletes that have been invited to the Junior National Team’s (U18) annual Spring Training Camp at Baseball City in St. Petersburg, Florida from March 6-14.

The camp includes daily workouts, a five-game professional schedule against minor league prospects from the Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, and Toronto Blue Jays organizations, with an Intersquad game and an exhibition contests against the Fort Lauderdale Stars also planned.

This will be the ninth time in the last 10 years that the Junior National Team has held its Spring Training Camp in St. Petersburg.

“We’re grateful for the relationship we have with Mayor Rick Kriseman and the City of St. Petersburg who’ve made us feel welcome since day one,” said Head Coach and Director of National Teams Greg Hamilton. “Our players are treated to a professional atmosphere that allows us to maximize training and development time for our program.”

The highlight of the week will come on March 12 when the team will travel to TD Ballpark in Dunedin to take on a split-squad version of the Toronto Blue Jays. This is the ninth time since 2011 that the two sides have come together for a game that has become a true celebration of the Baseball Canada and Toronto Blue Jays’ partnership.

Roster Highlights:

-Six players named to the roster including LHP Mitch Bratt, INF Elijha Hammill, RHP Theo Millas, LHP Connor O’Halloran. RHP Jack Seward and LHP Justin Thorsteinson were members of the national squad that finished sixth at the 2019 WBSC U18 Baseball World Cup in Korea last September.

-Pitchers Simon Lusignan and Calvin Ziegler head to camp as players with previous experience with the Junior National Team program while all other players named to the roster will be first-time participants with the program.

-Greg Hamilton takes his familiar post as Head Coach of the club and will be joined by and experienced group of former pros and national team players in Jeff Francis, Rick Johnston and Pete Orr while Baseball Hall of Famer and two-time World Series champion Roberto Alomar joins the staff as a Guest Coach along with former big leaguers Scott Mathieson, Adam Stern and Andy Stewart.

-The spring training camp is the first of four training camps set for the Junior National Team program this season as the squad prepares for the COPABE U18 Pan Am Championships that will serve as a qualifier for the 2021 WBSC U18 Baseball World Cup.

Spring Training Roster
Spring Training Schedule