February 28, 2020

By Michael DiStefano

Canadian Baseball Network

Turning down a shot to play pro baseball to honour a collegiate commitment isn’t an easy decision to make for an 18-year-old. But for one young Canadian from the 2019 MLB Draft, it was a decision he was comfortable making.

Owen Diodati, a Niagara Falls, Ont., native, and Canadian Junior National Team alumnus was selected in the 29th round of the 2019 MLB draft by his hometown Toronto Blue Jays. Faced with the opportunity to go pro, Diodati elected to honour his commitment to the University of Alabama in order to pursue an education and polish his game at the collegiate level.

Diodati and the Crimson Tide kicked off their 2020 campaign with a series sweep against Northeastern from February 14 to 16, outscoring their opponent 24-3 over the three-game set.

The 18-year-old catcher-turned-outfielder was a major factor in Alabama’s big weekend as he smacked three home runs, drove in nine runs, and had a .615 batting-average. All team highs for the weekend— Oh and he was also named Co-SEC Freshman of the Week.

“It was pretty much as good of a weekend I could have asked for,” Diodati said.

I’d say so. In Diodati’s NCAA Division I debut he went 2-for-3 with a pair of homers, three RBI, two walks, and four runs scored.

“I was trying to keep things simple and not to try and overthink too much and just see what happens,” he said. “I was lucky enough to get good results.”

He finished the three game series against Northeastern going 8-for-21 at the plate, while driving in eight runs on three homers, a, double, a triple, and four walks.

Despite the early success, Diodati is well aware of the talent around the SEC— arguably the top baseball conference in the nation.

“Everyone is bigger, everyone is stronger. They’re a little more polished. Their swings a little bit better. The separation of one player to another becomes a lot smaller.”

The young Canadian has a pretty good head on his shoulders and believes he knows the trick to combat these new hurdles in front of him.

“You have to figure out ways to better yourself and get yourself above the competition,” he said. “Whether it be working a little harder in the weight room or getting those extra reps after practice.”

Extra repetitions are going to be key for Diodati. Especially defensively as he attempts to make the successful conversion from behind the plate to the corner outfield spot.

Diodati isn’t completely new to the position, however. He started his transition last summer while with the Canadian Junior National Team, but still knows he has a lot of work to do athletically and defensively to thrive in the outfield.

“I moved to the outfield in the last year and I’ve made a lot of strides out there and I’ve gotten a lot better, but there are lots of areas I can improve on and kind of make myself more of a complete player,” he said.

One of the biggest adjustments Diodati needs to work on is his speed while shagging fly balls. Luckily, he says, Brett Price, Alabama’s strength and conditioning coach, is putting in some time with the freshman outfielder to better his craft and overall athleticism.

“Our strength and conditioning coach has done an amazing job helping me get better at the plate and in the outfield,” Diodati said. “I did a ton of work this offseason to work on my speed and get faster out there and get my feet moving a little better and just becoming more athletic.”

The rookie outfielder is hoping his fielding and footwork skills can catch up to his bat quickly so he can truly become a more rounded player and be a threat not only at the plate but in the outfield as well— and perhaps even on the base paths.

It’s a long season and with Diodati committed to many years with the Crimson Tide, it’s a good bet it will all come around by the time he’s ready to go pro.

“[Turning down pro baseball] was definitely a bit of a risk,” he said. ”But I trusted myself and I knew I was going to come [to Alabama]… and work as hard as I could to get in an even better spot in three years.”

If his opening week was any indication to what he can be, Diodati will surely hear his name get called again down the road on draft day— and most likely a lot earlier than last time.