INF Sam Shaw (Victoria, BC) of the Victoria Eagles has accepted an invite to the MLB Combine in Phoenix.

April 25, 2023

Victoria Eagles’ INF Sam Shaw to attend MLB Draft Combine

By Martin Winstanley

Victoria Eagles

Sam Shaw of the Victoria Eagles has been invited to the MLB Draft Combine scheduled for June 20-25 at Chase Field in Phoenix.

INF Shaw (Victoria, BC) will be the first Victoria player to attend this prestigious event, now in its fourth year. He will join a select group of Canadians who have been evaluated as a Top 300 prospect by major-league scouts.

Myles Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) of the Ontario Blue Jays said he has been invited but a decision to attend has not been made.

Since the event started in 2021, BC pitchers RHP Adam Maier (North Vancouver, BC), who played for the North Shore Twins and was selected by the Atlanta Braves, and RHP Jacob Zibin (Langley, BC) a Langley Blaze product, drafted in the 10th round by the Cleveland Guardians, have attended the showcase.

The other Canadians invited in the past include OF Denzel Clarke (Pickering, Ont.) the Toronto Mets grad drafted in the fourth round by the Oakland A’s, LHP Adam Shoemaker (Cambridge, Ont.) of the Great Lake Canadians, drafted in the 11th round and signed by Atlanta GM Alex Anthopoulos (Montreal, Que.) , RHP Eric Cerantola (Oakville, Ont.), who pitched for Great Lakes and attended Mississippi State before signing with the Kansas City Royals and undrafted RHP Matthew Grabmann (Dartmouth, NS), a former Okotoks Dawg, who now attends University of Oregon.

In 2022, 115 high school players were invited to the Combine along with NCAA, NAIA and junior college players. This year’s attendees will be given a unique opportunity in front of scouts to showcase skills in pro style workouts leading up to the July draft.

Players also undergo physical and medical assessments and will meet the scouts, former players, and executives representing all 30 MLB teams. The Combine will be broadcast live on the MLB Network.

Shaw is currently playing for the TNXL Academy in Florida and will return to Victoria later in May to play with the Eagles for the rest of the season.