By Bob Elliott

Canadian Baseball Network

It’s that time of the year again when Canadians flock south.

And every hotel room from West Palm Beach to Hobe Sound is booked.

The draw is not the sandy beaches but rather the manicured dirt at home plate and on the base paths on the diamonds at the Roger Dean Complex in Jupiter, Fla.

A total of 92 travelling teams of high schoolers are playing for the 21st annual Perfect Game Scouting Service’s World Wood Bat world championship.

The Mississauga-based Ontario Blue Jays, led by Joey Ellison (Mississauga, Ont.) for the first time are back again to compete. Likewise the Langley, BC-based Dbacks Langley Blaze coached by Doug Mathieson (Langley, BC) and Jamie Bodaly (Abbotsford, BC) with additions from around the United States.

Plus the Toronto Blue Jays Scout Team has added four Canuck players to its team: RHP Jack Seward (Port Moody, BC) of the Coquitlam Reds, RHP Simon Lusignan (Varennes, Que.) of the Okotoks Dawgs, Calvin Ziegler (Heidelberg, Ont.) of the Great Lakes Canadians and LHP Mitch Bratt (Newmarket, Ont.) of the Toronto Mets.

In all there are 23 teams looking to advance, impress and better their standing before next June’s draft for some -- other Junes for other young pups.

Roughly 700 scouts and recruiters will be moving from diamon to diamond on golf carts.

Perfect Game staff rank the pools

Pool A

Team Top Pos. Player RK Class Top Pitcher RK Class Location

5 Star National 2020 Trey Carter 99 2020 Brodie Chestnutt 61 2021 Warner Robins, GA

Cangelosi Sparks 2020 Black Drake Wescott 181 2020 Jack Crowder 146 2020 Lockport, IL

Louisiana Knights 2020 Drake Varnado 25 2021 Chase Allsup 116 2021 Mandeville, LA

Ontario Blue Jays David Calabrese 459 2021 Jason Zhang 500 2020 Mississauga, ON

Projected Pool Winner: 5 Star National 2020

Just take a peek at the 5 Star roster. Nearly everyone is ranked, and nearly everyone has a D-I commitment. That alone speaks to the star power the program has, and when you look at recent history at PG events, at multiple age divisions, you’ll see the 5 Star program has what it takes to win. That said, most of the star power they’re bringing to Jupiter lies in the 2021 class, but there’s so much depth, particularly on the pitching side of things. 2020 arms to watch include righthanders Carson Pillsbury, Nick Guzzi and Drew Fletcher as well as Brodie Chestnutt representing one of the best 2021 arms in the entire field. Dynamic two-way talent Trey Carter should be a factor on both sides of the ball while helping to lead what appears to be a deep, dangerous lineup.

Dark Horse: Cangelosi Sparks 2020 Black

The Sparks are coming off of a fairly convincing win at the WWBA Kernels Foundation Championship, marking the third year in a row a Cangelosi team has earned the Jupiter automatic bid out of Iowa. This is a talented team that has been playing together for a long time, and most of the players are high school seniors with plenty of experience duking it out against other high-profile national programs. Righthanded pitcher Jack Crowder can match up opposite anyone’s ace, and he could draw the assignment of facing 5 Star in pool play. Christian Knapczyk, Jack Payton, Tommy Jurack, Drake Westcott and Jared Comia help spark a deep lineup that can beat you in a variety of ways.

What To Watch For: Young Knights

Don’t look past the Louisiana Knights, a team similar to 5 Star with plenty of talent, particularly from the class of 2021. Of the team’s seven SEC recruits, five of them are high school juniors, and four of those are primary position players. You never know what you’re going to get from a lineup with highly ranked underclassmen in Jupiter, but the quartet of Drake Varnado, Josh Pearson, Brant Smith and Brennan Holt could make this a dangerous opponent in pool play.

– Patrick Ebert

Pool J

Team Top Pos. Player RK Class Top Pitcher RK Class Location

Braves Scout Team/Team Elite Jordan Walker 1 2020 Ty Floyd 51 2020 Atlanta, GA

DBacks Langley Blaze Devin Taylor 53 2022 Theo Millas 213 2020 Langley, BC

Miami PG Columbia Blue Marcus Franco 120 2021 Eduardo Fernandez 129 2023 Miami, FL

MVP Ryan Spikes 41 2021 Jaylen Paden 356 2020 Chesapeake, VA

Projected Pool Winner: Braves Scout Team/Team Elite

With the most 90-plus mph arms, highlighted by top-ranked arm Ty Floyd, the most top 150 players with the No. 1 player in the 2020 class in Jordan Walker, the hardest throwing pitcher also in Floyd and tied at the top of the pool for the most commitments and top 500 players, it is really hard to argue with the loaded Braves Scout Team/Team Elite winning Pool J. The Braves Scout Team/Team Elite has 15 commitments on their roster with nine players ranked 150 or better and seven 90-plus mph arms that they can bring to the mound. The whole roster is committed to Division I programs and two players are committed to the defending champion Vanderbilt Commodores in one of the top prep catchers in the country in Jack Bulger and lefthanded pitcher Carter Holton. The Braves Scout Team/Team Elite are one of the heavy favorites to win the entire event, in addition to this pool, and it will interesting to see who is able to give the favorites a run for their money.

Dark Horse: DBacks Langley Blaze

DBacks Langley Blaze is represented from all over North America, including British Columbia and Ontario in Canada as well as from the states of Ohio, Hawaii and Georgia. DBacks Langley Blaze has as many collegiate commitments as the favorites in the Braves Scout Team/Team Elite with just as many top 500-ranked players as well. The highest ranked player for DBacks Langley Blaze comes from the state of Ohio and the class of 2022 ranks in outfielder Devin Taylor. Theo Millas, a righthanded pitcher committed to LSU, is the team’s ace on the bump with a low-90s sinking fastball, breaking ball and changeup. DBacks Langley Blaze has multiple draft prospects on the team including Millas and outfielder Hank Thomas, who will certainly help their team in claiming Pool J at this year’s Jupiter event.

What To Watch For: East vs. West

With three of the four teams in the pool from east of the Mississippi River and DBacks Langley Blaze representing primarily British Columbia and Hawaii, there is an East-West battle in Pool J. Braves Scout Team/Team Elite, MVP and Miami PG Columbia Blue each include players primarily from the states of Georgia, Florida, Illinois, and Virginia. The top-ranked players are mostly represented from the states on the East Coast including three of the four highest ranked players in the pool. The west players that are included in the top 500, however, are Theo Millas, Kala’i Rosario, Kelena Sauer, Loreto Siniscalchi, and Justin Thorsteinson, giving a cool contention of East vs. West within Pool J.

– Greg Gerard

Pool V

Team Top Pos. Player RK Class Top Pitcher RK Class Location

CBA Marcucci 2020 Jake Vogel 55 2020 Brock Selvidge 37 2021 Ontario, CA

East Cobb Baseball Dylan Cupp 8 2023 Jake Hembree 73 2023 Marietta, GA

Midland Redskins Triston Horst 26 2021 Kruise Newman 71 2021 Batavia, OH

Toronto Blue Jays Scout Team Jackson Miller 90 2020 Mitchell Bratt 135 2021 Toronto, ON

Projected Pool Winner: CBA Marucci 2020

There is plenty of firepower in the CBA Marucci 2020 lineup coming to play in Jupiter. Perfect Game All-American Classic outfielder Jake Vogel has mesmerizing speed and should be able to provide a spark at the top of the lineup. Rocco Peppi and Alonso Richardson are sure-handed middle infielders in a very deep infield group for CBA. Ildefonso Ruiz has massive raw power and gives the middle of the order a threat to change the game with one swing of the bat. On the bump Brock Selvidge, Matthew Bardowell and Marc Kenji Pallares make a formidable rotation and can rack up zeros in bunches, which should give the offense plenty of time to get going when they are on the mound. This is a battle-tested group and will play fundamentally sound baseball. All the ingredients are here to make a deep playoff run.

Dark Horse: Toronto Blue Jays Scout Team

This is a very tough pool, as you would expect at this event, but the Toronto Blue Jays Scout Team has a lot of names that are on the rise. Scout teams need to build chemistry quickly, but if the Blue Jays can do that, they have a deep and talented roster that will be a force during pool play. Southpaws Mitchell Bratt and Mason Miller have upside and swing-and-miss arsenals. Righties Chase Centala and Camden Minacci can be relied upon to get through the lineup more than once and underclass righthander Karl Hartman showed swing-and-miss stuff at the WWBA Florida Qualifier a couple of weeks ago. Jackson Miller and Walter Ahuna III are excellent defenders at their respective positions and should hit near the top of the order. Sterlin Thompson has a sweet lefthanded swing with real run-producing ability. This team has the ability get going in a hurry.

What To Watch For: Pool Depth

Three teams in this pool – CBA, Midland and East Cobb Baseball – are titans in the travel ball world. They have long track records of having rosters with highly touted players and an equal track record of winning national championships. The Toronto Blue Jays Scout Team consistently brings players that will get first day attention in the draft and this year is no different. All four teams have legitimate No. 1 type arms, bangers in the middle and solid middle-of-the-field defenders. Every game in this pool will get a ton of golf carts watching through the fences.

– Jered Goodwin

David Rawnsley’s choices to be one of the 23 pool winners or the nine wild-card spots:

5-Star National

AZ D-Backs Scout Team

Banditos Scout Team

Canes American

Cangelosi Sparks

Chicago Scouts Association

Dallas Patriots Stout

Dallas Tigers

DBacks/Langley Blaze

Dulins Dodgers

East Cobb Yankees

FTB Tucci

Hunter Pence Baseball Academy

Midland Redskins

Milwaukee Brewers Scout Team

Ohio Warhawks

On Deck O’s

Ontario Blue Jays

Power Baseball

San Diego Padres Scout Team

South Charlotte Panthers

Team Elite Prime

Team Indiana

Toronto Blue Jays Scout Team