Elliott: 40 Canucks at Perfect Game World Bat championship

Great Lakes Canadians RHP Calvin Ziegler (Heidelberg, Ont.) is the top-ranked Canadian headed into the 22nd annual World Wood Bat championship in Fort Myers, Fla.

By Bob Elliott

Canadian Baseball Network

Al Leiter and CC Sabathia wore the same uniform. They just never wore it at the same time.

Leiter was a New York Yankee from 1987-89, before joining the Blue Jays in a trade for Jesse Barfield, and then again for 16 games in 2005. Sabathia wore the Yankee uniform from 2009-2019.

Both will have relatives on the Milwaukee Brewers scout team headed by Brewers/Langley Blaze team coach Doug Mathieson (Langley, BC) and Cincinnati Reds scout Jamie Bodaly (Langley, BC) at Perfect Game’s 22nd annual World Wood Bat World Championship. Usually it is the top scouting attraction in amateur ball.

The chance for draft eligible 2021 players begins Wednesday at JetBlue Park, 5 Plex-Lee County Player Development Complex, Terry Park and City of Palms Stadium in Ft. Myers, Fla. Most falls more than 700 scouts and college recruiters are on hand.

CC Sabathia’s son INF Carsten Sabathia is on the Blaze roster, along with Leiter’s nephew RHP Cam Leiter.

Only five Canadians are on the Brewers roster due to COVID virus:

_ Great Lake Canadians LHP Caleb Clark (Orillia, Ont.) who won the Great Lakes 14U Red pitcher of the year in 2017.

_ RHP Tanner Dawe (London, Ont.), of the Great Lake Canadians. He is the younger brother of 2009 Canadian champion and New York Yankees farmhand Dayton Dawe.

_ 2B Nathan Kirkpatrick (Surrey, BC) from Mathieson and Bodaly’s Blaze.

_ RHP Ben Roberts (Burlington, Ont.), of the Great Lake Canadians, the former Burlington Bull who won two OBA titles and FieldHouse Pirates.

_ LHP Adam Shoemaker (Cambridge, Ont.) of Great Lakes. He is an imposing figure on the mound at 6-foot-6 and 185 pounds. Previously he played for the Cambridge Cubs, Ontario Outlaws and FieldHouse Pirates.

As usual, the Ontario Blue Jays, coached by Mike Steed (Burlington, Ont.) are back with a full compliment, along with some add-ons, which consist of:

_ RHP Jacob Corby (Thornhill, Ont.), RHP Maxx Davidson (Mississauga, Ont.), INF Josiah Devapalan (Brampton, Ont.), Adrian Dominguez (Vaughan, Ont.) and INF Alex Ellert (White City, Sask.).

_ C Lucas Johnson (Burlington, Ont.), OF Nathan Laliberte (Montreal, Que.), RHP Matt Marzec (Burlington, Ont.), LHP Ethan Mason (Barrie, Ont.) and INF Aiden McAskie (Toronto, Ont.).

_ C Nathan McCabe (Oshawa, Ont.), RHP Nelson Mercado (Brampton, Ont.), INF Mackenzie Mitchell (Toronto, Ont.), OF Glenn Noronha (Mississauga, Ont.) and OF Cole Patrick (Markham, Ont.)

_ LHP Griffin Potter (Kincardine, Ont.), RHP Nate Rosser (Delta, BC), INF Matthew Sargeant (Ancaster, Ont.), C Dylan Shepherd (Barrie, Ont.) and OF Jackson Somerville (Burlington, Ont.).

_ RHP Kansai Sugimoto (Mississauga, Ont.), RHP Quinn Tavares (Mississauga, Ont.), RHP Jeff Tiw (Burlington, Ont.), LHP Liam Watt (Burlington, Ont.), RHP Ryan Wells (Caledon, Ont.) , RHP James Wilson (Toronto, Ont.) and Mateo Zeppieri (Newmarket, Ont.).

On the Toronto Blue Jays Scout Team:

_ LHP Mitchell Bratt (Newmarket, Ont.), of the Toronto Mets, INF Nathaniel Ochoa (Burlington, Ont.), of the FieldHouse Pirates, OF Caden Shapiro (Toronto, Ont.) of the Toronto Mets and RHP Turner Spoljaric (Lisle, Ont.) of the Toronto Mets. Bratt is ranked 242nd on Perfect Game’s top 500 high school list.

With the Ohio Warhawks:

_ RHP Calvin Ziegler (Heidelberg, Ont.) and INF Core Jackson (Wyoming, Ont.) both of the Great Lakes Canadians. Ziegler had his fastball clocked at 95 MPH and is the top ranked Canadian according to Perfect Game Scouting Service. He is ranked 129th on the most recent top 500 for 2021.

With the Dallas Tigers:

_ INF-OF Elijha Hammill (Oakville, Ont.) of the Ontario Terriers. Hammill is listed 188 on the top 500 list of high schoolers in North America.

With the Canes American/Dodgers Scout Team:

_ RHP Dominic Teoli (Montreal, Que.) of the TNXL Academy.

Perfect Game’s pool previews

Pool B

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

Brewers Langley Blaze Devin Taylor 79 2022 Kayden Campbell 157 2022 Vancouver, BC

Louisiana Knights 2021 Josh Pearson 161 2021 Peter Heubeck 83 2021 Mandeville, LA

Mets Scout Team/Georgia Bombers Riley Stanford 10 2022 Colin Linder 97 2022 New York, NY

St. Louis Pirates 2021 Drew Gray 40 2021 Andrew Brockwell 500 2021 St. Louis, MO

_ -Jheremy Brown

Pool E

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

643 DP Cougars 18u Andruw Jones 3 2022 John Armstrong 451 2021 Marietta, GA

Ontario Blue Jays 2021 Josiah Devapalan 500 2021 Nelson Mercado 500 2021 Mississauga, Ont.

Scorpions Marucci Franchise Team Jake Fox 94 2021 Alden Segui 256 2021 Altamonte Springs, FL

Team Louisiana Connor Simon 160 2021 Grant Fontenot 162 2021 Erath, LA

What to Watch For: Anyone’s Pool

We all know how loaded Scorpions Marucci Founders Club lineup is but for those who know about this event, anything can happen. Team Lousiana is a scrappy type ball club that brings an intensity that is hard to match. They will have Grant Fontenot & Andrew Woods on the mound at some point and with those two throwing, a win is right around the corner. They will also be led offensively by LSU commit Connor Simon. We do not know much about the Ontario Blue Jays, as they hail from Canada, but that makes them that much more dangerous. Maxx Davidson & Nelson Mercado are two arms to keep an eye out for. Offensively, look for them to work counts and get on base as Mateo Zeppieri leads the way. Like noted before, 643 DP will be fundamental in all aspects of the game and have just as much a chance as anyone else in the pool. At this point, all you can do is sit back and watch the action unfold as it is anyone’s race to win.

-Drew Wesolowski

Pool L

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

Dirtbags Skrap Pak Grant Hussey 79 2021 Tyler Dean 74 2021 Burlington, NC

Premier Baseball Scout Team Christopher Bernal 269 2021 Finnegan Wall 355 2021 Tomball, TX

Team Elite National Nolan Schubart 6 2022 Grant Cherry 199 2021 Winder, GA

Toronto Blue Jays Scout Team Gavin Conticello 61 2021 Jace Jones 205 2021 Toronto, Ont.

Dark Horse: Toronto Blue Jays Scout Team

The Toronto Blue Jays Scout Team is not your typical “Scout Team”. Yes, the roster is put together with a group of players that do not typically play together. But Matt O’ Brien, who is the chief architect of the roster, brings a different culture to the dugout that is geared toward winning games. After a deep run at the WWBA last fall, they bring back an equally loaded roster that even has some Canadian and Island flavor. They have a couple hold-over arms from last year’s team that understand the type of pressure-packed situations they will have to endure. That type of experience can bring a lot of confidence to the rest of the dugout.

-Jered Goodwin

Pool S

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

Banditos Black Thomas Lyssy 403 2021 Jackson Jobe 12 2021 Tomball, TX

Miami PG Columbia Blue Marcus Franco 275 2021 Nicholas Fraginals 500 2022 Miami, FL

Ohio Warhawks Joshua Baez 6 2021 Calvin Ziegler 129 2021 Fairborn, OH

San Diego Padres Scout Team Justin Best 25 2023 Jacob Miller 28 2022 San Diego, CA

Projected Pool Winner: Ohio Warhawks

The Ohio Warhawks team, made up of players from 16 different states plus Canada, is easily one of the most diverse of the event. It pairs a very good lineup and rotation of seniors with a handful of talented underclassmen to make up a roster with enough firepower to make a run at winning the entire thing. Senior offensive weapons Joshua Baez, Carlos Pena and Aidan Stewart make up a trio of power bats that could go deep at any moment. Where the roster runs deepest is on the pitching side with arms like underclassman Blaise Grove and seniors Calvin Ziegler, Kruise Newman, Jaylen Jones and Traton Staheli all ready to lead the staff. The play of elite-level two-way Joshua Baez will certainly set the pace, but it will take the guys around him performing at or the near the same level to win an event of this caliber, not to mention having to win a likely matchup with electric righthander Jackson Jobe.

-Tyler Russo