OF Slater de Brun, of Bend, Ore.,and a Vanderbilt commit, has a Canadian passport, thanks to his mom, Julie, who attended McGill and then worked at CBC,TSN, TVOntario, Food Network and OLN .

April 8, 2025

By Bob Elliott

Canadian Baseball Network

His name is Slater de Brun.

If you say it quickly, the name rolls off the tongue similar to the phrase “speed to burn.”

And de Brun has been burning up base paths. The hope is he does not run so fast that he loses his Canadian passport.

Yep, Slater de Brun, of Bend, Oregon (Pop: 104,557), has papers to show he is Canadian.

Born in Los Angeles, Slater and his twin sister, Zari, are Canadian. (How do you spell Slater’s sister’s name? “Zee, I mean Zed-A-R-I,” said father Steve de Brun talking Canadian.)

And mom, Julie de Brun, is a pure slice of Canadiana. The twins were born June 8, 2007 to dad Steve, a software designer who started in the Silicon Valley, and mom, Julie, a long-time TV personality in Toronto. And soon Julie had the twins registered for both Canadian and US passports.

Julie attended McGill University, after a summer camp in New York state with plenty of Quebec residents. Why McGill?

“Because,” answered Julie, “I thought Montreal was the coolest city in the world.”

Taking film and communications, Julie attended classes at the Montreal university at the same time as Justin Trudeau.

“He’d walk into a room or walk or into the bar and it was ‘there’s Justin,’” said Julie. “He was the son of the Prime Minister. He wouldn’t know me, but I knew him. Everyone did.”

We spoke Tuesday night the day before President Trump was to explain his latest tarrifs. Julie was wearing a T-shirt with a Maple Leaf which read:

“Keep Calm

And

Love

Canada”

“I was proud of the way Prime Minister Trudeau handled the end of his Prime Minister-ship,” Julie said. “Canada and Canadians have done a good job up keeping their chins and their heads held high to maintain their sovereignty and take action when it can be taken.

“We have a lot of Canadian pride, especially these days.”

Julie emigrated to Canada, becoming a Canadian in 1995, moved to Toronto and worked at TSN, TVO and CBC, living in Toronto from the “mid-1990s-to-2000s.”

* * *

But this is mostly about Slater de Brun, who has committed to Vanderbilt University.

The speedy outfielder, who dad, Steve, says has been laser-timed in the 60 at 6.2 seconds, is rated No. 12 by Perfect Game Scouting Service, No. 32 by Baseball America and No. 33 by MLB Pipeline.

We explained to the de Bruns that Chicago Cubs RHP Jameson Taillon, was born in Lakeland, Fla. and went to high school in The Woodlands, Tex., but he was eligible to wear a Canada uniform in the World Baseball Classic because his mom was a Canadian from Toronto, while her husband grew up in St. Andrews West, near Cornwall.

“Like Freddie Freeman,” said Julie of the Los Angeles Dodgers slugger.

Right you are mom. Slater is World Baseball Classic eligible.

Only 5-foot-9, some wonder whether Slater is too small for pro ball? Well, the Philadelphia Phillies selected 5-foot-10 OF Dante Nori (Toronto, Ont.), son of Micah Nori, the ex-Toronto Raptors scout and coach, in the first round (27th overall) and gave him a $2.5 million signing bonus.

How small is small? How high is up? Beauty is in the eye of the evaluator. Or as former Expos manager Felipe Alou said once or twice, “It’s not the size of the man ... it’s the size of the heart inside the man.”

OF Slade Caldwell, a first rounder last year (29th overall) from Arkansas went to the Arizona Diamondbacks despite the fact he stands 5-foot-9. In 2019, Arizona took 5-foot-10 OF Corbin Carroll, who went on to win the 2023 National League rookie of the year.

At the 2023 World Wood Bat Showcase playing for Trosky at East Cobb Complex Marietta, Ga. de Brun ran a 1.59 10-second split and a 6.59 60-yard split. The split is the time it takes an athlete to run the first 10 yards, providing a measure of initial acceleration and speed.

A year later, he ran a 6.39 60 at Chase Field., finishing in the top 10. He has been laser-timed at 6.26, according to his father Steve. Scouts say he is a 70 runner (on a 20-to-80 scouting scale).

There is a new name atop our projected list of leading Canadians heading into the July draft. And it is Slater de Brun.

* * *

Most people we write about remember starting playing ball in coach-pitch or T-ball. Slater was a late starter since his chosen sport was soccer. And as an 11-year-old speedster a soccer dad named Chris Manfredi asked him to play ball.

According to Steve, Slater responded honestly answering: “I can’t play. I don’t have a glove and I don’t know how.”

Manfredi told Slater not to worry ... “We’ll get you a glove, we’ll teach you how to play.”

So, he signed up to play with Bend Little League’s Washington Nationals and coach Benjamin Moore.

Bend is aptly named as it sits on a bend in the Deschutes River. Originally the town was an outpost on the Oregon Trail in the 1800s, then became a logging town and is now a vacation destination. The de Bruns moved to Bend 10 years ago “for the quality of life.”

Mom Julie, dad Steve and Slater’s dog Ember.

“Slater got to play with his friends and learn on the fly,” said Steve. “He had a little bit of knowledge and skill, so he gravitated to the outfield”

Slater earned First Team all-state and all-conference honours in 2024 with the Summit High recording 24 steals and 29 walks for the Storm. He had a .643 on-base mark with 41 runs scored.

Steve was a tennis player and won a state championship before switching to squash. Julie never attended a Montreal Expos game. Rather Julie was a rugby fan of the McGill Redman, went to swim meets and watched rowing. Julie was in Toronto and at the street party when Joe Carter homered to win the 1993 World Series.

“We didn’t have a baseball background,” said Julie, “neither Steve nor I played softball or baseball. What I remember of that first season of Little League was these games are really long and it’s really cold.”

* * *

At CBC, Julie was the host and writer of the kids show ‘Surprise! It’s Edible Incredible!’ The show, similar to “You Can’t Do That on Television’ ran for 52 episodes and was in re-runs for years. Also, Julie was on the Food Network’s “Canada’s Summer’s Best.” Julie also hosted TVOntario’s TVOKIDS ‘BrainBounce!’ and ‘Stuff’ and with co-host, Kevin Brauch, plus ‘SWEAT’ on OLN and TSN.

One project Julie worked on early was a CBC ‘Life and Times’ episode on Barbara Ann Scott (Ottawa, Ont.) with director Susan Cutajar. Scott won gold for Canada at the 1948 Olympics in St. Moritz, Switzerland.

“Susan was cool, so cool, I learned a lot from her,” said Julie, as the small world shrinks even more. Her mentor Susan married Gord Ash, eventual general manager of the Toronto Blue Jays, who now works for the Milwaukee Brewers. And now the Brewers -- like most every other team -- are seeding in scouts to evaluate Julie and Steve’s son, Slater.

“I hired Julie as a researcher,” said Cutajar. “Julie was a rock star and learned quickly. I’ve been following Slater since Grade 9.”

These days Julie works at classic rock station KMGX in Bend, Ore. Given a free hour to play her favorite music, who would it be? David Bowie.

Steve and Julie met in the late 1990s at grad school at San Francisco State. Steve had started working as a designer software in a studio doing projects for Microsoft and SONY.

And shrinking the baseball world again … one of the hitting coaches Slater works with is new Bend Elks coach Allan Cox, former Okotoks Dawgs coach. Allan and I took an ambulance ride together once in 2019 and he was my guardian angel. His wife Angie ran the best banquets I have ever attended.

* * *

Slater’s love of the game began with the Washington Nationals in the Bend North league and jumped up a notch or two when his Uncle Todd got him tickets to see the real Washington Nationals win the World Series in 2019.

Slater with Team USA in 2024 at World Cup qualifier

Slater impressed at Arizona and was invited to a Team USA tryout at Cary, N.C. and from there he made the World Cup qualifier in Panama. He batted .429 (3-for-7) with a run knocked in, three walks and a hit by pitch for a 1.065 OPS under manager Rick Eckstein and David Eckstein, the former Blue Jays shortstop. Team USA ran the table to go 8-0 to advance to the 2025 World Cup. Canada went 5-1 in pool play but lost the next game 4-2 and was eliminated. Cuba, Puerto Rico, host Panama and USA advanced.

Slater scored twice and reached on a walk against Costa Rica, he also walked and scored in pool play against Puerto Rico. He stole two bases against Venezuela had a hit, a stolen base and scored three runs against Brazil, as well as going 2-for-2 in pool play facing Panama.

* * *

Slater’s parents diamond memories

Julie: “He has smacked a walk-off home run, but what has impressed me the most is by getting awakened by the noise of him every day at 6 AM, getting ready to go to the gym. I’m lying in bed and thinking ‘wow this kid is really determined.’ He has an internal motor ... We’re both motivated people. He says he gets his excellent eyesight from his father. Meanwhile, I have terrible eyesight, Slater thinks he got his fast twitch from his mother and he got his height from me ... I’m 5-foot-3.”

Steve: “Two summers ago we traveled all over the country in our van camper. We camped and made a lot of memories. We’d pull up to an empty high school field, roll out our pitching machine and hit for hours. Those memories will stick out. That’s when no one was watching.”

Twice Slater attended summer camps in the Muskokas.

Julie said Slater “has a love for his Canadian friends ... and was understanding the beauty of the country and the type of people Canadians are.”

Slater has made four all-tournament teams as well as being named three times to the top prospect list at Perfect Game events with Next Level, USA Prime and Trosky/Milwaukee Brewers Scout Team:

In 2023, at the 16U Nationals and Fall World Series both in Marietta.

In 2024, at the 17U Nationals both Marietta and Surprise, Az.

And he has been named a pre-season All-American two years.

* * *

Scouting reports

Baseball America

Ranked #32 prospect in 2025 draft

School: Summit HS, Bend, Ore. Committed: Vanderbilt

Age At Draft: 18.1

De Brun is small in stature but he’s young for the class with a good mix of tools and a high baseball IQ. He added significant strength in 2024, and while he doesn’t have much physical projection and doesn’t look like he will be a big home run threat, he puts the ball in play at a high clip with consistent hard contact from his short, level swing from the left side. He’s a dynamic runner with good defensive instincts in center field, where he has an above-average arm.

Scouting Grades: Hit: 55. Power: 30. Run:65. Field: 60. Arm: 50.

* * *

MLB Pipeline

OF Slater de Brun

AGE: 17

BATS: L. THROWS: L

HT: 5’ 10” WT: 187

COMMITTED: Vanderbilt

Does size no longer matter, at least not as much, in evaluating draft talent? Last year, 5-foot-9 Slade Caldwell went at the end of the first round to the D-backs. And in 2019, Arizona also took the 5-foot-10 Corbin Carroll, who went on to win the 2023 National League Rookie of the Year Award. Like Carroll, de Brun is an undersized outfielder from the Pacific Northwest who has the chance to go early in the Draft after performing very well at Perfect Game National and World Series and was on USA Baseball’s 18U team before breaking his thumb in World Cup Qualifying play.

First jumping on the radar as an underclassman at the WWBA in Jupiter in 2023, de Brun’s profile took a step forward with his performances on the summer showcase circuit. He has very impressive bat-to-ball skills with an advanced eye at the plate, understanding that his job is to put the ball in play and get on base, then using his well-above-average speed on the basepaths. Power is never going to be a huge part of his game and some evaluators worry about impact, while others see some thump in his left-handed swing, with more physicality than Carroll at this stage.

De Brun’s speed is also a huge asset in the outfield. His arm is fringy but he has plus range and is an excellent defender who can play center field for a long time. Teams will want to be convinced the Vanderbilt recruit can impact the ball enough in the spring, but those that believe in him as a future table-setter will consider de Brun in the same area as Caldwell and Carroll.

Perfect Game Scouting Service

OF Slater de Brun

Summit HS, Bend, Oregon

Same tool profile as 2024 All-American Slade Caldwell, 6.39, punishes baseballs at the plate, hit .474-2-for-9 with 10 BB at 17U WWBA, PG All-American.