Elliott: Jupiter I: Bratt, Seward, Takacs, Young, Zhang
RHP Jack Seward (Port Moody, BC) of the Toronto Blue Jays Scout Team pitched three innings and allowed only one run.
By Bob Elliott
Canadian Baseball Network
A six-run second inning put the DBacks Langley Blaze up 8-1 and powered the BC-based entry to a 10-6 win over MVP at the Perfect Game’s World Wood Bat World championship in Jupiter, Fla.
A total of 92 teams are entered in the event split into 23 pools.
The Blaze win against the Chesapeake, VA team started like a lot of rallies with back-to-back walks, the second to C Russell Young (Cloverdale, BC) of the Blaze. Next came a run-scoring single and another walk. An out later OF Kala’i Rosario of Papaikou, HI one of the additional players picked up, hit a grand slam.
Young also doubled in a run, while 2B Aaron Marsh (Nanaimo, BC) also singled and knocked in a run.
RHP Noah Takacs (Victoria, BC) retired the final two hitters on 17 pitches -- 64% strikes -- as he fanned both. His fastball was clocked at 90 MPH.
Rough start: John Cangelosi was a premier lead-off hitter in his 13 years in the majors -- mostly with the Pittsburgh Pirates. As a Chicago White Sox lead-off man he stole 50 bases. So he knew the import of a fast start.
Cangelosi Sparks 2020 Black of Illinois scored five times in the first on the way to a 10-2 win over the Ontario Blue Jays.
David Calabrese (Maple, Ont.) and Josiah Devapalan (Brampton, Ont.) while Nelson Mercado (Brampton, Ont.) and Ryan Kush (Guelph. Ont.) each drove in a run.
Maxx Davidson (Mississauga, Ont.) allowed five runs on five hits, striking out three. He threw 33 pitches. His fastball was clocked at 87 mph.
Next, Jeff Tiw (Burlington, Ont.) pitched 2 1/3 innings giving up three runs on three hits and two walks, while fanning four. He threw 38 pitches (50% strikes) and was clocked at 82 MPH.
Matt Marzec (Burlington, Ont.) worked one inning allowing two runs on two hits and one walk, as he struck out a pair. He threw 28 pitches (42% strikes) and was clocked at 87 MPH.
No bragging rights: Each year before the tourney starts the two Canadian teams -- the Dbacks Langley Blaze and the Ontario Blue Jays -- square off in an exhibition match for bragging rights.
The only bragging this winter will be that the Blaze rallied from a 4-0 deficit to tie the Ontario Blue Jays 4-4. The Ontario Blue Jays scored twice in the first and two more in the second before Langley notched one in the third and three in the fourth.
Michael Bridgens (Burlington, Ont.) pitched for Ontario Blue Jays allowing one hit and one walk, striking out one in two scoreless innings. Bridgens worked consistently in the 79-81mph range.
Jason Zhang (Ottawa,, Ont.) came in relief allowing zero hits and two walks in 1 2/3 innings. Zhang’s fastball was consistently at 80-84mph.
Mackenzie Mitchell (Toronto, Ont.) had a pair of RBIs with his lone hit. Cody Greenfield (Richmond Hill, Ont.) and Taeg Gollert (Toronto, Ont.) each drove in a run with a base hit.
Evan Finnie (Maple Ridge, BC) pitched two scoreless allowing one hit, walking one and striking out three. He threw 38 pitches (50% strikes) and his fastball was clocked at 78 mph. C Walt Cassidy (Coquitlam, BC) of the Coquitlam Reds knocked in a run.
Combo delivers: RHP Jack Seward (Port Moody, BC) of the Coquitlam Reds and LHP Mitch Bratt (Newmarket, Ont.) of the Toronto Mets were the first two arms out of the gate as the Toronto Blue Jays Scout Team knocked off the Midland Redskins 4-2.
Seward pitched three innings allowing a run on two walks and a base hit, while striking out four. He threw 53 pitches (60% strikes) and his fastball was clocked at 89 MPH.
Bratt pitched two innings giving up one run on one hit and tanned two. He threw 39 pitches (69% strikes) and was clocked at 89 as well.
Jays scout team: Matt O’Brien continues to put together deep rosters for the Toronto Blue Jays Scout Team. This year is no different. Riser Sterlin Thompson (2020, Ocala, Fla.) and two arms in Mitchell Bratt (2021, Newmarket, Ontario) and Karl Hartman (2021, Merritt Island, Fla.) stood out on Thursday at the WWBA World Championship.
Thompson has done nothing but hit on the circuit this year. The lefthanded hitter has a whippy bat and plenty of bat speed. His body is long and slender with plenty of room to add strength as he matures. He consistently puts together good at-bats with well above average bat-to-ball skills. The Stetson commit had a couple knocks on the day, with his last at-bat being extra loud – he turned on a fastball with good extension, hammering a line drive off the right field wall for a standup double. This seemed to touch the barrel and in a blink it banged off the fence. The offensive upside is vast and he will be a fun follow for scouts this spring.
Bratt is an advanced young arm with a clear plan for what he is trying to do on the mound. He uses a high three-quarters slot with a consistent release on all of his pitches. The lefthander has long arms he uses well to create downward plane with some arm-side run on his upper-80s fastball that peaked at 89. He had no trouble using both sides of the plate with a true mix throughout. His curveball has 11-to-5 shape with big downer break that proved tough to square. The Florida State commit has excellent feel for the pitch and it shows very good promise long-term. This looks like an immediate impact arm at the next level that will get a ton of attention over the next year and a half.
– Jered Goodwin