August 8, 2024

By Bob Elliott

Canadian Baseball Network

We seldom go out on a limb.

Yet here we are. Out there.

The best, I repeat as my friend Serge Touchette used to say emphatically, The Best Canadian at the 25th East Coast Pro Showcase was RHP Jackson Kornylo.

That’s because Kornylo (Oshawa, Ont.) was very, very strong ... and because he was the only Canadian there.

The usual number of Canuck attendees at the Best Ever was less than normal since a number of invited players were with the Junior National Team at the 13-team World Cup qualifier in Panama.

“He’s tall long lanky,” said one veteran cross checker of the 6-foot-6, 208-pound right-hander. “He could put on 25 pounds and still look skinny. There is a lot of growth there.

“I saw two innings and they did not get a sniff off him.”

The East Coast Pro, followed by the Area Code Games which begins this week in Long Beach, Calif., are the start of the scouting seasons for the 2025 draft next July. This is the first look for senior scouts to bear down at the new crop of high schoolers.

As the saying goes “it’s early.”

“Where does he fit for next year?” repeated a scout. “Who knows? It’s early.”

Kornylo’s fastball has been clocked at 92-to-95 MPH. He started for the Atlanta Braves scout team against the Tampa Bay Rays. The Braves are made up of Florida players (from Orlando South thru the Keys and Puerto Rico), while the Rays are from Georgia and Florida (from Orlando north).

In his three-inning outing it went like this for Kornylo, who started the game

First inning: Strikeout, whiff, strikeout.

Second: Pop up to short, strikeout, comebacker.

Third: Bloop single, strike out, pop up to first, pick off at first.

So in three innings he allowed one hit and fanned five in the Braves 7-5 win over the Tigers .

This spring Kornylo was with TNXL Academy in the Orlando area and Canes American. He spent his formative years with the Ontario Yankees under coaches Nigel Wilson (Ajax, Ont.), a former major leaguer with the Florida Marlins and Greg “Chopper” Miner (Pickering, Ont.), an ex-Toronto Blue Jays scout and long-time sandlot scout.

He earned Preseason Underclass All-American All-Region First Team for the Canada/Puerto Rico region. He gained All-Tournament Team honours with Canes Canada Scout in 2022 WWBA 16U National Championship at Marietta, Ga. and with Canes National 17U he was part of the WWBA championship team winning the 2024 17U Ultimate Championship East at West Palm Beach.

* * *

As for the members of coach Greg Hamilton’s squad in Panama, they are enjoying the trip. Canada ripped off four straight victories over to wrap up a spot in the playoff round before losing Wednesday night to eighth-ranked Cuba 3-0.

The 16th-ranked Canucks beat 53rd ranked Guatemala 13-3, 20th-ranked Nicaragua 1-0, No. 2 Mexico 4-3 and ninth ranked Dominican Republic 17-10.

Host Panama already has a spot in the World championships, but there are three open spots up for grabs.