Glew: Late-blooming Boucher happy to be a Brave

Charlesbourg Alouettes and Southern Illinois Salukis alum Pier-Olivier Boucher (Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce, Que.) was selected in the 10th round of the 2023 MLB draft by the Atlanta Braves and has since joined their Florida Complex League team. Photo: SIU Athletics

August 5, 2023

By Kevin Glew

Canadian Baseball Network

Pier-Olivier Boucher is a late bloomer.

That’s how Lance Rhodes, his former coach at Southern Illinois University, describes the Quebec-born outfielder who was selected in the 10th round of this year’s MLB draft by the Atlanta Braves.

And the description seems apt when you consider that Boucher didn’t start playing baseball until he was 12, didn’t make his first elite competitive team until he was 16 and didn’t have a single offer to play college ball after high school.

None of this, however, deterred Boucher from pursuing his dream of playing professional baseball.

“To be honest, I always thought I had a chance to get drafted even after high school when I had no offers, I would always tell my parents, ‘One day I’ll get drafted. One day I’ll get drafted,’” said Boucher in a recent phone interview. “I always believed in it.”

And Boucher doesn’t say this in a boastful way. He says this out of passion. He’s a humble and likeable young man who has had to work extra hard at every level, and he has been 100% devoted to pursuing a baseball career since his third year of high school.

So, it was beyond gratifying for the 23-year-old to register his first professional hit - a line drive single to left field - with the Braves’ Rookie Ball Florida Complex League affiliate on Tuesday at CoolToday Park in North Port, Fla.

“Our first base coach and the first guy I gave a fist bump to after getting my first hit was Ben Revere,” said Boucher, who grew up cheering for the 2015 Blue Jays squad that Revere was on.

Raised in Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce, Que., Boucher played softball until he was 12 before switching to baseball. He played in Saint-Georges, Que., which was about 30 minutes from his hometown, but he had to wait to compete for an elite competitive team.

“The double-A teams were the best teams you could make as a 13- or 14-year-old, but I never was able to make them,” said Boucher. “I was getting cut every time . . . The first time I made a double-A team or higher was midget (age 16).”

A turning point for him came when he switched high schools after grade 10.

For his freshman and sophomore years, he was enrolled in a hockey program at École Secondaire Veilleux in Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce before he transferred to École Secondaire Pointe-Lévy in Levis, Que., for the next three years where he focused on baseball.

He credits Jean-Philippe Roy, of the Canonniers de Québec, for helping him develop his skills after high school.

Pier-Olivier Boucher honed his skills with the LBJEQ’s Charlesbourg Alouettes. Photo: Kevin Rafferty, LBJEQ

When he was 18, he began playing for the Charlesbourg Alouettes of the province’s junior elite league (LBJEQ).

“That league was the big league for the region of Quebec,” said Boucher. “All of the college guys when they come back in the summer, they go play there.”

But despite Boucher’s passion and steady improvement, his aspirations for a pro baseball career were at a standstill after high school.

“I always wanted to go play college ball, but after high school, I had no offers,” said Boucher.

Rather than quit, he took private hitting lessons and continued to hone his skills.

The following year, his friend, Alex Bedard, who had played outfield for coach Matthew Torrez at Trinidad State Junior College, recommended Boucher to Torrez, who had moved on to Indian Hills Community College in Ottuma, Iowa. Torrez offered Boucher a spot on his roster and the young outfielder accepted.

Boucher played just nine games in his first season at Indian Hills, which was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“When he got here, he was pretty long and lean,” said Torrez. “He was very athletic, but he was long and lean. At first sight, I guess we were wondering what’s going on and can we get this kid physical enough to get through the college baseball season? But he was really athletic, and he could do a lot of things for us. And I was really pleased once I saw him on the field.”

Pier-Olivier Boucher enjoyed a breakout season in 2021 with Indian Hills Community College. Photo: Indian Hills Community College Athletics

Boucher would enjoy a breakout season with Indian Hills in his second year with them.

Batting in the middle of the order, he hit .319 with five home runs and 41 RBIs in 58 games to help Indian Hills to their first JUCO World Series appearance in 17 years.

“I think he was just more physical and more mentally ready to do some things [in his second year],” said Torrez. “He’s got a really good tool set. He can run. He can drive some balls out of the yard . . . And there is some electricity in his bat.”

Boucher says his second season with Indian Hills was a pivotal one for him.

“I would do extra work every night because I’m really passionate about reaching my goals and getting better,” said Boucher. “And the fact that my development was late compared to other guys, but [at that point] I was improving fast. So, having a good year, in my first full year in the United States, gave me a confidence boost.”

After that impressive campaign, he was recruited by Rhodes and the NCAA Division 1 Southern Illinois University Salukis.

Boucher excelled with the Salukis in his first season, hitting .325 with eight home runs in 46 games. He opened more eyes when he went 10-for-23 (.435 batting average) for the Salukis in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament.

“I got a big confidence boost after that season when I realized I had better numbers in D1 than I did in my first JUCO season,” said Boucher.

Pier-Olivier Boucher’s draft stock rose significantly in his senior season with the Southern Illinois Salukis, when he led the team in batting average, hits and stolen bases. Photo: SIU Athletics

For an encore, Boucher had an even better season for the Salukis in his senior year in 2023, leading the team with a .339 batting average, 79 hits, 46 runs and 19 stolen bases, and his 16 home runs were double as many as he belted the previous campaign.

“I think there were a couple of factors there,” said Rhodes on Boucher’s power surge in 2023. “One, he learned how to pull the ball in the air more this season than he had in the past, which obviously is a big help. And two, his biggest strength is his ability to hit the ball to the opposite field. He’s one of the few college baseball hitters who can really drive a baseball to the opposite field.”

Boucher also got stronger.

“I would say over his two years at our place, he probably put on 25 or 30 pounds,” said Rhodes. “It was fun to watch him mature and develop.”

By his second season with the Salukis, Boucher was on the radar of major league scouts and he had talked with the Braves prior to the draft.

“I didn’t know if they were actually going to pick me,” he said, “but I was thinking that if I had to pick one team to go to, if would be them.”

So, on July 10, the second day of the draft, Boucher invited some close friends over to his family’s home in Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce, Que., and they spent the afternoon monitoring the draft together.

“We were really into it,” said Boucher. “It’s something that only happens once in a lifetime. It’s a special moment. And I had a good feeling that I was going to get picked that day . . . so I didn’t want them to miss it.”

And his “feeling” proved to be correct.

The Braves selected him in the 10th round (309th overall) and signed him to a contract just hours later.

Shortly thereafter, he reported to the Braves’ minor league complex in North Port, Fla., where he practiced until he secured his work visa to play in games. He has since suited up for four games with the Braves’ Rookie Ball Florida Complex League team.

“The environment has been great. We just play baseball, and we eat really good food, and we don’t have to pay for anything,” said Boucher about his experience in the Braves organization. “We just pretty much do our thing and go play baseball and try to get better every day. I really like it.”

Of course, the late bloomer’s goal is to make it to the big leagues. And with his track record, who’s going to bet against him?

Certainly not Rhodes.

“He’s long. He’s lean. He’s athletic. He can move really fast. The ball jumps off his bat. So, he’s developed into a really good player. But I think his best days are still ahead of him. I think here in the next two or three years he could really take off,” said Rhodes. “It wouldn’t surprise me a bit if he made it to the big leagues.”