September 20, 2022

By Mark Colley

Carleton University

OTTAWA - Most of the players stepping on the busy field at Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton Park for the Canadian Futures Showcase are approaching university.

The younger players are entering Grade 11, with a handful just starting Grade 10 this month.

Then there’s Sean Duncan.

Born in May 2008, at 14, he is the youngest at the showcase by a wide margin. He’s the only player in Grade 9 and the only one born in 2008.

On Tuesday, Duncan (Port Coquitlam, BC) was in awe of his surroundings.

“It’s like a big-league practice,” Duncan said, ogling at the video board and field. “We got laser tracking with the 60 [foot sprint] — we never got to do that!”

Duncan, of the Langley Blaze, considers himself a power pitcher for his age group, with a fastball in the low 80s, as well as a change up and curveball. Stacked against those who are up to four years older than him, Duncan said he has a chip on his shoulder.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a lot of pressure, but it’s kind of cool to be like, I’m the youngest guy here,” he explained. “I feel like I’ve got something to prove, you know? Cause being the youngest guy here, they might think I’m just like, ‘He’s young, whatever,’ but I feel like I have more to show.”

Duncan started playing ball at age three, eventually reaching the Little League World Series at age 11 in 2019 with his Coquitlam team. He lists the experience as the biggest thing he’s done in his career, alongside the Futures Showcase.

At the tournament, he met players from the Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates, including Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo. But Duncan said one of his favorite players to meet was pitcher Rowan Wick, who is from North Vancouver, 30 minutes from Coquitlam.

“Just talking about how he came from the same area as us, talking about the same things and where he is now, it was cool to see,” Duncan said.

Shortly after the Little League World Series, when Duncan was 12, he started to develop as a player. His velocity went up.

“Okay, it’s time to just focus on one thing,” he explained.

Duncan quit soccer and turned all his efforts toward baseball.

It’s taken him to the Futures Showcase, where he hopes to display his biggest strengths as a player.

Rene Tosoni, coach of the Coquitlam Reds and former outfielder for the Minnesota Twins, is a coach at the showcase. Tosoni’s daughter takes dance classes with Duncan’s mom and Tosoni has known Duncan for three or four years.

He said Duncan is a “very smart kid [and] very polite.”

“He’s so young, but what he’s done so far in the level he’s played is outstanding,” Tosoni said. “He knows what he wants to do. Not a lot of kids know at that age. They have dreams but they’re also multi-sport guys. I think he could be a really good pitcher, real dominant, and as long as he’s humble, good work ethic, all that, he’ll be alright.”

Tosoni said being exposed to so many scouts at such a young age will open the door to opportunities for Duncan down the road.

Outside of baseball, Duncan said he’s a straight-A student who enjoys math and would like to major in engineering in university. His goal is to go to a Division I school, get drafted and eventually have a long career in the major leagues.

For now, though, Duncan is starting high school.

“My life is mostly baseball,” he said.