Orr convinces Brewers brass of O’Rae’s upside

Junior National Team alum Dylan O’Rae (Sarnia, Ont.) was the first Canadian selected in the 2022 MLB Draft. Photo: Baseball Canada

July 21, 2022

By Matt Betts

Canadian Baseball Network

Dylan O’Rae shot up the draft board faster than he goes first to third on a single through the right side.

And anyone who has seen the young infielder play, knows just how fast that is.

Thanks to the keen eye of scout and Canadian baseball legend Pete Orr (Newmarket, Ont.), the Milwaukee Brewers scooped up the Great Lake Canadian with their third round pick, 102nd overall in the 2022 draft. This made him the first Canadian selected.

While O’Rae (Sarnia, Ont.) knew it was a possibility he could be picked at some point over the 20 rounds, his name wasn’t rumoured near the top. In fact, it wasn't until the slick fielding shortstop made his college commitment that he even turned his attention to the draft.

“When I committed to Illinois was when I first started thinking about the draft because it was the next thing I wanted to go after,” O’Rae said. “I never really had huge expectations, I’ve always been an under the radar guy because of my size. I knew there were a few teams interested, but I didn’t know how interested. I wasn’t expecting too much.”

Expectations or not, the thrill was the same when he saw the pick.

“It was a rush of emotions all at once when I got the phone call,” O’Rae said. “You can’t put it into words or narrow it down to one specific feeling.”

O’Rae received a call from Orr a few picks before the Brewers made their selection in the third round. With Orr on speaker phone and surrounded by his family, he found out that one of is childhood dreams was about to come true.

“By the time I hung up, the pick was up on my TV.”

Well, there’s certainly expectations now. But just like the draft, O’Rae wants to control what he can control.

“I was never really focused on any draft lists or anything like that,” he said. “I’ve always tried to stay within myself. I’m not a guy that’s going to jump out at you. People that have seen me play over the course of many games start to notice what I can do.”

He points to his time with the Canadian Junior National Team, the coaches and playing against professional competition as a turning point in his career. It’s not something every player gets to experience and has aided exponentially in his development, he says.

Combine that with a supportive family and the everyday guidance of Adam Stern and the Great Lake Canadians organization, and it’s made for an ideal situation for development.

In the back of his mind, the 5-foot-9, 160-pounder always knew he had what it took to get to this point.

“I always thought it would be school first,” he said. “I felt like with the way I worked and my goals that I could be a professional baseball player. I started realizing in the spring when I went down to Arizona with Langley and there were some scouts there to watch. That’s kind of when it started.”

Orr, who does double duty as a Brewers scout and a coach with the Junior National Team, knew O’Rae was a consideration for the draft but says it was initially hard to get past his small frame.

“The more I watched him, I kept telling myself ‘why isn’t this guy a pro prospect and someone you’d like to get into pro ball now?’” Orr said. “Anyone that has seen Dylan play knew he would be a great player wherever he went. The first instinct was that he would sign after going to college, but I thought ‘why not now?’”

Just like O’Rae pointed out about his own game, watching him day in and day out with Team Canada proved to Orr that the youngster had a chance to be special.

“It’s his combination of tools,” said Orr. “Sometimes it’s hard to see Dylan’s tools unless you see him a lot. He’s a well above average to a plus runner. He has exceptional hands and a great swing. He can go into pro baseball with his current swing and play his game.”

When selecting a high school player that early in the draft, there’s a lot of things to consider both on and off the field. A player’s makeup can sway a scouts opinion one way or another, but that was never in question for Orr and the Brewers.

“He’s wired right,” he said. “He’s a tremendous human being. I’ve been through it myself and know how hard it is. You have to be tough, you have to be able to make adjustments and roll with the punches. Some guys out of high school aren’t quite ready for that. A guy like Dylan, in my opinion, is ready to handle it and step into it.”

Orr describes O’Rae as a having a calm demeanour with a killer instinct.

“We, as the Brewers trust that this guy is already a smart baseball player,” he said. “Every step you go in baseball the game speeds up, Dylan is already ready to process things at a high speed.”

Now O’Rae will join fellow Canadian and the first Canuck selected in the 2021 draft, second baseman Tyler Black (Stouffville, Ont.), in the Brewers’ organization.

An all-Canadian double play combo could be coming to American Family Field in the not-so-distant future.