When the Canadian Junior National Team headed to St. Petersburg a few players caught the eyes of a Perfect Game evaluator.

Impressing were Fieldhouse Pirates ‘OF Owen Caissie (Burlington Ont.), Ontario Blue Jays’ OF David Calabrese (Maple Ont.), Ontario Terriers INF Elijha Hammill (Oakville Ont.), Toronto Mets INF Brando Leroux (Markham Ont.), Okotoks Dawgs RHP Simon Lusignan (Varennes Que.), Langley Blaze’s RHP Theo Millas (Burnaby BC), Coquitlam Reds’ RHP Jack Seward (Port Moody BC).

A look at some of the Canucks on the Perfect Game draft scale who made this week’s high school notebook

By Vincent Cervino

Perfect Game Baseball

David Calabrese, of, Canadian Junior National Team

One of the biggest draft risers from our neighbors to the North, Calabrese had a very good week of play in St. Petersburg as the left handed hitting, twitchy outfielder does a lot of things well. The athleticism and speed are notable as Calabrese is a plus runner who uses that speed to run very good routes in center field. The Arkansas signee was often very good in the outfield, save for a couple of desperate plays in a game that was quickly going downhill when they lost to the Toronto Blue Jays minor league spring training team. Offensively, the swing is pretty compact and direct to contact. There’s plenty of bat speed to translate well to the next level and he didn’t get overwhelmed often, especially when facing velocity. Calabrese lined a 96 mph fastball to the pull side for a line drive single and later in the game took 94 mph to the opposite gap at about the warning track. With some sneaky pop, hittability and presence in the box, combined with the speed and athleticism to run and play centre field, Calabrese has all the makings of a day one pick as we head towards uncharted water with this year’s draft process.

Video or cut and paste: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKKemvDBLbY

Owen Caissie, of, Canadian Junior National Team

Calabrese’s teammate in right field is Owen Caissie and he fits a corner outfield power profile to a tee. He’s got some similarities to 2019 outfielder Owen Diodati, who was off to a scorching hot start at Alabama, as he’s got a huge frame, plus raw power, to go along with a plus arm from right field. Caissie fills out the uniform like a big leaguer, with tons of size and strength present with a still-projectable build. He didn’t have to run much out during this look but he’s shown the ability to do so in the past. The plus raw is very impressive and he showed it in his last at-bat of the spring as Caissie absolutely tattooed a fastball off the batter’s eye in center field at Dunedin. The Michigan signee showed off the arm on the second game of the week as he hosed a runner trying to take third base on a first-to-third situation. The hit tool is a bit of a question as Caissie swung through a fair bit of velocity during this multiple game look, but the peripheral tools are loud in an exciting way as lefthanded power is always at a premium.

Video: or cut and paste https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=256wRuYiJzM

Elijha Hammill, mif, Canadian Junior National Team

Hammill is only a junior in school but he showed well over the course of a multiple day look for the Canadian team. The uncommitted middle infielder is fairly well-built with good strength in the lower half and some clear twitch to the swing. The athleticism and instincts are very good up the middle as he made a diving play to his right at second base with the requisite arm strength to get the runner at first. Hammill swung it from the left side mostly during this look, but hit towards the top of the order with impressive bat speed and very fast hands. He keeps the barrel fairly flat through the hitting zone and really has adept feel for lining the ball to the pull side. He’s a very interesting uncommitted hitter to keep an eye on as the rest of the year progresses.

Brando Leroux, mif, Canadian Junior National Team

Leroux is another impressive underclassmen for the Canadian JNT as he split time between shortstop and second base with Hammill. He made a really nice play at shortstop in the first game and showed similarly impressive defense at second base in the second game as Leroux has very soft hands and confident actions to complement his raw athleticism and energy up the middle. He’s another switch hitter with a short, direct stroke from either side of the plate. He’s more slight of build than Hammill but there’s some feel to manipulate the barrel and slap the ball around the yard a little bit. He showed out very well during the last game as he notched three hits and showed off the speed with an infield single. Like Hammill, Leroux is also currently uncommitted.

Simon Lusignan, rhp, Canadian Junior National Team

Lusignan got the start in the first game PG attended and showed off some good ingredients that portend success at the next level. The Stetson signee has a projectable frame for a pitcher listed 6-foot-5, 200-pounds and he still isn’t even 17 yet. The arm stroke is compact and quick through the back and he gets on top well to sink the fastball that worked mostly 86-90 mph during this look. The leg lift is a very slowly-paced one and he has a very short stride toward the mound which can make repeatability a concern. Lusignan didn’t have his best feel for the slider during this look as it took him a couple of them to get the feel for it by his final inning of work. The pitch worked in the upper-70s for the most part and he landed one nicely for a strikeout to end the second inning.

Video or cut and paste https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPvm_7GHVmM

Jack Seward, rhp, Canadian Junior National Team

Seward came on in relief during the game over at Dunedin and showed some impressive stuff in a short stint. He worked mostly in the 88-90 mph range with his typical lively fastball. Seward hides the ball well and it really jumps on the hitter late thanks to that life. He came in with runners on and was able to get out of it well to progress to the next inning of work. The slider was very good for the Oregon signee as it was firm around 83-84 mph with above average biting life. The slider was a strong pitch and functions as his out pitch that will help him succeed at the next level. He also showed a curve ball at 78 mph that he only threw once; Seward is a fascinating prospect when you consider the life, ability to spin, projection, and his youth as he won’t turn 18 for a couple of months.

Video: or cut and paste https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZnBB6iXftE

Theo Millas, rhp, Canadian Junior National Team

Millas, a Louisiana State signee, got the ball to start the game in Dunedin and he got roughed up by professional players, which isn’t atypical when 16 and 17 year olds are facing guys who have already seen big league service time. The righthander is a big, projectable pitching prospect with lots of room to add strength to the build. Millas has the makings of a three-pitch mix with feel for both the curve ball and a changeup. The breaking ball shows two-plane snap at times and there’s feel to manipulate the pitch but it looks like he lets off it at times in the 73-74 mph range. He definitely has feel for the changeup too as he threw a couple at 77-78 mph that he landed. Millas is an impressive prospect in his own right as there’s real feel to pitch out on the mound, and with a jump in the future the ceiling could be huge.