Elliott: Showing showcase stuff - Bucknam, Hambley, Hammill, Ziegler

Who are those masked men? Well that is Ontario Terriers INF Elijha Hammill (Oakville, Ont.), left and Great Lake Canadians’ RHP Calvin Ziegler (Heidelberg, Ont.). who were on the showcase tour this month.

By Bob Elliott

Canadian Baseball Network

The month of July is when Canada’s best high schoolers head on tour south of the border.

There is more traffic headed to exotic locales like Nashville, Indianapolis, Wheeling, W. Va, Myrtle Beach and on and on ...

July is the month Canadians work out at indoor facilities all winter: to get better and then strut their stuff. The southward migration rivals that of March break.

Yet, this July was a wipe out due to the pandemic.

However, in early August four Canucks were able to display their wares in front of pro scouts and college evaluators.

RHP Calvin Ziegler and SS Elijha Hammill attended the East Coast Pro Showcase at Hoover, Ala. under the August lights. It is the same showcase where 1B Joey Votto (Etobicoke, Ont.) was discovered by Cincinnati Reds scout John Castleberry.

Ziegler (Heidelberg, Ont._ who pitched for the Great Lake Canadians in 2019 — as well as 2020 — Hammill (Oakville, Ont.) of the Ontario Terriers both impressed.

Toronto Mets’ LHP Mitch Bradt (Newmarket, Ont.) and RHP Simon Lusignan (Varennes, Que.) of the Okotoks Dawgs earned inviters but chose not to attend.

And from Alabama, Ziegler and Hammill moved on to the Area Code Games in Lake Point, Ga. There they were joined by Canucks RHP Dominic Hambley (Victoria, BC) of the Victoria Mariners and RHP Micah Bucknam (Abbotsford, BC) of the Fraser Valley Cardinals. Bradt and Lusignan were also initved but did not make the trip. The Area Codes were usually staged in Long Beach, but due to the virus the location was shifted East.

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Pitching for the Boston Red Sox Scout team Ziegler worked three scoreless against the San Francisco Giants Scout Team. He struck out six, walked two and allowed one hit while sitting 94-96 MPH. He was draft eligible in 2019 but was not selected.

“I had him sitting at 90-96 MPH,” said a scout, “I liked his change up and knuckle curve as well.”

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Hammill was also with the Red Sox and was 2-for-7 with five quality at-bats, two walks and two strikeouts. He ran a 4.43 to first base.

“Both Canadian players impressed me,” said one veteran amateur scout. “The thing about this year’s group of Canadian kids -- like other years -- is that they are fearless. Nothing bothers them.”

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In Georgia, Ziegler pitched two more scoreless innings for the Yankees Team in a 2-2 tie with the White Sox. He allowed two hits and fanned two. Combined (at the East Coast Pro and the Area Code) he pitched five scoreless in the two events with eight strikeouts. He allowed five base runners: three hits and two walks.

Hammill was 0-for-1 in the game.

RHP Micah Bucknam (Abbotsford, BC) of the Fraser Valley Cardinals.

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With the Kansas City Royals, Bucknam pitched a strong three innings in a 4-1 loss to the Reds. He allowed one run -- unearned -- on two hits and two walks, while striking out three.

RHP Dominic Hambley (Victoria, BC) of the Victoria Mariners

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Also with the Royals, Hambley had a scoreless outing in a 6-1 defeat to the Nationals. He allowed one hit in two innings and struck out four. Hambley walked the one hitter he faced in a 5-5 tie with the Athletics.

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Hammill was 0-for-1 in a 10-1 win against the Nationals. He was the same in a 5-2 loss to the Brewers. And he was hitless in three at-bats in a 5-5 tie with the Rangers.

Switch hitter Hammill hit the ball hard from both sides of the plate.

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Baseball America review: Day 2 of the East Coast Pro featured some velocity right away as the Red Sox trotted out three arms that are going to be followed by scouts all spring in Canadian native Calvin Ziegler (2021, Heidelberg, Ont.) and New Jerseyans Anthony Solometo (2021, Sicklerville, N.J.) and Shane Panzini (2021, Spring Lake, N.J.).

Ziegler, who reclassed from the 2020 class, is eligible once more in the 2021 class and showed that he’s one of Canada’s best prospects in this upcoming draft. Ziegler has a full arsenal on the bump with a fastball that peaked at 96 mph, both a slider and changeup that give him a full three pitch mix, and the delivery with strikes to move forward as a potential starter long term. The delivery is fluid and easy with good rhythm, a clean arm stroke, and smoothness that exudes through release. The fastball was 93-95 mph early and settled in the 91-93 mph range for his following two innings and he racked up a fair bit of empty hacks at the heater with seven swings and misses on the pitch alone through three innings. The slider is a strong weapon in the 82-84 mph range that flashed above average during the outing and projects to be the UCONN commit’s out pitch in the future, while the changeup was pronated nicely and racked up a couple of empty swings too. He moves the ball around well and tunnels all three pitches nicely as there’s a good foundation to build off and Ziegler will no doubt be of interest for the next ten months.

_ Vincent Cervino

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