September 20, 2024

By Tyson Shushkewich

Canadian Baseball Network

Sean Duncan (Port Coquitlam, B.C.) is no stranger to the Rogers Centre.

The left-hander pitched at the Canadian Futures Showcase in both 2022 and 2023. At both of those events, he was the youngest player at the tournament.

“Being here before, I definitely used that previous experience to help with the pre-game nervousness,” said Duncan, speaking to the Canadian Baseball Network. “This is my third showcase and you just get a real feel for the atmosphere and the vibe that comes with pitching in such a large stadium that helps calm the nerves and lets you settle in on the mound.”

This year, Duncan was starting the second game of the Showcase for Team New Blue, facing a tough squad that features multiple names listed on the 2025 and 2026 Canadian Baseball Network Draft lists.

Duncan started his outing with a ground out and a fly out to the first two batters, using just six pitches. He followed that by notching a strikeout on three pitches, sending the Team Royal three-hole hitter back to the dugout on a called third strike.

Back out for the second inning, Duncan faced some adversity early in the form of a leadoff walk. A fly out to centre field put one out on the board but a second walk, with two borderline pitches not going his way, put runners on first and second with just one out. Looking to bounce back, Duncan took matters into his own hands, striking out the next two batters – hitting the upper 80s/low 90s with his fastball.

With a strong pitch count, Duncan came back out for the third inning and kept the strikeout train rolling, fanning the first two batters he faced. He mixed in his slider and his changeup to generate some swing-and-miss from the opposing batters and finished the inning with a fly out to right field. Duncan’s day would be over following the third inning, producing a 64.4% strikeout rate while allowing zero hits and zero runs compared to five strikeouts.

“Things went pretty well for me,” said Duncan. “I was pounding the zone and physically I felt really good. I matched my personal record of 93 mph here at the showcase so that’s great to see. That tells me everything was working like it should have and I just had a great feel for all of my pitches.”

The left-hander is no stranger to pitching under pressure, as the Langley Blaze pitcher was named to the Junior National Team for the WBSC U-18 Pan American Championship in Panama last month and has played with the team on various trips south of the border dating back to last year.

In Panama, Duncan made a start against Mexico and another appearance out of the bullpen against Puerto Rico in the quarter-final matchup, producing a 2.42 ERA and striking out nine batters in a combined 8 2/3 innings.

“To face that Mexico team was such an honour because they were one of the top-ranked nations heading into the tournament,” said Duncan. “To represent your country and to be able to pitch in that environment was a memory I will never forget, just being able to grind and play with my teammates. I also think my experience at the Showcase really helped me down in Panama and made me feel more comfortable in a big stadium and under pressure.”

Standing at 6-foot-2, Duncan has a repeatable delivery to home plate and hides the ball well. The 16-year-old is currently uncommitted but continues to impress on the mound and currently ranks as the No. 1 player on the Canadian Baseball Network’s 2026 Draft List.

When asked who he models his game after, Duncan provided an intriguing response.

“I model my arm action after Jacob DeGrom but my mentality around Paul Skenes,” laughed Duncan. “Both he and I love to just be on the mound and attack, attack, attack. We both bounce around and just love feeling the energy from the game and the crowd and use that to our advantage to go out and do our thing.”