McFarland: Versatile Babiuk starts new WCBL season with Medicine Hat
St. Albert Minor Baseball Association alum and Valley City State Vikings shortstop Jaden Babiuk (St. Albert, Alta.) was named to the North Star Athletic Association’s All-Conference Second Team. Photo: Valley City State University Athletics
*This article was originally published on Alberta Dugout Stories on May 15, 2024. You can read it here.
May 27, 2024
By Joe McFarland
Alberta Dugout Stories
Jaden Babiuk is hoping he can accomplish something in college that only five players have done in Major League Baseball history.
After taking the field at five positions for the Valley City State University Vikings in 2024, the St. Albert product started thinking about the potential of playing all nine positions in a single game.
Only Bert Campaneris, Cesar Tovar, Scott Sheldon, Shane Halter and Andrew Romine have done it at the MLB level.
And while he wouldn’t be able to do it with 10 teams like Will Ferrell did in Spring Training, Babiuk says it is on his bucket list heading into his senior season with the Vikings.
“I actually did bring it up to my head coach (Alec DeMaria) and it could be coming next year,” he told Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast. “So stay tuned.”
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Listen to Alberta Dugout Stories interview Jaden Babiuk here.
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Babiuk’s willingness to play around the diamond has been instrumental in his collegiate success, which includes being named Second-Team All-Conference in the North Star Athletic Association.
It’s an impressive accomplishment given he changed primary positions from catcher to shortstop during the 2024 season.
FINDING A HOME
Babiuk has always enjoyed playing wherever an opportunity presents itself in the field.
Through his time with St. Albert Minor Baseball Association, he played virtually every position, including pitcher.
“It keeps you in the lineup if you can play multiple positions – especially if you have a bat,” Babiuk said. “If someone goes down with an injury, you can fill that need and it’s important to have guys like that on the team.”
As he got older, he found a home behind the plate as a catcher, eventually earning a spot with Valley City.
In 37 games during his freshman season (2021-2022), Babiuk hit .309 with two homers and 17 runs batted in, following that up by hitting .398 with two homers and 34 RBIs in 46 games in 2022-2023.
He spent more than half of his sophomore season as a catcher and, for his efforts, was named Second-Team All-Conference for the first time.
WELCOME TO THE WCBL
Looking to build on his strong second season, Babiuk came back home to Alberta where he suited up for a summer with the Fort McMurray Giants of the Western Canadian Baseball League.
With league all-star Jordan Bach as the primary catcher, Babiuk made the move over to shortstop, playing in a total of 18 games for the Giants while sporting a .203 batting average, three RBIs and three stolen bases.
The Giants finished the year with a 30-26 record before being knocked out of the playoffs by the eventual champion Okotoks Dawgs.
“It’s a really great league because there are junior college guys, NAIA guys and NCAA Division I guys all playing together and the lineups are a bit of a melting pot,” Babiuk said. “For me, summer ball brings back that fun and that competitive atmosphere that you remember when you were a kid.”
With some collegiate experience at shortstop under his belt, he turned his attention back to Valley City for his third season.
BUILDING CONFIDENCE
Babiuk started the 2024 college season behind the plate again for the Vikings, knowing he might need to move around a bit.
But after a particularly rough outing against Siena Heights on March 1 where he allowed three passed balls, the 21-year-old knew it was time for a change.
He says they had a need initially at third base, then he tried a little second base, before he landed at shortstop and things started to click.
“I think it’s just a different game there,” Babiuk said. “You’re not getting the ball every single time and you have to go sometimes two or three innings without getting a ground ball, then the first one you get is a 95 mile an hour hot-shot and you have to find a way to deal with that.”
Looking back on the college season, he gives himself a grade of a “solid B” as he also battled through a midseason slump at the plate.
The 5-foot-11, 180-pound Babiuk says confidence was key to his resilience and success.
“When you’re confident, you’re seeing the ball well and when you’re confident, you’re making the tough plays,” he said. “Really, it was just getting back to confidence and getting it back to the approach that worked and then applying it in the game.”
MOVING TO MEDICINE HAT
For another change of scenery, Babiuk is heading back to the WCBL for the summer of 2024 but with a new team.
With the help of Vikings teammate Tory Nelson, he decided to move south to join the Medicine Hat Mavericks, where Nelson will be an assistant coach after two years as a player.
“I’m really excited,” Babiuk said. “He (Nelson) was the one who said ‘why not play the summer with me here’ and it worked out as there was a mutual interest.”
The Mavericks will be looking to improve on a great performance in 2023, where they came within a game of beating the Dawgs in the championship.
Babiuk will be able to supply a veteran presence and some lineup agility, along with a homegrown Alberta element to the Mavericks roster.
Game to play in any situation and at any position, the utilityman also hopes to work on a few things ahead of his final college season.
Just don’t expect to see him on the mound a lot, as he thinks he will only handle a bullpen session or two to prepare for the potential of a game playing all nine positions.
“It would definitely be a one-batter situation, I would imagine,” Babiuk laughed about how he sees himself pulling off the feat. “I don’t think there’s a ton of faith in me on the mound and rightfully so, as I haven’t pitched since I was 12 or 13 years old.”
So, he’s saying there’s a chance.
The Mavericks opened up their 2024 WCBL regular season on May 25 in Moose Jaw. Their home opener is set for Wednesday against the Saskatoon Berries.