Great week for Alberta Baseball!

It started Monday night when Calgary’s own Mike Soroka was drafted in the first round.  He was the second Canadian taken, with Mississauga’s Josh Naylor taken at pick #12.  Soroka was the 28^th pick, selected by the Braves.  Everyone knew he was going to be drafted high, being in the consensus top 100 in all the major projections, but he really opened some eyes in the Dominican just a couple ofweeks ago, and his stock soared all the way to where he made it in the first round.  Ironically, he was the first Albertan pitcher selected in the first round since Chris Reitsma, who has been one of his pitching coaches locally.

On the same day, the South Atlantic League announced its all-star selections, and Calgary’s Jordan Procyshen who was the only player from Alberta selected in the 2014 draft was named the starting catcher.  The Greenville backstop has had a good year, after having been quickly promoted from low A ball Lowell last year.

2015 MLB Draft Preview

The annual MLB player draft is next week.  As always there are many Canadians to keep an eye. This year an Albertan, Mike Soroka from Calgary, is one of the top Canadian prospects and may end up being the first Canadian taken overall.  The 17 year old Soroka is a member of the Canadian Junior Team, who has committed to Cal-Berkley and has garnered accolades everywhere he's played.



Among his accomplishments:

• named to the Perfect Game 2nd team All American tam.
• considered "best Canadian pitching prospect in recent memory"
• Ranked prospect #75 by Perfect Game
• Top 100 prospect by Baseball America
• Threw 5 PERFECT innings against the DSL Twins 

Here's a video profile of Soroka

Soroka isn't the only Albertan on scouts' radars.  Brendan Hendriks who was a late round selection of the Phillies back in 2011, is also on the list of top Canadian prospects. Hendriks, a third baseman from Cochrane, who played High School ball at the highly acclaimed Vauxhall Baseball Academy has been playing at University of San Francisco, where he led this team in home runs.

Also hoping to get a phone call next week is St. Albert's Jackson Wark. Like Soroka, Wark is also a RHP on the Canadian JNT.  He was named to Perfect Game's Honorable Mention All American Team and has committed to St. Louis University.

Last year, only one Albertan was drafted, and that was Jordan Procyshen who was selected by the Red Sox and is enjoying success in their organization, currently the starting catcher for Greenville.  It would be great if Boston selected more Canadian players this year.

Regardless of where they end up, am wishing all of these players success in their baseball future.

Red Sox Draft Alberta catcher!

Photo credit: Jeff McCurry

In what was a disappointing draft for Alberta baseball players anxiously waiting to get the call that they were selected, only one player from the Wild Rose Province was drafted.  The Boston Red Sox used their 14th round draft pick to select Calgary native Jordan Procyshen.  Procyshen, a catcher, was drafted out of Northern Kentucky University. A quick summarized scouting report on this 21 year old,  is that he is a very good defensive catcher with a strong arm, and an excellent power hitter. 

Early draft results

Michael Chavis - the newest member of the Red Sox!

With the first 2 days of the draft done, most of the big names have now been taken.  There are still 30 rounds to finish today, so several players who are only familiar to local audiences still have a chance to be drafted.

As far as the Red Sox, they took high schooler Michael Chavis with their first pick.  Chavis is a shortstop who projects more to be a third baseman in the Sox organization. He knows how to rock a bowtie (see pic above) and for some amusing reads, take a look at his twitter history at @michaelchavis11.  A few picks later they selected another high schooler, pitcher Michael Kopech. He is a righty who just turned 18 two months ago, and can already hit 97 MPH on the radar gun. With their last pick of the first day, they selected University of Indiana first baseman, Sam Travis.   For a full list of the Red Sox draftees, take a look at this draft tracker.

On the local front, only three Canadians were taken in the first 10 rounds. As expected, Gareth Morgan was the first Canuck taken, as the last pick of Day 1 - number 74 overall, by the Seattle Mariners.  Two other Canadians, both from Ontario, have also been drafted so far.  Today hopefully some of the local Alberta players will be drafted in later rounds. I will post an updated with any news on these players after the draft is complete.

To stay up to date on all the prospects, Baseball America publishes an annual prospect handbook.  You can get it here from Amazon:

Draft Day Eve

The annual MLB draft is coming up. It starts Thursday with the first 2 rounds including the compensation and supplementary picks, Friday are rounds 3 to 10, and the remainder on Saturday. Will the Red Sox draft any Canadians? Will any local Alberta players be taken in early rounds?

Stay tuned as I will update any items pertaining to the Red Sox or local Canadian players on this site.

2013 MLB draft

The MLB draft starts tonight. The Red Sox have the 7th overall pick, and then pick again at #45 (in round 2), and then the 7th pick of each round.   Last year, they did draft a Canadian, Keaton Briscoe, who is now playing for the Greenville Drive. This year, there are several promising Canadian players eligible for the draft, including several from Alberta. I have a rundown of the top Albertans here.  Hoping the Red Sox select one of them.  I will update this if/when the Sox do pick a Canadian player.

2013 MLB Draft: Alberta Preview

The MLB draft is coming up the next three days. Here's a preview on some Albertans to keep an eye on.  Last year four players from our province were drafted and all of them signed and are now playing professional ball.  This year once again there are several local players on the Canadian Baseball Network's draft list including the top Canadian who was born in Edmonton.

Here is a rundown on some of the players expected to be drafted:

Alberta draftees:Signing updates

Earlier this month, 4 Albertan baseball players had their dreams realized when they were drafted in the MLB draft.  Players only have until July 15th to sign.  If they don't sign, they may or may not be eligible to be drafted again next year, depending on their circumstances  (If players go to college, they are only eligible after their junior year or 21st birthday, unless it's a community or junior college).

And this year, with MLB's new collective bargaining agreement, it's made it tougher for teams to sign everyone they want.  Teams no longer have an unlimited budget.  There are consequences, some severe, to spending more than an allotted bonus pool.  Anywhere from paying a "luxury tax" on the amount over the bonus they spend, to losing 2 first round draft picks in the future.  The specific details are here.

Fortunately, this has not impacted the Alberta players as they have all been signed already:

Sox draft a Canadian

I've previously lamented about the lack of Canadians on the Red Sox.  And last year, a player from a local high school was drafted, but unfortunately did not sign.   But there's hope that another Canadian will play for the hometeam at Fenway Park, as in the 24th round, the Red Sox selected Keaton Briscoe from Vancouver, BC.

Briscoe is a 21 year old left handed hitting 2nd baseman, who just finished up his junior year at the University of British Columbia.

4 Albertans taken in MLB Draft

As usual, pitchers led a strong contingent of Alberta players drafted by the MLB.  Last year 5 out of the 7 players selected were hurlers, and this year all but one is a pitcher.

Yesterday, Calgary outfielder Tyler Hollick was the only Albertan player taken, as he was selected by the Giants in the 14th round.  Today he was joined by three pitchers:  Shane Dawson, a lefty from Drayton Valley who went to his home country Blue Jays in the 17h round; righthander Adam Paulencu from Sherwood Park who was taken by Colorado in the 26th round; another righty, Logan Seifrit from Spruce Grove selected by Seattle in the 33rd round.

Will Red Sox draft any Canadians?

The draft starts tonight... in a few minutes, actually.   And the Red Sox get  picks in the 1st and supplemental rounds today.  Numbers 24, 31 and 37 overall.  I won't be holding my breath tonight to see if the Red Sox select a Canadian.  We have produced some pretty good ballplayers... the Sox themselves even took one in the 1st round one year, but none of the top Canadians are expected to go in the first couple of rounds this year.   But I will be anxiously watching tomorrow and Wednesday to see if we do draft (and sign!) a Canadian, eh?
Last year, a player who went to high school right here in Alberta was selected by Boston in the 34th round, but elected to go to Eastern Michigan instead of signing.  But there a lot of good Canadian baseball players, including several from our province who are expected to be drafted in the next couple of days.  Hoping the Red Sox select one of them.  Stay tuned.....

2012 MLB Draft: Alberta preview

With the MLB draft coming up next week, here is a quick preview of local baseball players to keep an eye on.  

Last year, sevenplayers from our province were drafted.  Stay tuned to this blog as I will post updates as Albertans are selected.  

According to the Canadian Baseball Network’s draft list, Alberta has four players ranked in the top 20 in the country and several more who may be selected.  Many of these are familiar names who have been mentioned on these pages and elsewhere previously.  

The following are among the players expected to be drafted:

Baseball dead in Calgary?

So go the rumours.  And looking out the window today seeing an unwelcome snowstorm serves as a reminder that this is a hockey first –  if not hockey only – town.  The Vipers folding at the end of last season helped create the perfect storm (yes, pun definitely intended) for any casual fan to believe that there is no baseball left in Calgary.

But this excellent article by the Calgary Herald's Scott Cruickshank articulates splendidly why this isn't so.  It includes the viewpoints of most of the city's baseball movers and shakers.  This includes the heads of several local programs, including Pro Baseball Force, FMBA, Babe Ruth, NSA, U of C, Little League, Okotoks Dawgs, and more.

Calgary has had several local players drafted into the MLB and there will be more soon.

Those who think that baseball is exclusively an American sport, check out Diamonds of the North or Bob Elliott's "The Northern Game: Baseball the Canadian Way" for a Canadian perspective of the game.

Successful weekend for Big League Experience in Alberta

Big League Experience (BLE), out of Oliver BC, was in Calgary on the weekend of March 3^rd to run the 2012 Alberta Super Clinic.   BLE have been running these clinics all throughout BC for the last 14 years, and have been coming to Calgary to provide Albertans with their top level coaching since 2004.  It was a very successful weekend for everyone involved, from the instructors and scouts to the participants.

The clinic ran for 2 days and the players who participated benefitted from the opportunity to get instructions from many top tier coaches.  The instructional staff was led by BLE co-owner and director Marty Lehn who is the Milwaukee Brewers scout for Western Canada and whose background includes coaching at the international level for Team Canada at two World Qualifier tournaments, three World Championships, three Olympic Qualifiers, the Pan-Am games as well as at the 2004 Olympics.   Additionally, he has led Team BC to 3 National Championships and was named Canadian Coach of the Year in 1998.   Lehn was joined by Red Sox Canadian Scout Chris Pritchett who was drafted in the 2^nd round by the Angels in 1991 and played with them throughout his MLB career until finishing up with a stint in Philadelphia in 2000. 

Red Sox draft Alberta player

The Boston Red Sox had a very successful draft including getting several players who were expected to be taken before the Sox had a chance to pick.  And fans are rightfully excited about getting Matt Barnes, Blake Swihart, Henry Owens, and Jackie Bradley with their first 4 picks.  But lost in the shuffle of the 53 players taken by the Red Sox was Sean Dartnell taken in the 34th round.  He is a 6'2" 200 pound left-handed pitcher from St. Paul Manitoba who is a High School senior right here at the Vauxhall Baseball Academy.  He had already committed to attend Eastern Michigan University who play in NCAA Div I, and now will have to decide between signing with our Sox and attending school.  Either way, we wish him the best of luck.  If he does choose to sign with the Red Sox we are excited to have another Canadian in the organization to continue a long tradition of stars from the North playing at Fenway.

7 players from Alberta taken in annual MLB draft

Yesterday, Adam Paulencu, Ethan Elias and Jake Hansen were selected on day 2 of the draft.  Joining them as MLB draftees from Alberta today were LHP Sheldon McDonald from Spruce Grove,  outfielder Cory Scammell from Edmonton, Ryan Thompson who I previously wrote about, and Brendan Hendriks.

Some other names notable to Albertans including LHP Sean Dartnell who went to Vauxhall Academy and 1B Trevor Gretzky who I'm told had a dad who was a professional athlete in our province.

Here's a summary of Albertan's drafted in the 2011 MLB draft:

Name	Position	Hometown	Round	Team
Adam Paulencu	RHP	Spruce Grove	13	Giants
Ethan Elias	RHP	Entwistle	20	Cubs
Jake Hansen	LHP	Fort MacLeod	30	Mets
Sheldon MacDonald	LHP	Spruce Grove	33	Cubs
Cory Scammell	OF	Edmonton	35	Mariners
Ryan Thompson	RHP	Fort McMurray	36	Yankees
Brendan Hendriks	3B	Cochrane	40	Phillies

3 Albertans drafted in Day 2

{editor’s note:  I wrote this last night, but due to technical difficulties was unable to post it on the blog until after the end of the 3rd day.}

There were no Canadians taken in the first round of the MLB draft.  On day 2, Tom Robson was the first Canadian taken as expected, when the Blue Jays selected the big LHP with their 4^th round pick.   RHP Adam Paulencu of Spruce Grove was the first Albertan taken when the Giants took him in the 13th round.   The next local prospect taken was another RHP, Ethan Elias of Entwistle who went to the Cubs in the 22^nd round.  The third and last Albertan drafted today was another pitcher, this time a southpaw. Jake Hansen from Fort MacLeod was taken in the 30^th round by the Mets.

There are still several outstanding prospects available, including Ryan Thompson and Cory Scammell, who are likely to be taken in tomorrow’s rounds.  I will post an article with the results of the final day after tomorrow.

Canadian 1st round draft pick

Hey local Red Sox fans... did you know that the Red Sox once selected a Canadian with their first round draft pick?  And that now that he is retired, he is living right here in Alberta?    Of course I'm talking about the first Canadian ever drafted in the first round, Chris Reitsma, who was picked by our very own Red Sox.

I wrote the following article on Calgarian Chris Reitsma,  and it's been published on the Canadian Baseball Network.  My interest in Reitsma, is not only that he's a major league ballplayer from the city I live in, but without his knowing it, he was a big part of my decision to move here.  My employer had asked me to transfer from Toronto and I was reluctant to do so.  Even though it would be a good step for my career, I'd have to leave all my family and friends behind.  I was deeply conflicted.  I used my analytical skills and made a detailed spreadsheet complete with weightings of different criteria.  I added up all the pros and cons and it was as dead even as could be. Lots of new opportunities if we moved, but it was a risk. The night before the decision was due, I didn't sleep well. I had a tough choice to make and still didn't know which was I was leaning.   Then, on the train ride while commuting into work, I was reading in the USA Today the results of the MLB draft, and noticed that  the Red Sox had drafted a Calgarian with their first round pick.   That was the sign I was looking for to help me make a decision.   That day I committed to transferring out west, and have been here ever since.  

Enjoy the article.

Many Albertans projected to be among first Canadians drafted

The Canadian Baseball Network has an updated Canadian draft list.  12 young players from Alberta are on the list, including 5 of the first 17.
Those 5 are:
#8 - Ryan Thompson - a right handed pitcher from Fort McMurray, playing at Franklin Pierce University

#10 - Adam Paulencu - also a RHP, from Spruce Grove and playing at the Vancouver Island Baseball Institute

Seifrit listed as top prospect

Logan Seifrit, who is well known in Baseball Alberta as a Spruce Grove White Sox pitcher who has always thrown hard, is listed in Baseball America's list of Canada's Top Prospects.    He looks like he'll be one of the first Canadians picked in the 2012 draft.