Tag: Canadian Premier Baseball League

Titans Baseball Club

Organizational Spotlight: The Titans Baseball Club Joins the CPBL with High Hopes

The newly formed Titans Baseball Club, an expansion team for 2021, enter their third year as an organization excited for what the future holds.

They’ve now doubled their number of teams, expanding from two to four, and as a result, have significantly added to their coaching staff as well.

In 2020, with limited time on the field, one of the highlights took place outside the white lines, as the Titans hosted their first-ever golf tournament. 

Director of Player Development and Baseball Operations Lawrence Vera called the event a “highly-successful First Annual Titans Golf Tournament at National Pines GC in Barrie.” Involving “100 golfers and 15 community volunteers in October who all adhered to ClubLink’s COVID-19 restrictions to keep our group safe on the links and in the clubhouse.”

During gameplay in the 2020 year, Vera spoke well of his club’s performance, stating, “we are pleased with the quality of our student-athletes and how well each team played during our fall ball schedule. Our 15U team fared very well on the field versus a combination of CPBL and FJSL competition. Our 16U team consolidated its roster and coaching staff to create a winning atmosphere on and off the field. Our 17U team is our strongest and most talented team that performed very well as it closed it’s FJSL Bubble season impressively and played very competitive baseball throughout the fall,” he said.

“17U players distinguished themselves at the end of the fall ball season in the Coaches-Players Game, turning outstanding double players, pitching effectively, and running the basepaths aggressively.”

Meanwhile, the 18u club also showed well. “The 18U Titans team got better and better as the fall season progressed as the coaching staff saw remarkable development on a virtually brand new roster of imported players. The 18U’s took 3 of 4 in their last full weekend of doubleheader days to take positive momentum into the offseason,” said Vera.

A member of the club’s 18u team, Eric Rutherford, was an attendee of the CPBL’s inaugural All-Star Showcase and represented the organization well. Vera said, “we were really excited to be able to send Titans players to the first CPBL All-Star Game. Eric is a 6.6 middle infielder that we were excited to watch versus the best of the best that weekend. Eric had some good battles at the plate and represented the Titans with pride,” 

Coming off of a solid fall, the Titans expect to compete in a strong CPBL; ‘looking at the program as a whole, we are really excited about the talent we have. While we know the CPBL will be tough competition, I believe we have the right coaches in place to get our players prepared for league competition,” said Vera.

17u Associate Head Coach Dennis Bailey expressed his admiration for the athletes in the organization as well. “This player group is something special and I am excited to get to work with each and every player and develop them into young adults and players. The future is bright north of the 401.” 

With many exciting developments taking place in the organization, the Titans are thrilled to start their journey in the Canadian Premier Baseball League come May.

Ontario Nationals

Organizational Spotlight: The Ontario Nationals look forward to their sixth year in the CPBL

The Ontario Nationals look forward to their sixth year in the Canadian Premier Baseball League, encouraged by the continuous progress and excited about the new additions to the organization. 

Team President Jeremy Jayaweera expects bigger and better things from his organization, particularly the 18u group. “The team is 95% homegrown talent from the age of 15 which is something really special to us. This team has pretty much been together since 15u. They continue to improve every season. They have always been at the top of the league since 15u, and heading into their final season with the Nationals we expect nothing less. There are a lot of veterans and experience on this team that will aid them in big situations come 2021,” he said.

The 18u club includes a dozen 2021 grads who have already found schools, with more to follow. While for Jayaweera, he hopes the final year for these players in a Nats uniform is advantageous for them moving forward. “As usual, we hope they finish off their Nationals career on a high note as they prepare for the next step of their careers.”

Aside from the 18u club, the Nationals have five other teams through the 14-18u levels and a staff in place that Jayaweera believes is very capable of teaching the players within the organization. “We have a lot of young players that are eager to begin development with us which fits perfectly with what we are trying to do with the program,” Jayaweera said. 

The Nationals have added a haul of new coaches; Mark Johnston, Dan Mendham, Todd Stronks, BJ York and Jason Borghese, Jake English, Chris Iltshishin. Bringing back former Nats players Andy Leader, Tyler Foslett, Mike Mueller, Rhys Cornell and Aidan Armitage as well. While they also hired Trevor Nyp as a Player Development Consultant. Joining program staples Ben Tinklin, Aaron McKay, Paul Grasby, Will Brooks, Zarley Cina and Jackson Martin.

From a training standpoint, the Nationals have brought in new technology. Adding Blast Motion, Rapsodo and HitTrax as “just another recruiting tool to help our players realize their potential and reach their goals.” And as a staff, Jayaweera stated; “we are motivated, dedicated and just happy we get to train every week.”

The first marquee event for the Nationals in the upcoming season is scheduled in March. “We are still scheduled to hit Florida for spring training at the [Prep Baseball Report] event. We have also set up some other pretty big events for our players to participate in,” Jayaweera said. 

Due to COVID, the 2020 season was shortened; however, the time spent outside was very beneficial to not only the current players but the graduating class. 

“In essence, I am just glad those guys got time to play and prepare before heading down south to school. They were exhibition games but we did not treat them that way. With everything going on in the world; the biggest highlight was playing baseball,” said Jayaweera. “I was just happy for our players and staff in general. After a winter of hard work, all the obstacles we had to overcome, we showed up every weekend and competed.”

Jayaweera added, “It is hard to put into words what being on the ball diamond meant to everyone. As an organization we were proud to be able to accomplish what we did.”

The Nationals look to “prove” what they are capable of doing as they get set to embark on what they hope is an exciting 2021 campaign.

Canadians’ Red team takes title at 15U division of the CPBL

Heading into the postseason of the Canadian Premier Baseball League’s 15U level, the Great Lake Canadians were looking to repeat the success they’d had last year — seeing both their Red and Black teams in the championship final battling it out to see who might have bragging rights for another year.

As the 15U playoffs dwindled down to the circuit’s final two teams this season, Great Lake replicated that success, with the Canadians’ Red squad — led by manager Brendan Saville — taking down the Black team — led by last year’s championship manager Derek Bloomfield — to secure the trophy for the program.

“It was an awesome experience,” Saville said. “It was really cool because it was my first year managing, so obviously these guys had a special place in my heart and I was so ecstatic for them. Earlier in the season, we lost to GLC Black in our tournament by one run in the last inning, and it was a tough way to lose and everyone was a little heartbroken. It certainly left a bad taste in my mouth.

“So it was really nice to see all the guys rise to the occasion to play, to beat an outstanding baseball team coached by an outstanding manager in Derek. I was really excited for those guys. It was a really cool visceral experience of happiness and joy. It’s always exciting to watch a bunch of young guys have the opportunity to experience success on the baseball field who have been working really hard all year.”

When Saville got his first glimpse of the squad he would be at the helm of for the 2019 season, he was excited about the potential it had, but didn’t know how far it would come in such a short time together.

“I originally thought the team was made up of a lot of really sound baseball players and that we had an opportunity to do something with the talent we started with, we were just really young,” Saville said. “I thought it was going to take a lot of work in terms of being able to specifically beat the Black team.

“We didn’t have the same size or physical ability and physical talent they had, and we were going to have to play a lot of small ball throughout the season to be successful. As the season progressed, things continued to grow and we started to thrive on ourselves. We were able to really show up when we needed to, in big games, and played some really sound baseball, especially on the defensive end. That most likely won us the championship and got us to where we were.”

Great Lake began its playoff weekend against the Fieldhouse Pirates, before a win led to a matchup against the Tri-City Giants, which helped propel the squad further into the tournament in more ways than one.

“Tri-City had really taken it to us all year pretty much,” Saville said. “For some reason, we weren’t playing well against them. It was probably our biggest win of the season in terms of momentum, winning that game. It was a good all-around team effort win, riding on the momentum of Fieldhouse and battling and battling…

“We had only won once against Tri-City all season and they had been the team we just couldn’t figure out, so obviously we wanted our guys to create the opportunity to unlock the lock with the key.”

Among the qualities his squad brought to the table throughout the season, there was one that stood out the most for Saville.

“The biggest thing that we talked about all year was trying to make sure not to give up and to really keep the energy alive,” he said. “We may not have had the same energy levels for every game, but when it came to a big opportunity or a tournament, the guys really rose to the occasion and specifically they played as a unit and as a team.

“It’s rare to find a group of 15-year-olds that comes together and is cohesive enough to actually play as a team and put all egos aside to win. These guys definitely did that and it was really fun to coach them.”

The championship was one of four for the Canadians program among the five levels of the CPBL, also winning at the 14U, 16U and 17U age groups, with the Ontario Blue Jays taking home the trophy from the 18U division.

“It cements itself as one of the top development organizations in the country,” Saville said of Great Lake. “To play in a league like that and to be able to walk away with four out of five is unheard of. If that’s not domination, I don’t know what is. Chris [Robinson] and Adam [Stern] and Shane [Davis] and everyone have done a really good job of piecing the puzzle together and we’re all ecstatic to be a part of that organization.

“There’s a really big sense of pride in being part of something that is clearly working and does it the right way…and then seeing those kind of results happen. The organization is flourishing and it’s cool to be a part of something so great.”

Great Lake’s Black squad secures championship at CPBL’s 14U level

From the start of the season, Matt Bowden, the manager of the Great Lake Canadians 14U Black squad, believed that if his squad played to the best of its ability throughout the year, it could be poised to secure another championship at the youngest level of the Canadian Premier Baseball League.

“At the beginning of the year, I thought for sure we would be a good team, especially having a lot of guys who were returning at 14U within the program,” Bowden said. “Looking at our team from the start, I thought we would have the pitching to definitely get deep into tournaments and to keep us in a lot of games and that was definitely something that came through throughout the season for us.”

Great Lake’s 14U Black team performed on all sides of the ball during the year, helping the squad to the top of the regular season leaderboard before capturing the trophy to cap it off.

“Offensively, we improved throughout the year, put together a lot of good at-bats and really grinded out at-bats and were able to push runs across that way,” the Canadians manager said. “Defensively we were solid, made the plays that we needed to, and it allowed us to stay in games and eventually come out on top.”

In Great Lake’s first game of the 14U postseason, it took on the Ontario Nationals team, securing a victory before matching up against Team Ontario for its second win. For the Canadians’ third win of the playoff tournament and for the championship, they played the Fieldhouse Pirates in back-to-back games, beating them twice.

“In the semi-finals against Fieldhouse, Trevor Syer pitched probably one of the best 14U games I’ve seen in the last couple of years,” Bowden said. “He used three pitches and was able to mow down a good-hitting lineup. Our offence was steady throughout, a lot of good at-bats finding ways to cash runners when we had them in scoring position.

“In the last game against Fieldhouse again, it was a complete team effort. All 14 guys on the team found a way to get in and contribute. I was really impressed by Ashton Graff-Rowe at the top of our order. He’s always finding a way to set the tone and really kickstart our offence there for the guys in the middle to do some damage. The bottom of our order also grinded out good at-bats, finding ways to get on base to roll that lineup over to the top again.”

Sealing the deal in the last win of the season, the elation of Bowden’s team spread to its coaching staff and was enjoyable for all involved.

“It was awesome,” he said. “Throughout the year they experienced a lot of success and they hadn’t really been rewarded with the kind of championships they were looking for, so to come through at the end and see it come to fruition and finish out on top was awesome to see. The group really bonded well together and you could tell they wanted to win not only for themselves but for each other.”

Among the characteristics that most impressed the skipper of Great Lake’s 14U Black team, there were two things that really stood out as the season progressed.

“Our pitching was something that we definitely really leaned on,” Bowden said. “Our starters were really able to give us good innings, get deep into their starts and keep us in games that way. Whether our bats were on or they were struggling a little bit, we felt we could lean on our arms to keep us close and keep us in games.

“The other thing that at least toward the end of the year that started to show up a little bit was the hitters starting to play selfless baseball, finding ways to move runners over or cash runners when we needed them. They really bought into the team game and didn’t care as much about the individual accolades, which was nice to see.”

The championship at the 14U level was one of four trophies the Great Lake program secured among the five total CPBL championships, also winning at the 15U, 16U and 17U levels, with the Ontario Blue Jays coming out on top of the 18U division.

“It just cements that this is one of the top programs, not only for development but as a perennial program throughout the country and throughout the province that is here to compete, here to win,” Bowden said. “At the end of the day, those weekends where we had four of five championships really showed the strength that we have in our program.”

15U, 16U and 17U Canadian Premier Baseball League playoffs set to start

Following championships at the youngest and oldest levels of the Canadian Premier Baseball League, with the Ontario Blue Jays taking the 18U crown and the Great Lake Canadians Black 14U squad earning a trophy, the league will see its next winners crowned at the 15U, 16U and 17U levels at the end of this week and over the upcoming weekend.

The 17U event is set to begin on Thursday and run until Saturday, with Sunday to be utilized if a rain date is needed. All 17U games will take place between the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in St. Marys and the Field of Dreams in Dorchester. Six teams will face a double-elimination format to see who will leave champions of the 2019 season after the Ontario Blue Jays Travers squad finished atop the regular season leaderboard.

The league’s 16U postseason play will take place over the same set of days, between Rivergrove Park in Mississauga and Stuart Burnett Field in Aurora, hosted by the Ontario Astros and the Ontario Blue Jays. At the 16U level, eight teams will battle through the double-elimination format to find a champion, after the Great Lake Canadians finished atop the standings at the end of the regular season.

At the 15U level, playoffs will begin on Wednesday and run through to Friday, with Saturday as an alternate date if necessary because of weather. Games will also be played at the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame as well as at the Field of Dreams, in addition to Citywide Sports Complex in London. The 15U champion will be crowned out of eight teams at the level, with the Great Lake Canadians Black squad coming out on top of the regular season standings.

As a reminder, the CPBL bylaws will be followed for all games. Matchups will be seven innings in length, and limited to two-and-a-half hours, with extra innings permitted within the time limitations. The higher seeded squad in the league standings will be the home team throughout the playoffs. The run rule remains in effect for the entire tournament.

If a game is tied as time expires, the international tie-breaker rule will come into effect. Each team will start their half of the inning with the previous two batters from the inning prior on first and second base with none out.

Games will run ahead of schedule when and wherever possible, and we wish the best of luck to all players and teams participating in the upcoming event.

14U Canadian Premier Baseball League playoffs set to get underway

As the summer continues and various age groups complete their seasons, the Canadian Premier Baseball League will see its next winner crowned at the 14U level.

The playoffs at the youngest age group in the circuit follow a win at the highest level of the CPBL by the Ontario Blue Jays, taking the 18U championship earlier this year.

Atop the 14U leaderboard to finish out the regular season sits the Great Lake Canadians Black squad, one that lost only three games all season long. Not far behind are two OBJ squads, with Collymore sitting at the No. 2 seed in the standings and Naylor in third place. All standings are based upon winning percentage, with ties taken into account.

The postseason for all 14U teams is set to begin this Thursday and finish on Saturday, with all games played between the Field of Dreams in Dorchester and the Rotary Field at the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in St. Marys, hosted by the GLC organization. Eight teams will face a double-elimination format to see who will leave champions of the 2019 season. Sunday will be utilized as a rain date for any 14U games that may be postponed throughout the postseason.

As a reminder, the CPBL bylaws will be followed for all games. Matchups will be seven innings in length, and limited to two-and-a-half hours, with extra innings permitted within the time limitations. The higher seeded squad in the league standings will be the home team throughout the playoffs. The run rule remains in effect for the entire tournament.

If a game is tied as time expires, the international tie-breaker rule will come into effect. Each team will start their half of the inning with the previous two batters from the inning prior on first and second base with none out.

Games will run ahead of schedule when and wherever possible, and we wish the best of luck to all players and teams participating in the upcoming event.

Ontario Blue Jays secure 2019 18U Canadian Premier Baseball League title

The Canadian Premier Baseball League has a new champion at the 18U level, with the Ontario Blue Jays coming out on top in the fourth season of the circuit to capture the trophy at the highest level.

After a slow start to the year, the Blue Jays surged through the end of the season. They won their final eight games of the CPBL regular season and tore through the playoff weekend, defeating the Ontario Astros, Great Lake Canadians and Toronto Mets to seal the championship victory.

“It’s always been a good group,” OBJ 18U manager Joe Ellison said. “They did well at 17U and moving ahead to us at 18U, they had a good fall. We started rough — I don’t think that’s a surprise to anybody — we were 2-8 to start off the year, but they bought into what we were preaching all year and by the end of it, they came out the team they were supposed to be at the beginning. Sometimes it just takes a little bit longer to get going.”

The biggest factor in getting the team going — on its way to the league title — was the leadership it had and the way its players rallied around it.

“We have a lot of guys who have been in our program for five years, and some for even six years in the cases of Lukas Barry and Blake Buckle,” Ellison said. “It was guys like that who the team rallied around when we were struggling.

“Buckle had a team meeting and pulled everybody aside and got us going back in the right direction. That was one of the biggest parts of it, having those senior leadership guys to be able to say, ‘This is the way we do things, and this is not how it should be, and this is how it needs to be,’ and that’s how it got done.”

The Blue Jays earned their way to the winners’ circle after defeating the Astros and Canadians in their first two games of the postseason tournament. They then played back-to-back-to-back games against the Mets, defeating the Toronto squad in their first attempt, dropping the second, and securing the trophy with an 8-5 win.

“I couldn’t be more happy,” the 18U OBJ manager said. “A lot of hard work goes into these teams, especially at the 18U level, and the 18U program has been something that we’ve really wanted to improve on the last couple of years.

“Finally to have it win a championship and get back to where it should be is really exciting for our program, and exciting for myself, the players, and the whole coaching staff.”

As the season continues south of the border for the Blue Jays this summer, the organization couldn’t be more excited about the competition and calibre of play the CPBL provided throughout the year at the 18U level.

“It’s huge for us,” Ellison said. “The addition of metal bats this year made it a little more exciting, definitely more of an offensive league this year. It challenged our pitchers and our position players to be much better and to take care of the baseball.

“For us, our next stop is to Flint, Michigan for the Connie Mack World Series qualifier, and to go in on a high note and in a really good spot as a team, I’m excited.”

Winning the league championship was the icing on the cake for a Blue Jays’ squad that showed a no-quit attitude all year long, and was truly an entire team effort come to fruition on Sunday.

“I go back to the leadership guys, the guys who have been around the block, who I really leaned on  to help right the ship with our 18U program,” Ellison said. “They did that, and I really couldn’t be any more proud of those guys and the team as a whole. Everybody contributed something throughout the year.

“Obviously when you get off to the start we did, the wheels could have come off really easily, but the guys pulled together and everybody played a role. Even though they might not have been in the championship game on Sunday, everyone did something this year to help us win and to get to where we were to give us that opportunity.”

18U playoffs set to get underway this weekend

With many regular season games left to play at the younger levels, the Canadian Premier Baseball League is set to head into postseason play at the highest age group in the circuit, with 18U playoff games getting underway beginning on Friday.

Games on Friday are set to begin at both the Field of Dreams in Dorchester and at the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in St. Marys, with matchups continuing throughout the weekend in Dorchester and hosted by the Great Lake Canadians. Six teams will be represented at the 18U level, one from each of the Fieldhouse Pirates, Great Lake Canadians, Ontario Astros, Ontario Blue Jays, Ontario Nationals and Toronto Mets organizations. Playoffs will be played in a double-elimination format.

The regular season saw the Toronto Mets finish atop the 18U leaderboard with an 18-4 record and a late surge, with the Mets winning 10 straight games to finish the regular season and head into playoffs with some momentum. Last year’s regular season and playoff champion at the 18U level, the Great Lake Canadians, finished second in regular-season standings at 16-5 — one-and-a-half games out of first place — and were followed by the Ontario Blue Jays, at 13-10 and five-and-a-half games behind the leaders.

CPBL bylaws will be followed for all games, and each matchup will be seven innings in length. The higher seed in the league standings from the regular season will be the home team throughout the championship. Run rules remain in effect for the entire tournament. Each game has a two-and-a-half-hour time limit, and regular extra innings are permitted during that time. If there is still a tie game at that mark, the international tie breaker procedure will come into effect, and each team will start with the previous two batters on first and second base with none out.

Games will run ahead of schedule where and whenever possible.

Toronto Mets Ryan Leitch and Keegan Pulford-Thorpe selected in 2019 MLB Draft

When two Toronto Mets players heard their names called during Major League Baseball’s draft on Wednesday, they couldn’t have been more excited, or more proud of each other.

Ryan Leitch, a 6-foot-2, 205-pound catcher from Whitby with a commitment to Marshall University was taken in the 29th round of the selection process by the Cincinnati Reds, becoming the fourth Canadian Premier Baseball League player off the board.

“Just being selected was the most exciting part of the draft, honestly,” the 17-year-old said. “Hearing my name being called was special. I’ve always dreamed about hearing, ‘Ryan Leitch, selected by a team,’ and then to hear it finally happen, it’s just surreal. I was at a loss for words when it happened.”

“It’s a huge honour. Having an opportunity to potentially play in the big leagues someday has always been a dream of mine, so for it to be able to become a reality is pretty awesome.”

Leitch was followed by Keegan Pulford-Thorpe, a 6-foot-4, 205-pound left-handed pitcher, committed to Central Florida University, who was taken by the San Diego Padres in the 33rd round.

“It was really exciting,” Pulford-Thorpe said. “I was actually just sitting down working on some homework, because I have an assignment due, and I got a call from an unknown number who I didn’t have a contact for. I didn’t really think much of it, so I picked it up and it was [Canadian scout] Murray Zuk from the Padres calling me, telling me I’d been drafted. Then I went on my phone and saw different messages from people, and it was an amazing feeling.”

Both players are incredibly grateful for the time they’ve spent with the Mets and the Canadian Junior National Team, that helped put them in a position to be choosing between impressive American college opportunities and the professional realm of the game.

“They’ve helped me a lot,” Leitch said. “They’ve gotten me out there exposure-wise, so scouts and coaches and people like that can see me play, and the Junior National Team is such a cool experience, getting a taste of what minor league baseball is really like and playing against all the pro guys.”

Added Pulford-Thorpe: “I owe them everything. The development I’ve gotten from those places is unbelievable. They’ve been the basis of everything that’s helped me accomplish everything. It’s been due to them. They’ve helped me make connections, helped me get onto teams, and to develop and get better. I can’t thank them enough.”

Through the 40 rounds of the draft, a total of 25 Canadian players were selected. The two young Mets couldn’t be more proud to be among them.

“It’s something special that being on the national team, we’ve all been working towards together,” Pulford-Thorpe said of being one of 25 selected. “We were all really pulling for each other. I was glued to the draft, not even looking for my name, but watching the other guys’ names come up throughout the day.

“It’s something special for all of us and we’re all kind of sharing it together. It’s not just one guy getting drafted when one of us is selected, we all worked together for that, so we all feel special about it.”

Both Mets players were just as excited to see one another’s name as they were their own.

“It was great,” Pulford-Thorpe said of seeing Leitch’s name. “He happened a little before me, so it was funny because he was saying, ‘You’re soon,’ and I kind of brushed it off and said, ‘I hope so.’ But I followed him and it’s awesome. It’s great to see him there too.”

Added Leitch: “I’m really proud of Keegan. He’s probably one of the most deserving guys I know. He works 24/7, he’s always trying to get better and to better himself, and he’s a good guy. I couldn’t be more proud of the guy.”

The entire Mets organization couldn’t be more proud of their players as they take their next steps in the game.

“It is always a proud and special moment when any of our current and former players are drafted and I am so happy for all of them,” Toronto Mets president of baseball Ryan McBride said. “This one, however, has special meaning for me personally. I remember the phone call from West Virginia when Ryan Leitch was born. He has worked extremely hard and it is very exciting to watch him begin to realize his baseball goals.”

Added coach Honsing Leung: “Keegan has been a part of the Mets family since 2016 and continues to be one of the leaders of the program through his dedication and hard work. He has a tireless work ethic and is a humble person, traits that will allow him to succeed at the next level, no matter what obstacles are thrown his way. We are all excited to see him progress in the future.”

Leitch and Pulford-Thorpe were two of just 25 Canadians selected in the 2019 draft, and a pair among six CPBL players chosen, joining Ontario Blue Jays Dasan Brown, TJ Schofield-Sam and Jaden Brown, taken in the third, 12th and 40th rounds, respectively, and Great Lake Canadians catcher Owen Diodati, selected in the 29th round.

Great Lake Canadians catcher Owen Diodati selected by Blue Jays in 2019 MLB Draft

Being selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in Major League Baseball’s draft was a dream come true for Great Lake Canadians catcher Owen Diodati.

The 6-foot-3, 210-pound left-handed-hitting backstop from Niagara Falls became the third Canadian Premier Baseball League player taken off the board and the third Canadian selected by the Blue Jays when Toronto called his name in the 29th round on Wednesday, with the 867th overall pick.

Though Diodati discussed his options with the Blue Jays during the selection process, the 17-year-old plans to fulfill his commitment to the University of Alabama.

“I had some discussions with [the Blue Jays on Tuesday] where it got really serious and it was a really hard decision for me to go to school,” Diodati said. “They made a pretty significant offer financially and it was a hard decision, so I didn’t think it would end up how it did, that they would still choose me.

“It says a lot about them as an organization and who they are as people. It was an exciting day for me, and it means a lot more coming from the Blue Jays especially because I don’t think there’s anyone I had a relationship with like the Blue Jays, and from top to bottom I knew everyone, and it was really special.”

Great Lake has seen firsthand how hard Diodati has worked to get to the point where he was able to have a decision to make between an impressive collegiate opportunity and professional baseball, and couldn’t be more proud of the young player.

“He’s been one of our hardest workers,” GLC director of baseball operations Chris Robinson said of Diodati. “He’s just the type of kid you don’t bet against. He’s a really mature kid on and off the field in terms of his approach to the game. Offensively, he’s got that professional approach already.

“I know there were some questions of whether he could catch, and I was impressed with how he went about that. He went and spent his entire off-season with a little bit of a chip on his shoulder to prove that he could catch, and it’s pretty cool today getting drafted as a catcher. That’s a cool thing for Owen because I know that’s something he believes in and he really wants to fulfill.”

Added Diodati: “The Blue Jays were one of the teams that really believed in me as a catcher and thought I could do well back there and stay behind the plate regardless of what the bat is and what usually happens to guys like me in pro baseball.

“That was something I talked to [Robinson] about from the very start – I wanted to catch. For them to believe in me and to draft me as a catcher, it’s definitely special. It speaks to the hard work I put it, but also drives me and fuels me to keep working, because I know it’s possible if I really want to do it.”

As Diodati continues his baseball career beyond the CPBL and the Canadian Junior National Team, the Canadians are confident in what he will bring with him to the next level.

“He’s going to work,” Robinson said. “That’s something that [Diodati’s parents] Jodi and Ryan have instilled in him and something that we saw immediately when he came here. So that’s what it’s going to be again, whether with the Jays or down in Alabama, he’s going to keep working.

“He’s got such a great disposition to him and he’s a great teammate, he keeps things light, but he’s the type who leads by example when he’s in the weight room or when he’s on the field or whatever. We’ll see similar things from him as he moves forward.”

Diodati was one of just 25 Canadians selected in the 2019 draft, and one of six CPBL players chosen, joining Ontario Blue Jays Dasan Brown, TJ Schofield-Sam and Jaden Brown, taken in the third, 12th and 40th rounds, respectively, and Toronto Mets Ryan Leitch and Keegan Pulford-Thorpe, selected in the 29th and 33rd rounds.

“It’s something I dreamed of since I was a little kid, and coming from the Blue Jays it means even more because that’s who I grew up watching,” Diodati said. “It’s so classy for them to make that pick after not working out a deal. And three years from now, when my draft year comes around again, it makes that relationship that much stronger. Today was amazing, and getting picked was a childhood dream come true.”