Tag: Texas A&M

Dasan Brown a third-round pick of the Toronto Blue Jays

TORONTO – As the second day of Major League Baseball’s draft began on Tuesday, Dasan Brown quickly became the first Canadian taken off the board when the Toronto Blue Jays selected the speedy Ontario Blue Jays outfielder in the third round, with the 88th overall pick.

Consistently ranked atop the 2019 draft class as the selection process approached, Toronto had an inordinate amount of familiarity with Brown, a native of nearby Oakville. Not only had the Blue Jays seen him playing games in the Canadian Premier Baseball League with the OBJ program, and with the Canadian Junior National Team, but they also hosted him three times at their annual showcase for the best college-eligible players in the country, Tournament 12.

It was over those years that Brown showcased his propensity for growth, learning how to hone in on the tools that will help to carry him as he moves forward in his baseball career, as well as how to deal with the failures that baseball brings.

“When I first started playing with the Blue Jays, I just needed somewhere to play,” Brown said. “And [OBJ coaches] Sean Travers, Eddie Largy, Mike Steed, all those guys really took me in and helped me to understand it’s a game but you have to use your brain, you have to trust yourself, and trust your abilities. Once you can do that, the sky’s the limit.

“[Baseball Canada’s director of national teams] Greg Hamilton with [Team Canada] had a real calm approach with us. He really let us play and that’s what helped my development, just being about to go out there and make mistakes, go out there and struggle a little bit, so that I can bring myself up. It’s helped me.”

Witnessing Brown’s upbringing in Canadian baseball and seeing him on a plethora of occasions are the reasons the young player feels the Blue Jays believed in him enough to make him the top Canuck in the Draft.

“It helped a lot,” Brown said. “Just them knowing what kind of player they’re getting. They’ve seen the ups, they’ve seen the downs, so trying to take that neutral [look] and go to the next step of my life and potentially have the opportunity to [play professionally], I’m looking forward to it.”

Kory Lafreniere, Toronto’s coordinator of amateur scouting, was the scout who selected Brown on Tuesday, after years of seeing the young player in action.

“It was a cool moment just because he’s been with me through this entire process so just hearing that call, that’s pretty cool,” Brown said. “He basically said, ‘We’re glad to have you.’ I’ll have to make a decision, but this opportunity is something different, something special, so just being able to enjoy this and moving forward and making a decision, I’m looking forward to it.”

Brown is one of the fastest players in the 2019 Draft class — if not the fastest — with 70-grade speed according to MLB Pipeline, and 80-grade speed according to Baseball America, and the athletic outfielder has been consistently ranked as the best Canadian prospect this year. He should be a plus defender, and though there is much room for improvement at the plate, he was heavily scouted facing professional competition with Team Canada, giving an easy glimpse into his future.

“Dasan is a quick-twitch athletic outfielder who has the ability to change a game with the speed he plays at,” said OBJ 18U manager Joe Ellison. “His athleticism has been something we’ve seen since he was 15 years old, but his hard work has paid off in the cages to improve his ability to hit, and hit with power, over the last three years. He’s also the type of player who doesn’t shy away from leading a team both on and off the field.”

Brown earned his first shot at Team Canada late in ’17 and helped his country to a bronze medal at the COPABE U18 Pan Am Championships in Panama last fall. But in between, he had an eye-opening experience in his first glimpse of Minor League Spring Training, something he believes will help him as he moves forward.

“My very first Spring Training trip in 2018, we were coming out of the winter, so we were in gyms, batting cages, all that,” Brown said. “We went onto the field, and I was 16 at the time, and we were playing grown men.

“These guys had been [playing outside] for a couple weeks, and you can’t have a child’s mindset when you’re going into that environment. So it really forced me to grow up and forced me to understand that I’m not going to be the best player right now, but it just matters the progress I make.”

Brown will look to take that mindset with him as he makes his next move. The 17-year-old outfielder is committed to Texas A&M, and the Blue Jays will have to pull him away from the Aggies. The slot value for the No. 88 pick in the Draft is $678,600.

“Wherever Dasan ends up, whether it be with a professional organization or at Texas A&M, he will succeed,” Ellison said. “Dasan’s work ethic and athletic ability will carry him throughout the remainder of his baseball career, no matter the level. Wherever he ends up after this week, that organization is getting a first-class kid with incredible talent and athletic ability that could produce at the highest level as he continues to develop.”

A version of this story originally appeared on BlueJays.com.

Noah Naylor enters final summer with Blue Jays and Team Canada

The final countdown is on for Noah Naylor.

Entering his last summer with the Ontario Blue Jays and Canadian Junior National Team programs, the country’s top high school position-playing prospect is grateful for everything he’s been afforded through the process and is excited about what more lay ahead. 

“I’m very thankful to have been part of such a special team,” Naylor said. “I have been gifted with some amazing coaches and amazing players as teammates to play with, so I’m definitely going to miss that, whichever way I go. I’m going to take the time I have with them and make the most of it and play every day like it’s my last with these guys. 

“As of now, I’m just playing my game, working hard, and trying to make the best future I can possibly make for myself. Whichever way I go, whatever happens after the draft, I know it’s going to be a positive decision on my part so I’m just looking forward to it. I’m not trying to put too much pressure on myself. I’m looking forward to the process.” 

It’s been multiple years – and a variety of high-profile showcase tournaments and games – since the 18-year-old got his start with Team Canada, and since he made his collegiate commitment to the Texas A&M Aggies, and now that the last few months before this year’s draft process, and next season’s college recruits report to their respective schools are here, it seems as though it’s gone by in a flash. 

“Looking back at it now, it’s definitely gone pretty quick,” the Mississauga native said. “But I’ve done a pretty good job of taking everything I can from all those showcases and just doing what I can to have fun. That’s something I like to do with my game, just make sure I’m having fun with it. So although it’s gone pretty fast, I’m thankful I got these opportunities and I’m glad I’m moving forward.” 

Three years ago, another Naylor was in the same position, when Noah’s older brother Josh was preparing for Major League Baseball’s selection process as Canada’s top high school position player. Before Josh was made the 12th overall pick in the draft by the Miami Marlins, however, the process was a painstakingly slow one for the older Naylor. 

“Honestly it was really slow; it wasn’t fast at all,” Josh said. “It was really slow and I wish every day was quicker than what it was, because I would think about it all day and night. That’s anything thing I would change. 

“I should have not – not necessarily not cared but – paid as much attention to it, and maybe paid more attention to being with my family or doing something else to take the time to get out of my head, because it will eat you away and kill you inside if you think about it too much.” 

This time around, time is flying for Josh as he watches every move his brother makes, from near when he can and from afar as he continues his journey up the minor league ladder, currently with the Double-A San Antonio Missions in the San Diego Padres organization. 

“It’s going very fast watching Noah, especially because I’m not in it,” Josh said. “It’s going very fast and I think he realizes that too, so he feels a lot of pressure. When I’m with him, I try not to take about anything baseball-related because I don’t want him to go down the wrong road and start thinking too much and then his baseball game goes bad, but it is going extremely fast with him.” 

Noah is grateful for the experiences his brother has had, and everything he has shared in an attempt to make things easier for the younger Naylor as he goes through a similar process. 

“My brother Josh always tells me to have fun with it; it’s the most important part of it all,” Noah said. “Just stick to your game and whatever happens, happens. You can’t control everything that goes on with your career, so the stuff that you can control, just make sure you’re doing whatever you can to make your game better on and off the field.” 

Added Josh: “I’m extremely excited for him. I don’t want to think about it too much or talk to him about it too much or bring it up in family conversations because I don’t want him to feel any pressure. I just want him, on the day of [the draft] to relax and not get too anxious or worry too much about the things that can happen and can’t happen, because you can only control what you can control. It’s all about relaxing and if he goes where he should, then he does, and if he doesn’t, it’s not the end of the world.” 

A mainstay in the Canadian Junior National Team lineup both behind the dish and at the hot corner, the catcher and infielder has left a strong impression on his teammates and coaches, who can’t wait to see what more is in store for the young Naylor. 

“He’s really ready,” Baseball Canada’s director of national teams Greg Hamilton said. “He plays the game with an ease to it, he doesn’t get too high and he doesn’t get too low…He plays very consistent and very determined and very level. There is a fire in there, it’s just not necessarily extroverted, but it’s there. 

“He’s got everything that you’re looking for – he slows the game down offensively and defensively, he’s a special hitter, he’s a different hitter than his brother, but he’s going to be a really good hitter and a really good player.” 

Spending time both with and around the Ontario Blue Jays program for the majority of his life, the staff and players within Naylor’s local organization are also patiently waiting for the upcoming season to unfold. 

“It’s been a long time, and probably the last four or five yeas have been kind of just waiting for this year,” OBJ president and director of player development Sean Travers said. “He’s always been a special player and a special kid, and nothing has changed. He works his butt off, he’s still a really humble and great kid, and it’s fun to watch him do all of these things. 

“I’m sure he feels pressure, but to be able to go out there with a smile on his face and compete and just be Noah, he hasn’t changed. I’ve known him for 10 or 11 years and he hasn’t changed at all; he’s the same Noah as when we started. He’s always been super confident but also super humble, and the hardest worker in the building.” 

With his time as a Blue Jay and junior team member coming to a close, Naylor is looking forward to making his mark and helping the next group of players as they move forward and into his shoes. 

“We’ve got a younger group of guys now, so I’m going to try to help guide them to be the best that they can be,” he said. “Obviously me being with the Junior National Team for quite some time now, I’ve definitely learned a lot of things, so passing that down to the next generation is definitely something I’m going to do, just try to make everybody better and understand that Baseball Canada is a very unique program, so it’s a gift to be a part of this whole process. Have fun with it and take whatever you can away from that experience.”