Canadians await new crop of players from MLB Draft
For many young ballplayers, it'll be where it all begins. Come the 2013 First-Year Player Draft that takes place from June 6-8 in New Jersey, future major leaguers will hear their name called out and a new journey will begin.
For some of those individuals, that voice that selects them will come from the Toronto Blue Jays organization, meaning that for a portion of those select few, a trip to Nat Bailey Stadium will be in order. As the short-season A affiliate of the Blue Jays, the Vancouver Canadians end up as a summer destination for several of the Jays' top prospects after the draft.
Toronto has the 10th overall selection in the 2013 draft, marking the first time since 2007 that the club has had a top-10 pick. They also hold the 47th and 83rd picks, as well as the 10th pick in rounds 4 through 40.
The last couple of years have seen Toronto more inclined to select pitchers in the first round, as they have chosen 9 pitchers during their 11 first round picks since 2009. Two of those players, Aaron Sanchez and Noah Syndergaard, have made stops in Vancouver. From last year's draft, outfielder Dwight Smith Jr. was taken in the first round and spent some time playing for the C's.
This year once again sees the potential for a couple of players from Canada to be selected early in the draft. The two names tossed around the most are Tyler O'Neill, a heavy-hitting catcher from Langley, BC, and Cal Quantrill, a RHP from Port Hope, Ontario, as both have been projected to be drafted in the first two rounds.
O'Neill has drawn comparisons to current Blue Jays 3B Brett Lawrie, who is also from Langley and was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers as a catcher. However, O'Neill is believed to be more advanced than Lawrie was while at the same age; the 17-year-old is hitting .576 with 6 home runs and 47 RBIs for the Langley Blaze of the BC Premier League, and is ranked as the 63rd-best prospect in the draft by Baseball America.
Quantrill is a pitcher who's stock has been rising as of late, and he has a good shot of being drafted by the Jays. His father, Paul, was a relief pitcher in Toronto for six seasons - being named an All-Star once - and was hired by the club as a consultant in February. Cal is ranked as the 90th top prospect by Baseball America, and his fastball has reached 94 mph.
Other top Canadians prospects expected to go in the early rounds include hard-throwing LHP Rob Zastryzny, a native of Edmonton who is ranked 76th by Baseball America; RHP Nic Pivetta, a 6' 5" power arm from Victoria who has recently pitched at New Mexico Jr. College; and Malik Collymore, an quick infielder from Mississauga, Ontario who is number 190 on Baseball America's list.
The Vancouver Canadians will announce their 2013 Opening Day roster shortly after the conclusion of the draft, and the team will be unveiled on June 12 at Nat Bailey Stadium. The Northwest League season starts on June 14 when the C's hit the road to take on Tri-City, and Vancouver's home opener takes place on June 17 at Scotiabank Field at Nat Bailey Stadium.