JUCO best in show (case): Cymbalista, Gunderson, Hemmerling, Hepburn, Rienguette, Roy
Parkland Twins and AHP Renegades RHP Reece Hemmerling (Beaumont, Alta.) Barton County Community College.
October 4, 2023
By Bob Elliott
Canadian Baseball Network
The best from an 18-school conference gathered to strut their stuff for recruiters (from four-year schools) and pro scouts at the Perfect Game Jayhawk Junior College Showcase at Wichita State University in Wichita, Kan.
Six Canucks impressed the folks at Perfect Game: C Colin Cymbalista (Pickering, Ont.) and C Cody Gunderson (St. Malo, Man.) of the Hutchinson Blue Dragons, RHP Reece Hemmerling (Beaumont, Alta.) Barton Cougars, C Kyle Hepburn (Richmond, BC) Johnson County Cavaliers, RHP Scott Rienguette (Sudbury, Ont.) and INF Gavin Roy (Sudbury, Ont.) Cloud County T-Birds.
Jayhawk West
Former Sudbury Voyageurs RHP Scott Rienguette (Sudbury, Ont.) of Cloud County.
Sudbury Voyageurs RHP Scott Rienguette (Sudbury, Ont.) Cloud County Community College.
Dazzled at the Jayhawk Sophomore Showcase all-star game this year. An elite spin metric profile with each offering. Fastball sat 90-92 with burst and deceptive carry. Spinning above 2700 RPM the pitch played especially well as a swing and miss offering up in the zone. Showed two distinct breaking balls both with average spin over 3000 RPM, with the slider spinning at times above 3300 RPM. Sharp and efficient snapping break to both that have the traits to miss bats regularly. This is one of the more unique arm talents not just in the Jayhawk conference but in all of junior college baseball this season.
_ -Blaine Peterson.
Former Terriers C Colin Cymbalista (Pickering, Ont.) of the Hutchinson Blue Dragons.
Terriers’ C Colin Cymbalista (Pickering, Ont.) Hutchinson Community College.
Day 2 of the annual PG Jayhawk JUCO Showcase saw us take a look through the teams from the West division within the Jayhawk Conference, and once again, lots of talent was on display. Cymbalista looked to me like potentially the best all-around catching prospect in attendance, given the well-roundedness of his present game. Cymbalista, who hit .272 with 10 homers a year ago as a freshman in part-time play, had a great day both through his showcase testing and into game play, where he picked up a couple knocks including a double. He’s a strongly-built catcher who takes a full stride into his swing from the right side of the plate, coiling well in his back hip before exploding out and creating good torque and rotational strength in his core. The barrel follows with above-average bat speed and he maintains a pretty good path to and through the zone as well, showing the ability to beat velocity to the spot out front and do damage. He’s a good receiver behind the plate, capable of moving laterally to block balls with good efficiency and quickness, and has quality arm strength as well. He popped as low as 1.90 seconds during workouts and was clocked up to 78 mph on his throws down to 2nd base during those same workouts. This looks to be a well-rounded player who can impact the game in several ways, and he seems poised for a huge season in 2024.
Carillon Sultans’ C Cody Gunderson (St. Malo, Man.) of the Blue Dragons
Carillon Sultans C Cody Gunderson (St. Malo, Man.) Hutchinson Community College.
Another Hutchinson catcher who stood out was Gunderson, who, like Cymbalista, is a native Canadian starting his collegiate career at a Kansas JUCO. Gunderson is big and physical at 6-3/215, and he saw quite a bit of playing time for the Blue Dragons a year ago, where he slashed .367/.478/.660 with 14 doubles and 10 bombs, and he looks poised to have a truly monster year in 2024. The offensive tools stand out, as Gunderson has plus raw power from the right side of the plate and shows enough traits to be able to get to that power in game play. He gets the barrel in a good launch position as he loads, getting it on plane early and accelerating it on the proper path through contact, with quality bat speed and obvious physical strength at the point of contact. He can use the whole field for power and has the ability to really work gap-to-gap with the aforementioned power, and I don’t think it would come as a surprise to anyone if he hits 20 bombs this spring. Behind the plate, the arm strength stands out as the best tool right now, reaching 82 mph during workouts when throwing down to 2nd base and popping as low as 1.97 seconds.
Former Parkland Twins and AHP Renegades RHP Reece Hemmerling (Beaumont, Alta.) of Barton County.
Parkland Twins and AHP Renegades RHP Reece Hemmerling (Beaumont, Alta.) Barton County Community College.
A real high level pitchability right-hander that showed a 4-pitch mix with a high level ability to spin the breaking ball. Had a top 2 average breaking ball spin rate at the Jayhawk Sophomore Showcase and showed the ability to locate effectively. Fastball sat in the mid to upper 80’s topping out at 88 and was consistently located to the edges or ran up and in to right-handed hitters. Curve was thrown effectively to both right-handed and left-handed hitters, the slider showed real swing and miss traits. And the ability to mix the stuff, changing speeds and eye levels is very effective.
Former Sudbury Voyagerus INF Gavin Roy (Sudbury, Ont.) of Cloud County.
Sudbury Voyagerus INF Gavin Roy (Sudbury, Ont.) Cloud County Community College.
Roy didn’t record any hits in game during this event, but he’s still a player who stands out given all he can do on a baseball field. Roy slashed .337/.468/.521 last season as a freshman with 25 steals and 17 extra base hits while doing a good job of controlling his strikeouts and walking at a solid clip. He’s a bit undersized, but moves well athletically and shows innate balance and internal clock when at shortstop, showing good hand actions and a quick, accurate release across the diamond. The right handed swing is quick and compact and built well for his high-contact approach, with the barrel skills necessary to cover the plate well and use the whole field.
_ Brian Sakowski
Ex North Delta Blue Jay C Kyle Hepburn (Richmond, BC) of Johnson County
Jayhawk East
North Delta Blue Jays C Kyle Hepburn (Richmond, BC) Johnson County Community College.
I was impressed by the catching of C Hepburn who showed well in terms of metrics, popping as low as 2.00 seconds in the workout and throwing 80 mph from behind the plate. He’s a solidly-built backstop with good overall size, and stands out for his ability to generate true four seam carry on his throws down to second base, something we didn’t necessarily see a ton of in this event. The athleticism and arm strength are solid, and he has a good bit of experience having seen time as a freshman last spring. He also had a pair of hits during the all-star game portion, with a double and a single to his credit in three trips to the plate. He does a good job of attacking pitches on both halves of the plate, and has the strength necessary to drive breaking balls up gaps. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him approach double-digit home runs next spring, all while playing quality defense behind the plate. Johnson County is, per usual, rich at the catcher position.
- Brian Sakowski
The other Canucks invited were
RHP Curtis Anderson (Sherwood Park, Alta.), Pratt
RHP Lincoln Butt (Sherwood Park, Alta.), Pratt
RHP Myles Chamberlain (Victoria, BC) Cloud County
RHP Anthony Chatwood (Innisfail, Alta.) Colby
OF Austin Coyle (Kamloops, BC) Pratt
RHP John Decoste (Truro, NS), Garden City
3B Adrian Dominguez (Vaughan, Ont.), Dodge City
INF Alex Ellert (White City, Sask.) Butler
1B Joe Gagnon (Calgary, Alta.) Western Oklahoma State
RHP Ethan Giesbrecht (Altona, Man.) Hutchison
RHP Dylan Graw (Vancouver Island, BC) Highland
INF Hank Griffin (Okotoks, Alta.) Bossier Parish
C Ayden Hadley (Langley, BC) Butler
LHP Owen Harriott (Red Deer County, Alta.) Colby
RHP Kohly Huber (Red Deer, Alta.) Colby
RHP Carson Latimer (Delta, BC) Cloud County
RHP-OF Matthew Mackenzie (Vaughan, NS) Colby
RHP Matt Marzec (Burlington, Ont.) Colby
C Dylan Shepherd (Barrie, Ont.) Highland
OF Demitri Shakotko (Fredericton, NB) Cloud County
3B Carter Roth (Stratford, Ont.) Colby
INF Jakob Poturnak (Vancouver, BC) Cloud County
RHP Ethan Price (Bowmanville, Ont.) Cloud County
3B Olivier Vallee (Beloeil, Que.) Colby
OF Lucas Vincent (Stouffville, Ont.) Colby
1B Adam Vulcano (Cloverdale, BC) Colby
LHP Wil Yamka (Oakville, Ont.) Cloud County