Elliott: PG Day III - Brown, Buckle, Cronier, Diodati, Valero
DBacks Langley Blaze’s RHP Theo Millas (Aldergrove, BC), pitching here for the Team Canada Junior National Team in Ajax, helped his team clinch first place in pool play with three solid innings of work. Photo: Eddie Michels
By Bob Elliott
Canadian Baseball Network
The majority of the players in Jupiter, Fla. are strutting their stuff for scouts evaluating for the June 2019 draft -- less than eight months away.
RHP Theo Millas is impressing for the 2020 draft, 20 months away. Millas (Aldergrove, BC) pitched the DBacks Langley Blaze to a 6-4 win against the Midland Redskins at the Perfect Game’s 20th annual WWBA World Championship.
Millas earned the win over the highly-regarded Redskins pitching three innings allowing two runs -- one earned -- on two hits and two walks, as he struck out one. Millas hit 91mph with his fastball in his 41-pitch outing (68% strikes), averaging 88. The Blaze’s win wrapped up pool play undefeated to take top spot.
Ohio’s Evan Kemp worked 2 1/3 scoreless for coaches Doug Mathieson and Jamie Bodaly, while Puerto Rico’s Gabriel Hernandez retired both hitters he faced.
Hayden Pilmer (Leamington, Ont.) gave up two runs on one hit and a walk in his 22-pitch day (50% strikes), while averaging 84mph.
2B Ryan Beitel (Cloverdale, BC) was 2-for-4 day to maintain his .500 average through 4 games. Also for the Blaze, (Know When to) Holdem Cumiskey (Surrey, BC) added a single, while Daniel Martin (Langley, BC) drove in a run.
Pool Standings
Pool K
Teams PCT W L T RA RS
DBacks Langley Blaze 1.000 3 0 0 4 15
Diamond Devils .500 1 1 1 10 10
Rawlings National Scout Team .500 1 1 1 17 14
Midland Redskins .000 0 3 0 18 10
Neftaly Severino Cronier (Boisbriand, Que.) pitched four innings for the DBacks Langley Blaze, leaving with a 3-1 lead.
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Mid-tourney exhibition: Neftaly Severino Cronier (Boisbriand, Que.) started for DBacks Langley Blaze in a 6-4 loss to Georgia PG Texas Orange in an exhibition game.
Cronier worked four innings allowing one run on four hits and a walk, while striking out four. He had a 69-pitch start (65% strikes) hitting 86mph, while averaging 81. He left with a 3-1 lead.
Puerto Rico’s Hector Andrades gave up four runs -- three earned -- in 1 1/3 innings, while Ryan Melendez gave up one unearned run in 2/3 of an inning as Georgia PG Texas Orange scored five in the seventh.
Ontario Blue Jays OF Dasan Brown (Oakville, Ont.) had a base hit to score two in a loss to the Knights/eXposure Baseball. Photo: Adam Morissette.
Ontario Blue Jays lose first: Heading into the final game of pool play with a 2-0 mark, the Ontario Blue Jays lost its finale 6-5 to Knights/eXposure Baseball in a battle of the undefeated teams.
CF Dasan Brown (Oakville, Ont.) singled and knocked in a pair of runs, while C Blake Buckle (Milton, Ont.) had a pair of hits and knocked in one. Brown is hitting .444 through three games. Brown is ranked 347th-best player in North America by Perfect Game
TJ Schofield-Sam (Brampton, Ont.) doubled in a run while other hits went to David Coleman (Mississauga, Ont.) and Khalid Collymore (Mississauga, Ont.). Schofield-Sam is hitting .556 through three games, whhile Buckle is hitting .528 through three games. Buckle is ranked 477th-best player in North America by Perfect Game.
Adam Hill (Mississauga, Ont.) worked five innings giving up five runs on five hits while striking out three. He threw 79 pitches (64% strikes). His fastball was clocked at 86mph, averaging 84. Jacob Corby (Thornhill, Ont.) gave up one run on a hit and a walk as he worked 15 houses.
The Jays finished 2-1 in pool play with two losses in exhibition play.
Pool L
PCT W L T RA RS
Knights/eXposure Baseball 1.000 3 0 0 8 19
Ontario Blue Jays .667 2 1 0 10 22
Reds Midwest Scout Team .333 1 2 0 25 8
Sandlot Scout Team .000 0 3 0 16 10
Okotoks Dawgs Cesar Valero (Calgary, Alta.) singled and doubled for the Toronto Blue Jays Scout team. Photo: Tyler King
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Two knocks each: Okotoks Dawgs Cesar Valero (Calgary, Alta.) and Great Lake Canadian C Owen Diodati (Niagara Falls, Ont.) each had a pair of hits in a 9-3 loss Toronto Blue Jays Scout Team loss to the SWFL 2019 Nation.
The loss dropped the Toronto Blue Jays Scout Team to 0-3.
Diodati doubled, homered and drove in a pair of runs, while Valero doubled and singled.
Great Lake Canadians’ Owen Diodati (Niagara Falls, Ont.) homered and doubled for the Toronto Blue Jays Scout Team.
After Valero’s first-inning, two-out double, Diodati turned around a 2-1, 84mph fastball for an inside fastball with drive to centre. Diodati homered off Drew Brutcher, who earned the win. Brutcher gave up four hits, striking out one. He worked consistently in the 84-87mph range. Brutcher, from Lakeland, Fla., is ranked 500th-best player in the country by Perfect Game.
Pool D
PCT W L T RA RS
GBG Marucci 1.000 3 0 0 4 22
SWFL 2019 Nation .667 2 1 0 9 17
Upstate Mavericks .333 1 2 0 12 4
Toronto Blue Jays Scout Team .000 0 3 0 23 5
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One of three: OF Nathan Primeau (Laval, Que.) singled as Team Elite Nation lost a 6-0 decision to the Louisiana Knights. Primeau haad one of his tteam’s three hits.
Team Elite Nation was winless.
Pool Q
PCT W L T RA RS
Giants Scout Team/FTB 1.000 3 0 0 1 19
Louisiana Knights .667 2 1 0 12 12
Iowa Select .333 1 2 0 15 10
Team Elite Nation .000 0 3 0 14 1
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Watching: Okotoks Dawgs OF Micah McDowell (Coldbrook, NS) did not play as Baseball Northwest National score a 6-4 victory over Premier Baseball Futures.
Pool T
PCT W L T RA RS
Braves Scout Team/Team Elite 1.000 3 0 0 1 18
Baseball Northwest National .667 2 1 0 14 16
Richmond Braves .333 1 2 0 16 5
Premier Baseball Futures .000 0 3 0 17 9