Elliott: The pros rate the T12 prospects they saw
Showcase MVP Tyson Gomm (Mississauga, Ont.), of the Ontario Terriers, signs an autograph after taking top honours at Tournament 12. Photos: Tyler King.
By Bob Elliott
Canadian Baseball Network
In all, 13 games were played at the seventh Tournament 12, down six from last year.
A home run derby was held and each of the six teams, down from two a year ago, had a one hour workout on scout day Tuesday to strut their stuff. Commissioner Robbie Alomar was there for each and every pitch … not to mention pro scouts and recruiters.
Alomar presented OF Owen Caissie (Burlington, Ont.) of the Fieldhouse Pirates with the belt for winning the home run derby. C Tyson Gomm (Mississauga, Ont.) of the Ontario Terriers earned the MVP award for the week.
Now that we know who won … who was the most impressive of the 136 players on display to the former major leaguers?
We asked Toronto Blue Jays alumni about the teenagers and who they enjoyed watching.
Duane Ward, two-time World Series winner.
(Alphabetical order)
SS Bryce Arnold (Grimsby, Ont.) Fieldhouse Pirates.
“He plays the game hard.”
OF David Calabrese (Maple, Ont.) Ontario Blue Jays.
“He really stepped up from last year.”
OF Owen Caissie (Burlington, Ont.) FieldHouse Pirates.
“I didn’t see his home runs in the final , but I saw enough. He has a great swing and he runs well.”
SS Austin Gomm (Mississauga, Ont.) Ontario Terriers.
“He belongs whether he is at short or in the batter’s box.”
RHP Matthew Grabmann (Dartmouth, NS), Northeast Pirates.
“He looked like he had a really good year. He reminded me of that RHP Mathieu Gauthier (Candiac, Que.) who flew in to pitch for Quebec, threw a no hitter and flew back to Montreal. (He’s now at NC State.) He’s a big sleeper, he just started pitching.”
SS Elijha Hammill (Oakville, Ont.) Ontario Terriers.
“Like him a lot, love the way he plays the game and he can swing it.”
RHP Theo Millas (Burnaby, BC) Langley Blaze.
“He threw the ball better than he did a year ago. I think he had a stretch like eight or nine strikes in his first 10 pitches.”
RHP Jack Seward (Port Moody, BC) Coquitlam Reds.
“He hit 91 MPH.”
“RHP Calvin Ziegler (Heidelnberg, Ont.) Tri-City Giants.
“You have to like 93 MPH when he had an injury in the spring.”
SS Bryce Arnold (Grimsby, Ont.) Fieldhouse Pirates.
Lloyd Moseby, inducted into the Canadian Hall of Fame in 2018, played in the majors 12 years.
(Alphabetical order)
SS Bryce Arnold (Grimsby, Ont.) FieldHouse Pirates.
“May have had a better year last year and I STILL like him.”
OF David Calabrese (Maple, Ont.) Ontario Blue Jays.
“He can run ... and no one can catch him.”
OF Owen Caissie (Burlington, Ont.) FieldHouse Pirates.
“An obvious pick.”
SS Elijha Hammill (Oakville, Ont.) Ontario Terriers.
“The last couple of days we talked. I told him not to look for the home run ... keep the ball on the ground. Next game he kept the ball out of the air and had some hits, stole some bases. He really has the talent. It’s a matter of someone loving him. He’s improved greatly over last September. It’s like he has a new coach or mentor.”
OF Joshua Jones (Blainville, Que.) ABC.
“He has really improved. Now I might be speaking with my heart but I have known the kid since he was a nine-year-old. We were doing a camp in Quebec and he got hit in the eye. His eye blew up. Joshua’s mom showed up the next day and said he had played his team’s game the night before. What a tough kid.”
RHP Conor Pote (Okotoks, Alta.) Okotoks Dawgs.
“He was wild, but I liked his fastball and arm speed. What? I didn’t even know his father (Lou Pote) played in the majors.”
3B Williams Camacho Soto (Burnaby, BC) Coquitlam Reds.
“He plays hard. The thing is he understands: this was a showcase, this was not a game. We had some coaches saying ‘C’om guys we can still win this.’ Well, there is no winner. But Williams? He just put his head down and ran to first just as quick as he could. He wanted to give the people behind home plate (scouts and recruiters) a good clocking.”
C Nicholas Thibodeau (Burlington, Ont.) Great Lake Canadians,
“Good size, good arm.”
LHP-1B Justin Thorsteinson (Langley, BC) Langley Blaze.
“He deserves to be on this list. It’s still too early to decide whether he belongs on the mound or as a position player.”
INF Alfonso Villalobos (Kirkland, Que.) ABC
INF Alfonso Villalobos (Kirkland, Que.) ABC
“He fields, he runs, he swings it. He has it going on.”
Honourable mention:: 3B Brody Alexandre (Swift Current, Sask.) Swift Current ‘57s; C-3B Max Grant (Fredericton, NB) Vauxhall Jets.
Jesse Barfield, former AL home run champion.
1. OF Owen Caissie (Burlington, Ont.) of the FieldHouse Pirates.
“He can hit. He has opposite field pop. He has a compact swing. He’s a ballplayer.
(Alphabetical order)
3B Brody Alexandre (Swift Current, Sask.) Swift Current ‘57s.
“What’s not to like about his swing.”
SS Bryce Arnold (Grimsby, Ont.) Fieldhouse Pirates.
“He’s aggressive. He’s smart. He uses the whole field of play. He hustles -- all the time.”
1B-OF Jason Begin (Sherbrooke, Que.) ABC.
“I liked his swing, his make-up and his approach.”
Ontario Blue Jays OF David Calabrese (Maple, Ont.)
OF David Calabrese (Maple, Ont.) Ontario Blue Jays.
“I saw him beat out a routine grounder to short. Man is he fast. He hits the ball line to line too.”
C-3B Connor Caskenette (Duncan, BC) Mid Island Pirates.
“He had a nice week.”
OF-3B Alejandro Cazorla Granados (Okotoks, Alta.) Okotoks Dawgs.
“Just a great swing which I really like. Granted he needs to work on his weight shift.”
3B Yohann Dessurealt (Trois-Riviers, Que.) ABC.
“He has a real strong swing.”
SS Yosuke Fujie (Mission, BC) Fraser Valley Cardinals.
“Liked his speed and the way he grips the bat. He needs to learn a few things ... like the rest of us.”
SS Austin Gomm (Mississauga, Ont.) Ontario Terriers.
“All-World is good enough for me.”
C-3B Max Grant (Fredericton, NB) Vauxhall Jets.
“I saw on the board one of his liners had an exit velocity of 94.9.”
SS Elijha Hammill (Oakville, Ont.) Ontario Terriers.
“He showed good plate discipline. He’s quick on his lower half.”
INF-RHP Drew Howard (Whitby, Ont.) of the Toronto Mets.
INF-RHP Drew Howard (Whitby, Ont.) Toronto Mets.
“I like him on the mound. Shortstop? I’m not mad at him, but I like him better when he’s pitching.”
OF Simon Menier (Chicoutmi, Que.), Alouettes Junior.
“He swings it well.”
INF CJ Maury (Brampton, Ont.) Toronto Mets.
“He’s another guy who can swing it.”
INF Austin Villalobos (Kirkland, Que.) ABC.
“I really like his swing and his form. He made some good plays in the field.”
C Russell Young (Surrey, BC) Langley Blaze.
“He hit some nice line drives that I saw.”
Honourable mention:: C-OF Kayden Gray (Wyoming, Ont.) Great Lake Canadians, RHP Anson McGorman (Parksville, BC) Vauxhall.
Sandy Alomar, Hall of Fame father, 15-year veteran.
1. OF David Calabrese (Maple, Ont.) Ontario Blue Jays.
“Fastest man in the building with a 6.4 60.”
(Alphabetical order)
3B Brody Alexandre (Swift Current, Sask.) Swift Current ‘57s.
“I really like his swing. He’s had good instruction.”
OF Darious Armorer (Whitby, Ont.) Ontario Blue Jays.
“Really, really like him, but he was like a lot of kids who came here and didn’t swing the bat enough.”
SS Bryce Arnold (Grimsby, Ont.) Fieldhouse Pirates.
“Like his swing, the way he plays and runs ... he was 6.7 in the 60. I know some guys will knock his size (5-foot-9) but if it was all about size. I never would have played. Fred Patek never would have played. Jose Altuve never would have played.”
OF Homer Bush, Jr. (Houston, Tex. Toronto born), Stix DFW.
“He had speed. He’s not a bad outfielder. And he has baseball skills.”
Home run derby champ-EEEN OF Owen Caissie (Burlington, Ont.) of the Fieldhouse Pirates.
OF Owen Caissie (Burlington, Ont.) FieldHouse Pirates.
“The ball can jump off his bat.”
LHP Caleb Clark (Orillia, Ont.) Great Lake Canadians.
“He was 84 MPH. He’s an 2021 ... he’ll get better.”
SS Mason Dobie (Meaford, Ont.) FieldHouse Pirates.
“Now he has a great swing.”
RHP-3B Vicarte Domingo (Vancouver, BC) UBC Thunder.
“I like his arm as a pitcher and I like his approach.”
RHP Matthew Duffy (Burlington, Ont.) Great Lake Canadians.
“His fastball is a bit sneaky, but the ball just jumps.”
3B-RHP Yohann Dessurealt (Trois-Rivieres, Que.) ABC.
“I like him as a player. More as a pitcher.”
SS Yosuke Fujie (Mission, BC) Fraser Valley Cardinals.
“He has an excellent approach and the plate and I like him in the field too.”
C Tyson Gomm (Mississauga, Ont.) Ontario Terriers.
“Really like his arm.”
C-3B Max Grant (Fredericton, NB) Vauxhall Jets.
“I like him a lot. He had some at-bats where he was really in the groove.”
SS-RHP Nick Gravel (Fall River, NS) Vauxhall Jets.
“Now, he is a good player. Strong with the glove.”
RHP Dominic Hambly (Victoria, BC) Victoria Mariners.
“I liked him at 85-87 MPH. He’s not next June, but a year from then.”
INF Elijha Hammill (Oakville, Ont.) of the Ontario Terriers.
SS Elijha Hammill (Oakville, Ont.) Ontario Terriers.
“What’s not to like about him?”
RHP Simon Lusignan (Varennes, Que.) Okotoks Dawgs.
“He’s a guy a lot of people liked. Good frame (6-foot-5, 195 pounder).”
INF CJ Maury (Brampton, Ont.) Toronto Mets.
“Showed strong defensive skills and ran a 6.8 60.”
RHP-3B Nelson Mercado (Brampton, Ont.) Ontario Blue Jays.
“I really like his arm. A big arm.”
OF Kierab Pook (London, Ont.) Great Lake Canadians.
“Love the way he goes at it. He plays hard. He ran a 6.6 60 and he’s a baby (2022).”
3B Ben Roberts (Burlington, Ont.) of the Great Lake Canadians.
3B Ben Roberts (Burlington, Ont.) Great Lake Canadians.
“Like him when he ran a 6.8.”
OF Riley Silva (Cambridge, Ont.) Great Lake Canadians.
“I had him at 6.8 in the 60.”
OF Caden Shapiro (Toronto, Ont.) Toronto Mets.
“He’s raw, but I really like his energy. He made a great throw from right to get a guy at the plate and almost threw out another one.”
3B Williams Camacho Soto (Burnaby, BC) Coquitlam Reds.
“Plays well in the field. Swings it good. And is serious about the game.”
INF Austin Villalobos (Kirkland, Que.) ABC.
“He swings the bat well and made some good plays in the infield.”
RHP William Watson (Brampton, Ont.) FieldHouse Pirates.
“He was 97 MPH with a sneaky fastball.”
RHP Nick Woodcock (Whitby, Ont.) Pickering Prospects.
“He was throwing 87 MPH and he’s a 2021.”
3B Dante Wright (Pickering Ont.) Ontario Terriers.
“Think he was 85 MPH when he threw.”
RHP Calvin Ziegler (Heidelnberg, Ont.) Tri-City Giants.
“No one else hit 93 MPH.”
Honourable mention:: RHP Gabriel Archambault (Laval, Que.) ABC, C Nicholas Thibodeau (Burlington, Ont.) Great Lake Canadians, RHP Theo Millas (Burnaby, BC) Langley Blaze.