Great Lake Canadians' Jimenez leads Team Black to win in 2029 CPBL Prospect Game
Great Lake Canadians third baseman Mattias Jimenez had a single, a triple, a walk and four RBIs in the 2029 CPBL Prospect Game at Royal Field in Dorchester, Ont., on Friday. Photo: Perfect Game International
July 31, 2026
By Kevin Glew
Canadian Baseball Network
It was a home field hero that led Team Black to a 12-7 win over Team White in the 2029 Canadian Premier Baseball League Prospect Game at Royal Field in Dorchester, Ont., on Friday.
Batting cleanup for Team Black, Great Lake Canadians (GLC) third baseman Mattias Jimenez had two hits – including a triple – and knocked in four runs. He also walked and scored twice.
And for good measure, Jimenez also made an outstanding play at third base in the eighth inning on a softly hit ground ball with some backspin by Team White leadoff hitter Victor Rengel-Lopez (Mississauga, Ont.). Jimenez charged the ball and threw off balance to get the speedy Ontario Blue Jays outfielder at first.
"It feels awesome," said Jimenez of his performance. "It's a great opportunity to play in the prospects game here . . . It's also really good to win the game."
Jimenez hails from the Dominican Republic and has been with GLC since 2023. His favourite major league player is third baseman Manny Machado. His play in the eighth inning was vintage Machado.
On Team White, it was right fielder Jacob Gagnon (Quebec, Que.) who starred. He went 2-for-3 with a ground rule double, a triple, two runs and two stolen bases. For his efforts, the ABC product was named the game's Most Valuable Player.
"It feels really good," said Gagnon about the honour after the game, adding that it ranked among the top awards he has received.
Gagnon and his family drove 10 hours from Quebec City to be at the event.
Unfortunately for him, his team got behind early and couldn't recover.
Team Black scored four runs on five hits and a walk in the first inning off ABC right-hander Matis Trahan (Mercier, Que.) who was replaced by Toronto Mets righty Nate Hill (Markham, Ont.) with two outs.
Team Black leadoff hitter Jake Anderson (Toronto, Ont.), of the Ontario Blue Jays, got things started with a single and promptly stole second. It was his first of four stolen bases in the contest. He would score on a two-run single to right by Jimenez.
Team Black added another run in the third when Anderson walked to start the inning and stole second and third before crossing the plate on a ground out to short by Jimenez.
Team White got on the board in the fourth when first baseman Nathan Zaretsky (King City, Ont.), of the Ontario Astros, clubbed a ground-rule double to left and Gagnon followed with a triple.
Team Black made it 6-1 in the sixth inning when shortstop Victor Lauziere (Greenfield Park, Que.), of ABC, walked and Jimenez tripled him home.
Team White responded with a run in the bottom of the frame when Rengel-Lopez walked and stole second. He was then held at third on a single by Braylon Stern (London, Ont.), of GLC, before he scored on a sacrifice fly to centre field by Grayson Mowat (Toronto, Ont.) of the Toronto Mets.
Team White added two more runs the following frame when Gagnon led off with a walk and stole second and third and scored on a fielder's choice grounder to second base by J.J. Agustin (Concord, Ont.), of the Ontario Blue Jays. Agustin later scored on an RBI single by Nate Hill to make it 6-4.
But the game unraveled for Team White in the top of the ninth when Team Black scored six runs on four walks and four hits. Blake Woolburgh (Toronto, Ont.), of the Ontario Blue Jays, delivered a two-run single for Team Black in the frame.
Team White did manage to plate three runs in the bottom of the ninth to make it 12-7. Two of the runs came in on wild pitches and one via an RBI single from Carson Slezsak (Brantford, Ont.), of GLC.
Friday's game featured the CPBL's top 15- and 16-year-old players.
The 2027 and 2028 Prospects Games are scheduled for Saturday at Royal Field in Dorchester, Ont., while the 14U Minor and Major games will go on Sunday.
The CPBL holds Prospects games following their season each year to showcase the league's top talent to prospective colleges.
One of deepest crops of CPBL prospects
Jamie Romak, Great Lake Canadians director of player performance, says the crop of 15- and 16-year-olds playing in the 2029 CPBL Prospect Game on Friday were one of CPBL's deepest yet.
"The 2008 birth year - so the 2026 prospects - were super strong, but these kids remind me of that class," said Romak. "It's really deep. It's athletic in the middle. There are some big arms on the mound. I'm guessing we'll see two or three arms at 90 miles per hour tonight . . . It's a very impressive class of kids and I'm super excited for the future of Canadian baseball."
Romak expects representatives from about 20 colleges and universities to be present at Royal Field over the weekend to take in the Prospect games.
"These (Prospect games) have really become the premier recruiting event for what we do in the CPBL," said Romak. "It's a great event for schools to come and find top Canadian talent. It's also another great opportunity for these kids to play amongst the best players around the league that they have spent the whole summer competing against."
Over the years, the CPBL has developed over 180 MLB draft picks, 22 pro players and 57 junior national team players. CPBL players have also secured more than 800 college commitments.