Rodriguez wins Canadian Futures Showcase Home Run Derby
Daril Rodriguez (Red Deer, Alta.), of St. Joseph’s Ball Academy, won the 2025 Canadian Futures Showcase Home Run Derby at Rogers Centre on Friday morning. Photo: Trevor Fitzpatrick
September 19, 2025
By Trevor Fitzpatrick
Canadian Baseball Network
For a third straight year, a prospect from an Alberta academy has been crowned the Canadian Futures Showcase Home Run Derby champion.
It was Daril Rodriguez (Red Deer, Alta.), of St. Joseph’s Ball Academy, who dialed up the three-peat, belting 17 total home runs across two rounds (two minutes each, with a 30-second timeout available).
The slugger did just enough to earn the final of three spots in the second round, hitting six home runs to edge out Quinn Lightfoot (Caledon, Ont.) who hit five.
There, he kicked his swing into overdrive, mashing 11 long balls to beat Connor Comeau’s nine and Zach Barker’s (Bolton, Ont.) six.
“It’s just surreal, I’ve dreamed of this,” said Rodriguez about his win, “I can’t even really explain it to be honest, I feel so excited.”
Daril Rodriguez (Red Deer, Alta.), of St. Joseph’s Ball Academy, prepares to sock a ball over the wall during the 2025 Canadian Futures Showcase Home Run Derby at Rogers Centre on Friday morning. Photo: Trevor Fitzpatrick
His win to complete the three-peat follows a 2023 win by Nathan Flewelling (Red Deer, Alta.), also a St. Joseph’s Ball Academy alumni, and a 2024 win from Tim Piasentin (Coquitlam, BC), an Okotoks Dawgs Academy grad.
Both of those players were taken in recent MLB drafts. Flewelling was taken in the third round of the 2024 draft by the Tampa Bay Rays, and Piasentin in the fifth round of the 2025 draft by the Toronto Blue Jays.
“It makes me feel good to let people know that Alberta has really good baseball players, and we’re definitely on the map,” Rodriguez said, “I’m proud to represent Alberta.”
As the only St. Joseph’s Ball Academy player at the 2025 Futures Showcase, Rodriguez has certainly represented them well. During scout day, he was barreling balls over 100 mph.
The young slugger has also been one of the biggest contributors for his Team Grey throughout the week, collecting four RBIs. His performance helped earn Team Grey a spot in the Championship Game against Team Royal.
“I have to thank Jason Chatwood, Scott Murray, all of my coaches, I thank them very much, because without them, I wouldn’t be here.”
The home run totals:
Round 1:
Zach Barker: 11
Connor Comeau: 9
Daril Rodriguez: 6
Quinn Lightfoot: 5
Mikey Batiste (Mississauga, Ont.): 4
Jalen Jacob (Maple, Ont.): 3
Connor Comeau (Pflugerville, Tex.), who’s competed at this year’s Canadian Futures Showcase thanks to his father’s Montreal roots, finished second in the Home Run Derby. Photo: Trevor Fitzpatrick
Round 2:
Rodriguez: 11 (Champion)
Comeau: 9
Barker: 6