Elliott: Burrows’ all-Ontario team led by Axford, Bedard, Votto
Etobicoke Rangers’ grad Joey Votto.
By Bob Elliott
Canadian Baseball Network
Walt Burrows compiled a list last month.
You could say the compliation of the best players from British Columbia was quite popular.
Scouts, players and others asked Burrows to pick an all-time best roster for their province.
Please don’t be a pest and bother the man for a list of the all-time best from your province, your city, your town, your county or your street.
We’re had questions -- what about “what about the Butler brothers (Rob and Rich), Joe Siddall, Rob Ducey and even Reno Bertoia.” They were all before Burrows began scouting in 1991.
Burrows’ 28-man roster for Ontario is a team of players and pitchers he has seen while in the province. His count is 21 major leaguers.
Burrows’ best that he has seen since 1991?
Etobicoke Rangers alumnus Shawn Hill (Georgetown, Ont.)
Starters:
RHP Shawn Hill (Georgetown, Ont.) Etobicoke Rangers
Selected in sixth round of 2000 MLB draft from the Etobicoke Rangers by Montreal Expos scout Alex Agostino (St-Bruno, Que.)
In 45 games, all but one was a start, he was 10-18 and a 4.69 ERA, pitching 242 innings striking out 151.
Pitched parts of seven years for the Washington Nationals, Toronto Blue Jays, San Diego Padres and Montreal Expos.
LHP Erik Bedard (Navan, Ont.) Orleans Little League.
Chosen in the sixth round of the 1999 draft by the Baltimore Orioles from from Norwalk Community College.
He appeared in 241 games -- making 230 starts -- going 71-82 with a 3.99 ERA and one save. He pitched 1,303 2/3 innings strtiking out 1,246
In 11 seasons he pitched for the Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay Rays, Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Red Sox and the Orioles.
Former Ontario Terrier Cal QQuantrill (Port Hope, Ont.)
RHP Cal Quantrill (Port Hope, Ont.) Ontario Terriers
He was a first-round pick (eighth overall) of the San Diego Padres.
In 34 games -- making 19 starts -- he is 8-8 with a 4.71 ERA and has one save. He has whiffed 109 in 122 1/3 innings.
In two years he has pitched for the Cleveland Indians and the Padres.
RHP Jordan Romano (Markham, Ont.) Ontario Blue Jays
Drafted in in the 10th round by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2014 draft from Oral Roberts University.
In 32 games, he is 2-3 with a 4.50 ERA and two saves. He has fanned 42 in 30 innings.
Romano has pitched parts of the last two seasons with the big league Blue Jays.
RHP Jordan Balazovic (Mississauga, Ont.) Ontario Blue Jays
Was a fifth-round choice of the Minnesota Twins and signed by Burrows from the 2016 draft from the Ontario Blue Jays..
He is 18-12 with a 3.32 ERA and one save in 49 games, including 38 starts in the minors. He has struck out 252 in 227 2/3 innings
In four seasons within the Twins system, he has made stops with the rookie-class Gulf Coast Twins, class-A Cedar Rapids, class-A Fort Myers and in the playoffs pitched for double-A Pensacola. This spring, he was added to 60-player pool at the Twins alternate site.
Relief:
RHP Chris Leroux (Mississauga, Ont.) Team Ontario
Selected in the seventh round in the 2005 draft from Winthrop University, a school he entered as a catcher and was drafted as a pitcher by the Florida Marlins.
Was 1-3 with a 6.03 ERA in 65 big league games. He fanned 66 in 71 2/3 innings.
In parts of six seasons in the majors, he pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Yankees and the Marlins.
LHP Scott Diamond (Guelph, Ont.) Team Ontario
Signed as a free agent by the Minnesota Twins from his summer college team, weeks before he was to return to State University of New York at Binghamton for his senior year. Jim Ridley (Burlington, Ont.) was involved even though Diamond was signed off his summer college team.
Had a 19-27 record with a 4.50 ERA in 59 games, in which all but one outing was a start. He fanned 161 in 344 innings.
He played parts of four seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays and the Twins.
LHP Evan Grills (Whitby, Ont.) Ontario Blue Jays
Chosen by the Houston Asros in the 10th round by scout John Kosciak.
In the minors Grills had a 36-32 record with a 4.25 ERA and four saves in 185 games -- making 30 starts. He struck out 463 in 609 innings.
In nine seasons he pitched for the rookie-Class Gulf Coast Astros, class-A Lexington, class-A Tri-City, class-A Lancaster, class-A Quad Cities, double-A Corpus Christi and triple-A Fresno in the Houston organization. Then he moved on to double-A Hartford and triple-A Albuquerque in the Rockies chain. This year he is with Winnipeg in the independent American Association.
LHP Dave Davidson (Thorold, Ont.) Team Ontario
Selected in the 10th round of the 2002 draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
He appeared in three games in the majors without a record a 30.00 ERA. He struck out three in three games.
Davidson pitched parts of two seasons for the Florida Marlins and the Pirates.
LHP Connor Lillis-White (Etobicoke, Ont.) Etobicoke Rangers
Chosen by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the 32nd round of the 2015 draft from the University of British Columbia. He was signed by scout Don Archer.
He was 10-7 with a 3.35 ERA and five saves. In 110 appearances, he struck out 252 in 190 2/3 innings.
In four seasons, Lillis-White pitched for the rookie-class Arizona League Indians, class-A Burlington, rookie-class Orem, double-A Mobile, class-A Inland Empire and triple-A Salt Lake in the Angels organization.
RHP Chris Begg (Uxbridge, Ont.) Team Ontario
Signed as a free agent with Johnstown in the independent Frontier League in 2001 thanks to the hard-work of his former coach Greg (Chopper) Minor.
Was 67-37 with a 3.34 ERA in 165 professional games, making 133 starts, He struck out 532 in 894 2/3 innings.
In eight seasons, he pitched for double-A Norwich, class-A San Jose, double-A Connecticut and class-A Salem-Keizer in the San Francisco Giants system. He also pitched indy ball for Quebec, Albany-Colonie and Johnstown.
RHP Zach Pop (Brampton, Ont.) Ontario Blue Jays
Selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the seventh round of the 2017 draft from the University of Kentucky.
Pop is 11-11 with a 3.04 ERA in 127 games -- including 23 starts. He has struck out 197 in 236 2/3 innings.
In three seasons, Pop has pitched for the rookie-class Arizona League Dodgers, class-A Great Lakes and class-A Rancho Cucamonga ARin the Dodgers system. He was also at double-A Bowie after a trade with the Orioles.
RHP Brock Dykxhoorn (Goderich, Ont.) Ontario Nationals.
Chosen by the Houston Astros in the sixth round of the 2014 draft from Central Arizona College.
Dykxhoorn had a 39-23 record with a 4.37 ERA in 124 games -- making 92 starts, He struck out 473 in 556 innings.
In eight seasons he pitched for rookie-class Greeneville, class-A Quad Cities, class-A Lancaster, double-A Corpus Christi and triple-A Fresno in the Astros chain. He also pitched in Korea and this year is with Uni-President in the Chinese Pro League.
Closer:
RHP John Axford (Simcoe, Ont.) Team Ontario
Signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent in 2006, released and then resigned by the Milwaukee Brewers and scout Jay Lapp (London, Ont.) at a winter workout.
Was 38-34 with 144 saves in 543 games -- all but one in relief with a 3.87 ERA, He had 589 strikeouts in 525 1/3 innings.
Axford pitched 10 seasons for the Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland A’s, Colorado Rockies, Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Dodgers, Cleveland Indians and the Toronto Blue Jays.
Catchers:
George Kottaras (Markham, Ont.) Ontario Blue Jays
Selected by the San Diego Padres in the 20th round in the 2002 draft from the Connors State College Cowboys.
Batted .215 with 40 doubles, three triples, 32 homers, 101 RBIs and a .737 OPS in 313 games.
In parts of seven years, he played with the Milwaukee Brewers, Boston Red Sox, Kansas City Royals, St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland A’s, Cleveland Indians and the Toronto Blue Jays.
Luke Carlin (Hull, Que.) Ottawa Nationals/Ontario Blue Jays
Chosen by the Detroit Tigers in the 10th round in the 2002 draft from Northeastern University.
In 56 games, he batted .179 with four doubles, a triple, three homer, 11 RBIs with a .549 OPS.
He spent parts of four big league seasons with the San Diego Padres, Arizona Diamondbacks and Cleveland Indians.
Chris Robinson (Dorchester, Ont. London Badgers
Selected in the third round in the 2005 draft from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Robinson batted .167 including a home run and a .583 OPS.
He played eight games with the San Diego Padres.
First base
Joey Votto (Etobicoke, Ont.) Etobicoke Rangers
Selected in the second round by the Cincinnati Reds and signed by scout John Castlebury.
Has hit .305 with 408 doubles, 20 triples, 408 homers and a .938 OPS in 1,750 games. He has led the National League in on-base percentage seven seasons (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017 and 2018). He is also the active leader with a .420 OPS.
Votto is in his 14th year with the Reds, is under contract for three more seasons and Cincinnati has an option for 2024.
Second base
Pete Orr (Newmarket, Ont.) Ontario Blue Jays
Signed as a free agent by the Atlanta Braves and scout Bill Clark for the 2000 season.
Hit .257 with 24 doubles, eight triples, three homers, 46 RBIs and a .617 OPS in 443 games. He also stole 19 bases.
Orr, who wore the No. 4 and wore it well, played parts of eight seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies, Washington Nationals and the Braves.
Stubby Clapp (Windsor, Ont.) Windsor Selects
He was selected in the 36th round by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1996 from Texas Tech University. Legend has it that when Clapp was told he was drafted he replied “You can’t draft me into the Army ... I’m Canadian.”
Clapp hit .200 with two doubles, an RBI and a .511 OPS.
He played in 23 games in 2001 for the Cardinals under Hall of Fame manager Tony La Russa. Yet, he played 11 seasons in the minors and was a regular on the international stage, becoming known as Capt. Canada.
Third basemen
Jamie Romak (London, Ont.) London Badgers
Selected by the Atlanta Braves in the fourth round of the 2003 draft and signed by scout Lonnie Goldberg (Guelph, Ont.).
Romak hit .167 with three doubles, four RBIs and a .481 OPS. However in the last five years with the Yokohama Bay Stars (one year) in Japan and SK Wyverns (four) he has hit 133 homers peaking with 43 in 2018.
He played parts of two seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Ontario Blue Jays grad C Noah Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.)
Noah Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) Ontario Blue Jays.
Drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the first round (29th) in 2018, on the recommendation of scout Connor Glassey, from a Mississauga HS.
He has batted .250 with 21 doubles, 13 triples, 13 homers and a .746 OPS in two pro seasons.
Naylor played 140 games for the rookie-class Arizona League Indians-2 and class-A Lake County in his first two campaigns.
Shortstop
Adam Hall (London, Ont.) London Badgers/Great Lake Canadians
Drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the second round and signed by scout Chris Reitsma (Calgary, Alta.) in the 2017 draft from a London, HS.
Batted .301 with 32 doubles, eight triples, six homers, 71 RBIs and a .779 OPS.
Played 186 games with Rookie-class Gulf Coast Orioles, class-A Aberdeen and class-A Delmarva.
Left field:
Jacob Robson (Windsor, Ont.) Ontario Blue Jays.
Drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the eighth round in the 2016 draft from Mississippi State University.
Robson owns a .289 average with 80 doubles, 15 triples, 24 homers and a .783 OPS in 403 games. He also has 79 steals.
In four seasons, he has played at rookie-class Gulf coast Tigers West, class-A Connecticut, class-A West Michigan, class-A Lakeland, double-A Erie and triple-A Toledo.
Centre field:
Dalton Pompey (Mississauga, Ont.) Oakvile Royals.
Selected by the Toronto Blue Jays and scout Jamie Lehman (Brampton, Ont.) in the 16th round in the 2010 draft from a Mississauga HS.
Pompey batted .221 with nine doubles, two triples, three homers, 10 RBIs and a .662 OPS in 64 games.
He played parts of four seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays.
Adam Stern (Port Stanley, Ont.) Ontario Blue Jays
Chosen by the Atlanta Braves in the third round of the 2001 draft from University of Nebraska.
Hit .116 one double, one homer, seven RBIs and a .365 OPS in 54 games.
Played parts of four seasons with the Boston Red Sox, after being selected from the Braves in the Rule V draft, Baltimore Orioles and Milwaukee Brewers.
Former Ontario Blue Jays OF Josh Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) slides in safely.
Right field
Josh Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) Ontario Blue Jays
Taken by the Miami Marlins in the first round (12th overall) and signed by scout Steve Paynen in 2015 the draft from Mississauga, HS.
Has hit .249 with 15 doubles, one triple, nine home runs, 38 RBIs and a .700 OPS in 118 big league games.
Naylor has spent parts of two seasons with the San Diego Padres and the Cleveland Indians.
Former Ontario Blue Jay and Team Ontario slugger Scott Thorman (Cambridge, Ont.)
DH
Scott Thorman (Cambridge, Ont.) Ontario Blue Jays/Team Ontario
Drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 1st round (30th overall) in the 2000 draft from Cambridge HS.
Hit .222 with 29 doubles, six homers, 50 RBIs and a .667 OPS in 175 in 440 games.
Thorman played parts of two seasons with the Braves and now is a manager in the Kansas City Royals system.
That’s 21 major leaguers on the 28-man roster.
Had Burrows used the same criteria in BC as he did in Ontario -- players he scouted, not just BC Premier League players — Jason Bay (Trail, BC) would have been added to the list. That would have made it a 21-21 major league tie between the two provinces.
Who would win a mythical British Columbia-Ontario match up? BC has more pitching depth, but it would be a great matchup. It’s hard to imagine that many big leaguers from the two provinces. .
The Solution: We need someone to play a best-of-seven series between the BC and Ontario rosters with Strat-O-Matic to decide the winner. Or maybe Out of the Park Baseball 21.
Roster breakdown
Ontario Blue Jays 13, Team Ontario 6, Etobicoke Rangers 3, London Badgers 3, Great Lakes Canadians 1, Oakville Royals 1, Ontario Nationals 1, Ontario Terriers 1, Orleans Little League 1, Windsor Selects 1, Ottawa Nationals 1
Staff
General Manager: John Jepson (Toronto, Ont.) Toronto Mets/Terriers.
Manager: Greg Hamilton (Ottawa, Ont.) Baseball Canada
Bench coach: Bob Smyth (Ladysmith, BC) Etobicoke Rangers.
Pitching coach: Mike Steed (Burlington, Ont.) Ontario Blue Jays.
Infield Coach: Rick Johnson (Peterborough, Ont.) Ontario Terriers.
Hitting Coach: Greg O’Halloran (Mississauga, Ont.) Ontario Terriers.
On Deck
Quebec