Elliott: Kitura, Omidi, Powell, Sabourin attend East Coast Pro in Hoover

FieldHouse Pirates INF Robert Omidi (Mississauga, Ont.) singled in a run for the East Coast Pro Cardinals.

August 12, 2025

By Bob Elliott

Canadian Baseball Network

The ink was barely dry on the contracts of the draft class of 2025 when it was time to evaluate players for the 2026 draft.

Between 150 and 160 of the best high school players in the eastern United States and Canada were invited to Hoover, Alabama for four days for the 25th annual East Coast Pro Showcase.

Players were divided into six teams. They practiced together and played games against one another as the scouts and coaches evaluated, with roughly 400 scouts on hand at the Hoover Metropolitan Complex.

Third baseman Robert Omidi, one of four Canadians attending, singled and drove in a run as the East Coast Pro Cardinals edged the East Coast Pro Braves 7-5. Omidi (Mississauga, Ont.), of the FieldHouse Pirates and the Junior National Team, singled in the first run of the game batting third. Easton Kitura was 0-for-1.

Vauxhall Academy Jets Easton Kitura (Spruce Grove, Alta.)

Kitura (Spruce Grove, Alta.) was then hitless in one at-bat as the Cardinals lost 3-1 to the ECP Yankees. A Vauxhall Academy Jet and a member of the Junior National Team, he seldom pitches. Yet, the box score shows Kitura allowed two runs on three hits. Omidi was 0-for-2.

The Cardinals were managed by Jim Negrych, the northeast area scout for the Cards. A sixth-round pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2006, he played eight years in the minors, for the Bus, Florida Marlins, Washington Nationals and the Toronto Blue Jays. He spent 2013 with the triple-A Buffalo Bisons where he hit .285 in 108 games.

RHP Julian Sabourin (Hamilton, Ont.) of the Ontario Blue Jays.

RHP Julian Sabourin, of the Ontario Blue Jays, and RHP Noah Powell, of the Toronto Mets — both members of the Junior National Team — faced the ECP Rangers. Sabourin (Hamilton, Ont.), who had his fastball clocked at 93 MPH, allowed two runs -- one earned -- on two hits while striking out two in two innings. Headed for Oregon State, Sabourin entered in the third, with the Cardinals down 2-0.

RHP Noah Powell (Toronto, Ont.) of the Toronto Mets.

Powell pitched the final two innings, allowing one run on one hit while fanning one. The Missouri State commit entered with the Rangers ahead 7-2. Powell’s fastball sat at 90-91 MPH. Kitura was 0-for-2 with a walk.

And the Cardinals beat the ESP Twins 7-4 as Omidi was 0-for-3 and SS Kitura was hitless in his only at-bat.

Next up for the top high schoolers are the Area Codes Games.