“How competitive is Toronto Blue Jays reliever Louis Varland?
Competitive enough to sit down at his laptop and write a letter.
And another.
And another.
Varland’s older brother, Gus Varland, was pitching for the Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears. Did he plan on following in his brother’s footsteps as a legacy?
Far from it.”
Read MoreElliott: Hutar holds 'em as Guelph strands bases loaded in bottom of 9th
Read MoreLegendary scout Dick Groch, best known for scouting Derek Jeter for the New York Yankees, passed away on Wednesday at the age of 84.
Read MoreEach year, Bob Elliott asks some pro scouts and coaches to evaluate the best players at the Canadian Futures Showcase. Here’s what they had to say this year.
Read MoreTwo Canadian teams - the Canadian Premier and the Brewers/Langley Blaze - will be competing in the upcoming 27th annual Perfect Game World Wood Bat tournament in Jupiter, Fla.
Read MoreEach year at the Canadian Futures Showcase, we try to highlight a few players by asking them a series of questions. Here are the second four players that Bob Elliott connected with.
Read MoreEach year at the Canadian Futures Showcase, we try to highlight a few players by asking them a series of questions. Here are the first four players that Bob Elliott connected with.
Read More“The high school scene saw a seismic shift when the Toronto Blue Jays created Tournament 12 in 2014.
Later, it was renamed the Canadian Futures Showcase and it rolled into action earlier this month as the Blue Jays again showed they are solid corporate citizens.
Whether the player is from Comox, B.C., North York, Ont., or Dartmouth, N.S., the registration is the same for all players attending the event.
And now comes Baseball Canada’s Road to Okotoks, a true team national championship for 2026 for 19U players. It will be king of the hill, the best of all the events.”
Read MoreBob Elliott: Remembering Baseball Canada executive, coach, GM, international administrator Jim Baba (Moose Jaw, Sask.)
Read MoreOntario Blue Jays switch-hitting slugger Mikey Batiste is garnering a lot of attention from scouts at the Canadian Futures Showcase. His father, Michael, played in the NBA and is a coach with the Toronto Raptors. Bob Elliott spoke with both father and son at the Rogers Centre on Tuesday.
Read MoreAs the camera zoomed in on the crowd, during the Pittsburgh Pirates-Blue Jays game on Tuesday, Sportsnet’s Dan Shulman spoke about former Blue Jays cameraman Chris Dahl, who gave you pictures of the Blue Jays for 34 seasons. A Pittsburgh resident, Dahl wore a Blue Jays jersey and a Pirates cap to last night’s game. All the Dahl talk made Bob Elliott think of this piece he wrote back in 2016.
Read MoreFormer North Delta Blue Jays and White Rock Tritons OF Jordan Bach (Ladner, BC) is headed to the Kansas Jayhawks.
Read More“Sean Duncan is the top Canadian heading into the 2026 draft of high schoolers and collegians.
Duncan has been on the radar for three seasons, but now it is his time ... we’re inside 11 months of his draft. Rated 26th overall by the highly-respected Baseball America, Duncan made his debut in front of scouts who are looking in “the now.”
LHP Duncan (Port Coquitlam, BC) was one of three Canadians evaluated at the Area Code Games in Long Beach, Calif. Duncan is listed 105th by Perfect Game Scouting Service, after earlier having him as high as 35.”
Read More“It has been said that the game should be called perseverance.
Take Antoine Jean for example.
He didn’t have to battle a bad-hop single or a bad call on the black by the umpire.
Drafted in the 17th round in 2019 by the Minnesota Twins he turned down life-changing money for a high schooler attending Academy Baseball Canada. He said no to $495,000 US to pitch for the University of Alabama Crimson Tide. Initially he had committed verbally to Pitt.”
Read MoreBob Elliott: Was a successful draft for Canucks — thanks to high picks, college players and free-agent signs
Read MoreFor the first time in seven seasons, the family was all there to see Welland Jackfish infielder Brendan Luther (Mississauga, Ont.) play on Saturday night. Bob Elliott was also there.
Read MoreOntario Blue Jays alum Brendan Lawson (Toronto, Ont.) is impressing with the Brewster Whitecaps of the Cape Cod League. He owns a .368 batting average with three doubles, three homers and four RBIs. In the first 12 games, he has a 1.162 OPS.
Read MorePrior to the draft, veteran Philadelphia Phillies scout Alex Agostino liked what he saw from Charles Davalan who grew up and honed his skills half an hour away from Agostino’s hometown of St-Bruno, Que. Davalan was selected 41st overall by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Read More“What are the odds of finding the top-rated draft-eligible Canuck less than 15 weeks before the annual selection of high schoolers and collegians?
Over the years, we have found a few, yet we never have we found anything like this:
Santa Barbara Gauchos RHP Tyler Bremner.
Tyler was born in San Diego. His parents are Jason Bremner, of Mississauga, and Jennifer, of Queensville, Ont., north of Newmarket. They now call southern California home.
Tyler has a Canadian passport.
And he’s really good ... no, we mean really, really good.”
Read MoreThere’s a new player atop the Canadian Baseball Network’s 2025 Draft List. His name is Slater de Brun. The speedy outfielder lives in Bend, Ore., but thanks to his mom has a Canadian passport and would be eligible to play for Canada in the World Baseball Classic.
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