By Eric Cruikshank

TORONTO - Jordan Jacob’s two-run triple headlined a three-run rally in the bottom of the sixth from Team Grey, as they went on to defeat Team New Blue 7-2 in the opening game of the 2024 Canadian Futures Showcase at Rogers Centre, on Wednesday.

After Logan Booth (Chilliwack, B.C.) hit a single that sent shortstop Miguel Tetreault (Fort McMurray, Alta.) from first to third, Jacob (Maple, Ont.) launched a ball to deep centre field, nearly reaching the warning track and scoring both runners to make it 3-2 and give Team Grey its first lead of the game.

“I think my approach was ‘See fastball, hit fastball’,” Jacob said postgame of his plate approach leading up to the game-changing hit.

Jacob, who has committed to play for the University of Pittsburgh, also added two walks and stole two bases in Wednesday morning’s contest, earning the first Player of the Game award of the 2024 Showcase.

“It means a lot,” Jacob added. “It’s a top tournament in Canada with a bunch of top players, so It's just fun to be here and compete.”

Right-hander Keegan Russell (Whitby, Ont.) started the game for Team Grey and recorded three strikeouts on 69 pitches in two innings. Jackson Long (Guelph, Ont.) and Robert Scalzo (Brentwood Bay, Alta.) came in relief for Russell to close out the victory in the final five innings.

Lukas McDowell (Kingston, Ont.) took the mound for Team New Blue and finished with six strikeouts on 45 pitches, allowing just one hit through three innings in a losing effort.

McDowell, 17, who has yet to commit to a college baseball program, threw 45 pitches and allowed just one hit through three innings. Centre fielder Langdyn Cummins (Vauxhall, Alta.) had Team New Blue’s only RBI in the bottom of the second with a double to right field.

“I think my slider was really working today,” the 6-foot-8 McDowell said postgame. “I was also able to spot my fastball in spots where it needed to be, whether inside or outside. I really think the slider was working and getting guys chasing.”

Matis Rodrigue (Montreal, Que.) and Nathaniel Chambers (Mississauga, Ont.) came in relief for McDowell, with Chambers giving up three runs on 24 pitches in the sixth. After Jacob’s triple managed to give Team Grey a 3-2 lead, Chambers threw a wild pitch that would allow Jacob to safely score and secure the victory.

By Evan Davidson

TORONTO — Ben Goodacre (Ancaster, Ont.) went two innings of one hit, four strikeout work on Wednesday, during which he delivered the fastest recorded pitch in the 10-year history of the Toronto Blue Jays Futures Tournament – 95.6 mph.

The right-hander, who turned 18 five days ago, is a University of West Virginia verbal commit who is also on the radar of many Major League Baseball scouts.

“I was pretty proud of it. I’ve worked very hard to get here,” said the 6-foot-4 righty, who was chosen Player of the Game, as Team Black beat Team Royal, 4-0. “I hope I make the all-star game to try and beat that (speed).”

Luke Foulds (Thunder Bay, Ont.) followed with two innings of one-hit ball, and Hank Lloyd (Toronto) got the final nine outs.

“I think we had great team game,” said Goodacre. “All of the pitchers pitched really well, I was happy with my performance as well, and we got the win so I’m happy with it.”

Benji Kautto (Toronto), who started off as the designated hitter before moving to first base, went 1-3 with an RBI and one run scored, and Owen Ralph (Toronto) went 0-2 with two RBIs for Team Black.

Kautto drove in the winning run on a sacrifice fly in the top of the first inning, scoring Elliot Lascelles (Toronto). after a leadoff double to left-centre.

University of Portland commit Landon Kauffman (Vancouver, B.C.) also added an RBI in the third inning on a ground out to third.

Robert Omidi (Oakville, Ont.) led the way for Team Royal going 2-for-3 while Zachary Landreville (St-Jerome, Que.) was on the bump to start. The righty threw three innings, allowing three runs on two hits and four walks, while striking out four.

Right fielder Quinn Carson (Oakville, Ont.) added a triple to deep left-centre in the bottom of the fourth.

The outfielder was one of only two baserunners to reach third base for Team Royal. Carson is committed to the University of Missouri.

By Zachary Phillips

Mathis McKenna (Rigaud, Que.) pitched three scoreless frames racking up four strikeouts as Team Navy defeated Team Grey, 3-1, on day two of the 10th annual Blue Jays Canadian Futures Showcase.

McKenna allowed just two hits and a walk mixing his pitches effectively and keeping the Team Grey hitters off balance early.

After the contest, the 2026 draft eligible lefty told reporters his plan was to just read swings and adapt to the hitters as the game moved on.

“If they were on time with (my fastball) I threw the changeup, (it) was filthy today,” said McKenna. “I threw a lot of changeups to their big guys.”

Zach Barker (Bolton, Ont.) provided offence for Team Navy, driving in what stood as the winning run with an RBI single in the top of the third.

Taye Thierman (Calgary, Alta.) added an RBI knock for a quick 3-0 lead.

Team Grey starting pitcher Ryan McDonagh (Milton, Ont.) worked through lots of traffic over 62 pitches, but managed to keep the damage minimal, picking up four strikeouts.

Navy had jumped to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, McDonagh seemed to get a double play ball, but shortstop Sam Andersen (Toronto) could not come up with the throw at second, leading to an unearned run.

Right-hander Noah Powell (Toronto) took over for McKenna and tossed two perfect innings while striking out two.

Team Grey threatened a comeback with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth when reliever Nathan Wall (Leamington, Ont.) for Navy walked himself into a jam with two outs.

After allowing a run on another free pass, Wall managed to get a deep fly out off the bat of Miguel Tetreault (Fort McMurray, Alt.) that outfielder William Henderson (Mississauga), battling a tough sun, corralled to end the game.

By Melissa Akgez

TORONTO – Tim Piasentin singled home Thomas Hanger in the top of the seventh inning on Thursday, to give Team New Blue a 4-4 tie with Team Red at the 2024 Blue Jays Futures Tournament, in the Rogers Centre.

The Coquitlam, B.C. native sent a sharp grounder to the left side that third baseman Joey Khananisho (Kleinburg, Ont.) jumped for and just deflected away from shortstop Matthew Kolodziej (Oakville). That allowed Hanger to score from third.

It was the third game for each team in the five-day prospects event that brings the top draft-eligible, and younger, players from across the country to perform in front of Major League and college scouts.

Team New Blue held a 3-1 lead for two and a half innings before Team Red went ahead 4-3 in the bottom of the fourth.

Khaninsho, (chosen Player of the Game), scored the first two runs for Team Red, and finished with two hits and one strikeout.

“I’m pretty proud of my performance so far.” Khaninsho said post game. “I usually try to go backside a lot (a swing mechanic), stick to my approach, usually that’s what works.”

Khaninsho scored on a ground out by Quinn Lightfoot (Caledon, Ont.) in the bottom of the first, and again in the bottom of the third, on a hit by Kieran Cutler (Paradise, N.L.).

New Blue’s Matthew Tran got into trouble at the bottom of the third, opening with three consecutive singles. After a double play threw the Regina native a lifeline, he then went walk-hit batter-walk to give up two runs and tie the game at three.

Team Red had one final shot at a win in the bottom of the seventh when, with two outs, and a runner on first, Cameron Dube put a line drive towards the right field corner that Ryan Stalony (Mississauga) caught while sliding into the padded wall.

By Ian Finlayson

TORONTO – Maxime Blain’s (Repentigny, Que.) hard-hit single scored two runs, including the game winner, as Team Navy defeated Team Royal 6-3 in the Canadian Futures Showcase at Rogers Centre Thursday.

The six-foot-three outfielder’s RBI knock capped a three-run top of the fourth, which was ultimately the difference in the game.

Blain, Kadyn Armitage (Surrey, B.C.), Noah McIntosh (Dartmouth, N.S.), and Sam Ellis (La Peche, Que.) had an RBI apiece for Navy. Ellis received player of the game honours after reaching base in all three of his plate appearances.

“I just try to stay with my approach, stay up the middle, and get on base and use my speed to score runs,” Ellis said of his standout performance.

Cohen Miller (Calgary) started the game for Navy and struck out five, allowing two runs – one earned – on four hits and two walks over three innings. Tyson Dyck (Calgary) and Desmond Tregaskis (Delta, B.C.) each pitched two innings and combined to shut out Team Royal for the remainder of the game.

Royals’ Reid Clague (Victoria B.C.) struggled in his outing, with eight walks and two earned runs to his credit over three innings.

Nate Lodewyks (La Salle, Man.) had the lone RBI for Royal, with the other two runs scored coming on a double steal and a wild pitch. Lodewyks hit a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth.

Clague walked four consecutive batters in the first, culminating with Armitage receiving a four-pitch free pass for an RBI walk.

Philip Cheong (Richmond Hill, Ont.) started the bottom of the first with a sharp double to left then proceeded to steal third.

Veer Wadhwani (Toronto) followed with a walk, before taking off for second. Team Royal opted to throw through and Cheong took advantage, sprinting home and scoring to even the game at 1-1.

Clague’s control issues continued in the top of the second. He walked three batters in succession before uncorking a wild pitch that allowed Jack Ward (Paris, Ont.) to score from third.

In the bottom of the third inning, Wadhwani squared up a high fastball from Miller, launching the ball 397 feet to the warning track in dead centre, at an exit velocity of 99.3 mph.

Nathan Roy (Saint-Frédéric de Beauce, Que.) advanced to third on the double and scored on a wild pitch the next at-bat to tie the game 2-2.

Navy’s Armitage was hit by a pitch to start the fourth. He then stole second and came around to score on a sharply hit line-drive single to left by McIntosh.

Ellis then walked and Blaine lined a single to right, driving in McIntosh from second. Ellis also came around to score after Cheong air-mailed the throw from right field over the catcher to the backstop, making the score 5-2 for Team Navy.

“Just being here is enough for me, it’s awesome. Just being on the field with all these great players is amazing. And to perform is just above and beyond my expectations,” said Ellis. “It’s a very cool experience.”

Ellis hit a groundball single to cash in an insurance run with two outs in the top of the sixth.

By Evan Davidson

TORONTO — Trentin Kooy (Saskatoon) delivered a go-ahead, two-run single in the bottom of the fifth in his first plate appearance, and Ian Roberts allowed one run on one hit as Team Black defeated Team New Blue 6-5 Friday morning, at the Blue Jays Futures Tournament in the Rogers Centre.

Kooy’s base hit plated the first two of three runs in the inning, before Joe Madill (Nanaimo, B.C.) drove in the game-winning run on a groundout to third.

Roberts (Burlington, Ont.) got the start in the final game of the tournament for Team Black. He struck out four over three innings, before being spelled by Reuben Malamed (Toronto), who picked up the win.

Luke Laird (Langley, B.C.) led the way for Team New Blue, going 2-for-3 with a pair of RBIs. His two out, two-run single in the top of the sixth brought Team New Blue within one run.

“Really happy,” said the 16-year-old about his performance after being named Player of the Game. “I was struggling a little before this game so it’s good to finally get some knocks and drive some runners in.”

Laird is one of the younger athletes in this year’s tournament, and is not draft eligible until 2026. Looking to make an impression, the young infielder was not concerned about being on centre-stage.

“I try not to think about it (scouts),” he said. “I don’t think there is any more pressure. I just try to play my game the same I would at home.”

Righty Cedric Leblanc (Dieppe, N.B.) was on the mound to start for Team Blue. He struggled with his command, allowing three runs on seven walks.

Top Canadian prospect Tim Piasentin (Coquitlam, B.C.) went 2-for-4 with an RBI for Team New Blue. The University of Miami commit’s double to right in the top of the fifth tied the game at three, scoring Langdyn Cummins (Vauxhall, Alta.) after his third walk of the contest.

Team Black took a two run lead in the second frame after four consecutive walks to begin the inning. They would hold onto the lead for the remainder of the game despite not recording a hit until the fourth.

Jake Schulz
@jake_schulz6

TORONTO – Simon Baker’s three RBI afternoon propelled Team Royal over Team Navy 6-4 in Blue Jays Canadian Futures Showcase action at the Rogers Centre on Friday afternoon.

With two runners on base, Simon Baker (Cochrane, Altl.) hit a line drive to centre field which allowed both Keegan Drinkle (Maple Ridge, B.C.) and Cooper Clark (Thorndale, Ont.) to score and bring Team Royal up 4-3.

This was the fourth and final lead change of the afternoon.

The back-and-forth contest was a rematch of Thursday’s matchup, where Team Navy beat Team Royal 7-3.

Baker did not want a repeat of that outing.

“We knew we didn’t play that good last game, we knew we were better than that,” said Baker, after the game. “We had to come out with a bang, get the offense going a bit more.”

Team Royal was down early in the first after Team Navy leadoff hitter Aiden de Leon (Milton, Ont.) was walked by Team Royal pitcher Macin MacDonald (Lander, B.C.) at the top of the first, and stole second before a ground out sent de Leon to third.

Quinn Carson (Oakville, Ont.) singled on a fly ball to centre field to allow de Leon to score the first run of the game and put Team Navy up 1-0.

Despite the early aggression, Team Royal continued to play their game in the bottom half as Riley Kwak (Abbotsford, B.C.) advanced to first off of a fielding error by third baseman Matthew Kolodziej (Oakville, Ont.), who then proceeded to steal both second and third base.

Brendan Lawson (Toronto), singled to left field to allow Kwak to tie the game at 1-1.

After Aiden George (Woodstock, Ont.) singled in the bottom of the second, Baker hit a triple to deep left field to bring George home and take a 2-1 lead for Team Royal.

Baker believed aggression was the key to pick up Friday’s victory.

“The scouts aren’t coming to watch you walk. You got to stay aggressive on those pitches you can hit. Just go out and swing the bat.”

Ryan Stalony (Mississauga, Ont.) provided a massive cushion for Team Royal in the bottom of fith, as he smashed a 350 ft. wood-bat homer to left field with Quincy Jenkins on second (St. Albert, Alta.) to push their lead to 6-3.

Stalony’s bomb was just the second home run of the tournament.

Team Royal finished up the tournament with a record of two wins, one draw and a loss.

Team Navy’s Quinn Carson (Oakville, Ont.) had a hit and two RBIs on the afternoon, one of which was off a single that brought Giancarlo Sortino (Aurora, Ont.) home to give them a 3-2 lead at the top of the third.

Luke Laird (Langley, B.C.) also registered an RBI, as he brought home Ethan Mota-Dias (Georgetown, Ont.) in the top of the sixth with a double.

Starting pitcher William LaBonte (Okotoks, Alta.) struggled for Team Navy, allowing two runs, three hits, three walks and two strikeouts through 61 pitches in his three innings of action.

Team Navy completed their tournament with a record of one win and three losses.

By Ian Finlayson

TORONTO – Tyson Moran (Wingham, Ont.) finished a home run short of the cycle, lifting Team Grey over Team Red 9-8 at the 10th annual Blue Jays’ Canadian Futures Showcase at Rogers Centre on Friday.

Moran’s triple traveled 362 feet and caromed off the top of the wall in right field, inches away from being the first home run of the tournament. The third-baseman also finished with three RBIs.

“Just trying to get a pitch that I can hit right. I wasn’t going up there trying to walk, I was just trying to put a good barrel on the baseball,” said the North Dakota State commit, who finished four-for-four.

Sam Andersen (Toronto) hit a triple of his own and drove in two. Quincy Jenkins (St. Albert, Alta.) also batted-in two runs.

Mason Van Dyke (Welland, Ont.) had a shaky start for Grey, allowing six earned-runs on five walks and four hits over three innings. Zac Foden (Edmonton) came in relief and allowed a single hit over two shutout innings.

Nathan Kirouac (Barrie, Ont.) toed the rubber for Red, he struck out two and allowed two earned over three innings of work. Michaël Bizier (Repentigny, Que.) replaced Kirouac in the fourth, and allowed seven base runners – including two hit-batsmen – resulting in six earned runs.

Ethan Pittman (Fort McMurray, Alta.) had three RBIs for Team Red and Felix Gosselin (Drummondville, Que.) drove in two.

In the bottom of the first Finn Hoeschen (North Vancouver, B.C.) walked, and then advanced to third on a fielder's choice and a wild pitch.

Kieran Cutler (Paradise, Nfld.) also received a free pass, to put runners on the corners. Next Cutler took off for second, and on the throw by catcher Hoeschen sprinted for home. Both runners were called safe for a successfully executed double-steal, making the score 1-0 Red.

Both teams put up crooked numbers in the third inning.

First, Jenkins hit a sharp single to left field with runners on second and third, cashing in both to make the score 2-1 for Grey.

In the bottom half, Red’s Gosselin singled up the middle with the bases loaded to drive in two.

Two batters later Pittman ripped a two-RBI triple into the right-centre field gap to cap off a five-run inning and make the score 6-2 for Red.

Grey responded in the top of the fourth. First Moran and then Ethan Mota-Dias (Georgetown, Ont.) reached base, before Andersen hit an opposite field triple of his own cashing in both runners. Booth then hit a sacrifice fly to centre to make the score 6-5.

In the top of the fifth, Team Grey proved that hitting – of all kinds – is contagious. First Miguel Tetreault (Fort McMurray, Alta.) singled, then both Sean Bradley (Toronto) and Alexandre Giguere (St-Anselme, Que.) were hit by pitches.

Moran stepped up two batters later and launched a bases clearing double to right, giving Grey an 8-6 lead.

Dylan Zaretsky (King City, Ont.) added what would turn out to be the winning run with a sacrifice fly the next inning.

Down 9-6, Red attempted to stage a rally in the bottom of the sixth. With runners on second and third, Pittman hit a single, scoring Quinn Lightfoot (Caledon, Ont.) from third.

Then with runners on the corners, Team Red attempted a double steal. After the catcher, Zaretsky, threw – the second baseman, Andersen, took a step back in towards home and instantly returned the throw, nailing Joey Khananisho (Kleinburg, Ont.) at the plate.

Cameron Dube (Cambridge, Ont.) followed with an RBI single to make the score 9-8, but that was the closet Red got, as Jason Roach (Aurora, Ont.) induced a fly-out to centre to end the threat.