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By Alexis Brudnicki
PBR Ontario Lead Writer

If Tournament 12 was any evidence, it would seem that the Spoljaric family is churning out baseball players, with futures on the diamond that could continue to look brighter as time goes on.  

Former big-league southpaw Paul Spoljaric, who spent time with the Toronto Blue Jays, Seattle Mariners, Philadelphia Phillies and Kansas City Royals at the highest level, suited up as a part of the BC Orange coaching staff at the second-annual amateur showcase event at Rogers Centre.

His two oldest children, 16-year-old Hunter and 15-year-old Garner, played for Futures Navy while Turner, the youngest of the Spoljaric men at 11, took on the role of the bat boy for both squads, with expectations that he will eventually be the most successful player of the family. 

“I’m convinced that Turner will be the best one because he’s learned,” Paul Spoljaric said. “And not only that, but because he competes. He’s got a demeanour about him that he doesn’t like to lose, and when you’re out there playing with your bigger brothers – Hunter’s twice his size and Gar is about one-and-a-half times his size – and he’s playing at that level and they don’t let up on him.

“When they’re playing wiffle ball in the backyard, they’re throwing hard and they’re trying to strike him out. And Turner doesn’t like losing. Turner has great drive, and I think with any big brother-little brother relationship they will always be a little bit better. They’re always going to be ahead of that curve because they’re not having to face it for the first time, they’ve already gone through it with their bigger brothers.”

Hunter agrees with his father’s sentiment over his youngest brother.

“Oh yeah no doubt,” he said. “I can see it. I can see Turner being the best out of all three of us.”

Turner enjoyed the time he spent on the field and in the major league dugouts, and is just looking for a chance to play in the event sooner than later.

“It’s fun,” Turner said. “It’s a neat experience to be on the field…It would be pretty cool to play in [Tournament 12] and I hope I will someday. It would be pretty neat.”

Tournament 12 was Hunter’s second appearance at the Toronto Blue Jays-hosted showcase and after a rough first outing that saw him allow nine runs on five hits and five walks in 1 1/3 innings with two strikeouts, he came back in the team’s final matchup to throw one perfect frame, striking out two.

“Spoljaric had a bounce-back outing, showing the command and velocity that we have been accustomed to,” PBR Ontario scouting director Chris Kemlo said. “Spoljaric sat at 84 mph with his fastball, showing good arm path and extension with a heavy ball. At 6-foot-2, 185 pounds and still growing, there is no reason to believe he won’t be in the upper 80s with his heater before long.”

Added Hunter: “I had a comeback. It felt really good to do that. After that first outing, that was rough, but it happens and being able to come back and do what I did, I feel like that was good for me to be able to do that.”

Garner made his Tournament 12 debut with the Futures squad, getting out on the mound and spending some time on the infield. The 5-foot-8, 150-pound two-way player got a chance to spend a significant amount of time with a few of the Blue Jays alumni coaches during the event and made changes to his game that he believes made an immediate difference.

“I don’t use my legs a whole lot while I’m pitching,” the 15-year-old said. “I knew that, but Paul Quantrill told me I should try incorporating my legs a lot more than I did and that will help me a lot more in the future. It will probably help me have less arm [fatigue] because I’m using my body instead.

“Then hitting-wise I was opening up on my front side when I was hitting, which I didn’t know I was doing at all but Lloyd Moseby saw it. I was toe-tapping and on my second toe-tap I would open, so he helped me out with that, so that was good.”

On Garner, Kemlo noted: “The 2017 grad showed why people are already excited about his potential on the mound. He worked two innings with a fastball that topped out at 81 mph and showed the ability to spin his curveball. Spoljaric is free and easy with his delivery and displays clean arm action with the ability to repeat. He has a chance to have electric stuff once he matures and adds strength.”

With the major-league influences the young Spoljarics have been fortunate enough to be around, both at the tournament and at home, it would be hard to think that they are anything but prepared for what might lay ahead.

“Being exposed to baseball and always being around it and always talking about it made it less of something for them to overcome and more easily attainable,” Paul Spoljaric, father of five, said. “They have the insight of some of the things that happen on and off the field, and know how to react in certain situations, how to be a better ballplayer, how to be a better person, and the things people look for in ballplayers.

“Having that insight from me and from the people they have in their lives, my friends who are baseball players and coaches, it doesn’t make the big leagues so far away for them.”